Prešeren Monument (Ljubljana)

Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the area. Ljubljana itself was first mentioned in the first half of the 12th century. Situated at the middle of a trade route between the northern Adriatic Sea and the Danube region, it was the historical capital of Carniola, one of the Slovene-inhabited parts of the Habsburg monarchy. It was under Habsburg rule from the Middle Ages until the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918. After World War II, Ljubljana became the capital of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia, part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The city retained this status until Slovenia became independent in 1991 and Ljubljana became the capital of the newly formed state.

The Ljubljana Central Pharmacy (Centralna lekarna Ljubljana), or shortly the Central Pharmacy (Centralna lekarna), is one of the most prominent buildings at Prešeren Square (Prešernov trg), the central square of the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana. It is also known as Mayer Palace (Slovene: Mayerjeva palača) or Prešeren Square 5 Palace (Palača Prešernov trg 5). It houses the city's central pharmacy. The Neo-Renaissance building is located between Trubar Street (Trubarjeva cesta) and the Petkovšek Embankment (Petkovškovo nabrežje). It was designed in 1896–97 by Ferdinand Hauser and was built before the end of the century by Gustav Tönnies, whereas the façade was carried out by Filip Supančič. Until World War II, the building also housed a cafe named the Prešeren Cafe (Prešernova kavarna) after the poet France Prešeren (1800–1849).

The Center District (Slovene: Četrtna skupnost Center), or simply the Center, is a district (mestna četrt) of the City Municipality of Ljubljana in the centre of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It has an area of about 5 square kilometres (1.9 sq mi). The district's major thoroughfares are Slovene Street (Slovenska cesta), Čop Street (Čopova ulica), Cankar Street (Cankarjeva cesta), Wolf Street (Wolfova ulica), Trubar Street (Trubarjeva cesta), and Miklosich Street (Miklošičeva cesta), and the major squares are Congress Square (Kongresni trg), Croatian Square (Hrvatski trg), Liberation Front Square (Trg Osvobodilne fronte), Prešeren Square (Prešernov trg), Republic Square (Trg republike), and Slovene Square (Slovenski trg).

The Triple Bridge (Slovene: Tromostovje, in older sources also Tromostje) is a group of three bridges across the Ljubljanica River. It connects Ljubljana's historical medieval town on one bank and the modern city of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, on the other.

Prešeren Square (Slovene: Prešernov trg) is the central square in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is part of the old town's pedestrian zone and a major meeting point where festivals (like the annual Ljubljana Dragon Carnival), concerts, sports, political events, and protests take place. It was renovated in 2007.

The Franciscan Church of the Annunciation (Slovene: Frančiškanska cerkev Marijinega oznanjenja or commonly Frančiškanska cerkev) is a Franciscan church located on Prešeren Square in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is the parish church of Ljubljana - Annunciation Parish. Its red colour is symbolic of the Franciscan monastic order. Since 2008, the church has been protected as a cultural monument of national significance of Slovenia.Built between 1646 and 1660 (the bell towers following later), it replaced an older church on the same site. The early-Baroque layout takes the form of a basilica with one nave and two rows of side-chapels. The Baroque main altar was executed by the sculptor Francesco Robba. Many of the original frescoes were ruined by the cracks in the ceiling caused by the Ljubljana earthquake in 1895. The new frescoes were painted in 1936 by the Slovene impressionist painter Matej Sternen.The front facade of the church was built in the Baroque style in 1703–1706 and redesigned in the 19th century. It has two parts, featuring pilasters with the Ionic capitals in the lower part and pilasters with Corinthian capitals in the upper part. The sides of the upper part are decorated with volutes and at the top of the front facade stands the statue of Our Lady of Loretto, i.e. Madonna with Child. It has been made of beaten copper by Matej Schreiner upon a plan drawn by Franz Kurz zum Thurn und Goldenstein. The faces and the hands were modelled by Franc Ksaver Zajec. The statue replaced an older wooden statue of a Black Madonna in 1858. The facade also has three niches with sculptures of God the Father above the main stone portal, and an angel and the Virgin Mary in the side niches, work by the Baroque sculptor Paolo Callalo. There is a stone entrance staircase in front of the church. The wooden door with reliefs of women's heads dates to the 19th century. Next to the church, squeezed next to Prešeren Square between Čop Street, Nazor Street and Miklosich Street, there is a Franciscan Monastery dating from the 13th century. The monastery is notable for its library, containing more than 70,000 books, including many incunabulae and medieval manuscripts. Founded in 1233, the monastery was initially located at Vodnik Square, moving to the present location during the Josephine reforms of the late 18th century.

