Ljubljana Beloved

The so-called "urban KAP" is an attractive and rather difficult part of kite aerial photography, for flying a kite among tall buildings and within small parks is not for the faint-hearted. But it can give you the views of the city that were never seen before... So we let the kite fly from Tivoli park, trying to capture Ljubljana from the air, and ... well, just look at this:

Ljubljana from Tivoli park, looking southeast from Narodni dom sports ground towards Castle hill. Click for a larger image!

Tivoli park itself was created by French horticulturist, architect and engineer Jean Blanchard in 1813, when Ljubljana was a capital of the Illyrian provinces, a part of Napoleon's Empire. Its meadows and tree-lined avenues, its furry and feathery inhabitants bring nature right into the city centre. The 5 square kilometre park also features monuments, fountains, mansions, a fish pond and a playground.

Part of Tivoli from the air.

On the edge of Tivoli a sports ground and a swimming pool was built by the renowned architect dr. Stanko Bloudek (the guy who desingned the first ski jumping hill in Planica).

Ilirija swimming pool and Narodni dom sports grounds.

But ... Ljubljana. The first settlers of the Ljubljana gate area between Castle hill and Rožnik were Neolithic pile-dwellers. Later the Romans built a city called Emona, Colonia Ivlia Æmona. After the fall of the Empire and the Great Migrations the Slavs came here to stay.

Ljubljana from Tivoli, looking south-southeast. Click for a larger image!

Some guy named Ljubovid - called *Ljubid' - named the river that was flowing through his settlement *Ljubid'ja. This name was then shortened to Ljubija, and the people living by it there were called *Ljubljani. Thus the settlement got its name - Ljubljana.

The city of Ljubljana was first mentioned between 1112 in 1125, and the name Luwigana was attested in 1144. Market rights were granted to it around 1200, the town privileges between 1220 and 1243, and in 1343 Ljubljana became the capital of Carniola. Since then, it has always been a capital of something - of Habsburg Carniola, of French Illyrian provinces, of Slovenia province and later of Drava Banovina as part of Kingdom of Yugoslavia, of Socialist Republic of Slovenia, and of Republic of Slovenia since 1991.

'Ljubljana gate' and the flat Ljubljana Marshes beyond. Click for a larger image!

Ljubljana is a small (just some 289.000 people are privileged to live here), pleasant, safe and beautiful city. Rich in history and with a laid-back atmosphere its well worth a visit.

Kite aerial photos shot with Canon on a Rokkaku kite - with a pleasant assistance of Alena and Marko! :-)