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Ljubljana History, Slovenia

Ljubljana, History – Early Times

Ljubljana History will tell the story of an amazing culture that knew how to fight for its independence and freedom despite the cruel odds. The city’s geographical position influenced its agitated past a lot, due to the flow of a multitude of nations that chose this beautiful country as their final destination.

The first traces that we have about this region make reference to a group of people who lived through fishing, hunting and agriculture. With the passage of time, the area was turned into a point of transit for the many nomad tribes and people. In the year 50BC the Romans settled their first military camp here, which was destroyed later on by the Huns and then by the Ostrogoths and the Lombards. In the 6th century, the Slovenes arrived in this region, which soon were to fall under Frankish domination.

Ljubljana, History – The Middle Ages

The first record we have about Ljubljana as a city, dates back from the 12th century, when the name Luwigana appears in documents. The settlement started to play the role of town in the 13th century, when it also received the right to coin its own money. It soon fell under Habsburg domination and thus in the 15th century Ljubljana became a famous settlement for its art. Unfortunately, the terrifying earthquake destroyed a big part of this amazing city, but the municipality decided to rebuild it in Renaissance style, and with this new construction, a new wall was erected around it. During the Napoleonic Wars, the city became Austrian again and was included in the Kingdom of Ilyria.

Ljubljana, History – Recent Times

In 1918, at the end of World War I and the dissolution of the great Austro - Hungarian Empire, the region was included in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. During the following World War, Slovenia was occupied by the Italians and then by the Nazi Germans. At the end of this terrifying event, Ljubljana became the capital of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia, under the communist regime. In 1991, Slovenia became independent and 5 years later, it adhered to the European Union.

Ljubljana History together with Zagreb History and Trieste History proved once again that the past of a culture is strongly influenced by its geographical position.