A former walled quarter
In the medieval period a separate district with its own gate.
Ljuba brank — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bobo Boom — CC BY 2.0 · Sieglinde Hankele — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Herbert wie — CC BY-SA 4.0
A square on the western bank of the Ljubljanica, facing the old town and far quieter than it, though only one bridge separates them. The name misleads: New Square is among the oldest parts of the city, and in the medieval period it was a separate walled quarter with its own gate. The name distinguished it from the older square on the opposite bank when it arose, and stuck after both had become old. The square today is surrounded by institutional rather than touristic buildings: the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, a national library and various institutes. That is why it is quiet — the people crossing it are staff and students rather than tour groups. That makes it practically useful: its cafés are cheaper and calmer than those on the opposite bank, two minutes' walk away. Nearby stands the National and University Library by Jože Plečnik, the architect who shaped modern Ljubljana, and among his most important buildings. Practical points: free and always open. The visit is minutes on a walk along both riverbanks.
In the medieval period a separate district with its own gate.
The Academy of Sciences, a library and institutes — hence the quiet.
The National and University Library, a key work by the city's shaping architect.
West bank of the river, Ljubljana
The Slovene architect who redesigned Ljubljana in the first half of the twentieth century. He designed the Triple Bridge, the market, the National Library, the river embankments and dozens of other works, in a style blending classicism with local elements. His work in the city was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2021 — a rare case of one architect's output listed as a single entity.
Yes, for a practical reason: after the crowding of the east bank, the west is far quieter and its cafés cheaper, with the National Library close by. Make it a pause in the middle of an old-town walk rather than a destination.
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