Spanning the Ljubljanica in the very heart of the city, the infamous Dragon Bridge is an Art Nouveau/Vienna Secession masterpiece dating from 1901. Named for four obvious reasons in the guise of mighty dragon statues at each corner, the structure is a superb example of an early reinforced concrete bridge and as such is exciting for both lovers of art and of architecture. The triple-hinged arch bridge, which measures just over 33m in length, was designed by the Italian engineer and architect Giorgio Zaninovich (Jurij Zaninović, 1876–1946), and features a further 16 smaller griffin statues (often mistaken for dragons themselves), which nevertheless help the bridge's reputation as one of the most photographed structures in Ljubljana. Not surprisingly, Dragon Bridge plays a central role in many legends, the most charming of them in our opinion being that when a virgin crosses, the dragons wag their tails.
Spanning the Ljubljanica in the very heart of the city, the infamous Dragon Bridge is an Art Nouveau/Vienna Secession masterpiece dating from 1901. Named for four obvious reasons in the guise of mighty dragon statues at each corner, the structure is a superb example of an early reinforced concrete bridge and as such is exciting for both lovers of art and of architecture. The triple-hinged arch bridge, which measures just over 33m in length, was designed by the Italian engineer and architect Giorgio Zaninovich (Jurij Zaninović, 1876–1946), and features a further 16 smaller griffin statues (often mistaken for dragons themselves), which nevertheless help the bridge's reputation as one of the most photographed structures in Ljubljana. Not surprisingly, Dragon Bridge plays a central role in many legends, the most charming of them in our opinion being that when a virgin crosses, the dragons wag their tails.
