The Congress Square is one of the central squares in Ljubljana. This square was built in 1821. During communism, this square was called Revolution Square, and later Liberation Square. At that time, the habitants still used the old name, Revolution Square. It has played a symbolic role throughout history. On October 29, 1918, mass demonstrations took place in the square, where independence from the Austro-Hungarian government was declared and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was established. In 1945, the President of Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito, visited Slovenia for the first time after World War II and gave a speech in this square.
Demonstrations which marked the beginning of the Slovenian Spring were held on the same square in 1988, and Slovenia declared independence on this square in 1991.
Several important buildings are located here, such as: the Church of the Holy Trinity, the casino building, the building of the Slovenian Philharmonic, the Rectorate of the Slovenian University. There is also a statue of Austrian Field Marshal Josef Radetzky. The square is a beautiful place to enjoy, walk, go for coffee or for lunch.
Star Park is part of the Congress Square, and there are buildings on the left and right sides of the square. The Anchor monument makes the park richer, it was erected in 1954 thanks to the Slovenian captain Branko Velkaverh. Before that, a bronze equestrian monument to the Yugoslav king Alexander I Karadjordjevic stood there for about a year, but the Italians removed it after the occupation of Ljubljana during the World War II.
There was a public parking lot in the southern part of the square, but it was turned into a pedestrian space in 2011. Parking has been replaced by a parking garage with 720 spots.
During the renovation of the square, some of Plečnik's original palaces were removed over time, and some old buildings in the area began to crack during construction. The official opening of the reconstructed square took place on July 3, 2011, when Mahler's symphonies were performed, where orchestras from Ljubljana and Zagreb and other choirs conducted by Valerij Gergijev were present.
This is definitely one of the must see places in Ljubljana.
Author of the article:
Bojana Pantić - our correspondent for the city of Ljubljana
Photo credit: Dunja Wedam