Philip Mansion (Slovene: Filipov dvorec) is a building in central Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is located along the river Ljubljanica, at the corner of the Cankar Embankment (Cankarjevo nabrežje) and Stritar Street (Stritar Street), next to the Triple Bridge. On the other side of Stritar Street stands the Kresija Building. The two buildings mark the entry into the town's medieval part under Ljubljana Castle.The two buildings were designed after the 1895 Ljubljana earthquake by the Graz architect Leopold Theyer and completed in 1898. The mansion was built by the tradesman Filip Schreyer. Philip Mansion is distinguished by a Renaissance Revival style. It is said that small spires on its façades were built at the explicit demand of the Mayor Ivan Hribar, who was an admirer of Czech culture and wanted Ljubljana to resemble Prague, the "city of a hundred spires". However, the more probable explanation is that the spires were meant to serve as a reminder of the town gates in the old defensive wall that stood in their place.

The Kresija Building (Slovene: palača Kresija) is a building that together with Philip Mansion marks the entrance to the old town of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It stands at the Adamič and Lunder Embankment (Adamič-Lundrovo nabrežje) on the right bank of the river Ljubljanica immediately after the Triple Bridge and borders Pogačar Square (Pogačarjev trg), Stritar Street (Stritarjeva ulica), and Maček Street (Mačkova ulica). Until 2007, the Ljubljana Center Administrative Unit was stationed in the building. Now, it houses a number of municipal offices, the Kresija Gallery, and the Ljubljana visitor centre.

The Grand Hotel Union (Slovene: Grand hotel Union) is a four-star hotel near the centre of the city of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. Built about a block from the city's central Prešeren Square between 1903 and 1905, it is notable for having been Ljubljana's first modern hotel, as well as—for a few years after its construction—the city's largest building.The hotel was part of a programme of urban reconstruction during the administration of Mayor Ivan Hribar, initiated in the aftermath of the major 1895 earthquake that destroyed much of Ljubljana's medieval structures. Designed by the architect Josip Vancaš, it is a fine example of the Vienna Secession style. Its façade is almost 100 metres long, and its complex iron roof structure was considered a technical achievement at the time. Since its completion in 1905, the hotel has been redecorated twice, but retains its original style. The ground floor of the building contains the Café Union (Unionska kavarna).

Town Square (Slovene: Mestni trg) is a major square in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. Ljubljana Town Hall is located at the square. In front of Town Hall stands a copy of the Robba Fountain. Near the square, at Cyril and Methodius Square, stands Ljubljana Cathedral. Opposite Town Hall is the Krisper House, where Julija Primic, the inspiration of the Slovene Romantic poet France Prešeren, was born in 1816. The composer Gustav Mahler lived in the house from 1881 to 1882, when he worked as a conductor at the Carniolan Provincial Theatre at Congress Square.

The Academia Operosorum Labacensium (Academy of the Industrious Residents of Ljubljana)—a forerunner of the modern Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts—was founded in Ljubljana in 1693 as an association of 23 scholars. Most of the members, which included 13 lawyers, six theologians, and four medical doctors, were ethnically Slovene. The newly founded library became an important centre of activity for its members. The Operosi were very influential in the development of the arts in Ljubljana and throughout the Slovene cultural area. The members of the academy adopted the Latin name apes (bees) and the academic tag Nobis atque aliis – operosi. Every year they held an annual meeting, as well as four other academic meetings, where they discussed their research. Its purpose from the beginning was to promote scholarship in law, medicine, philosophy, and theology. In 1701, the academy merged with the Academia incoltorum (Academy of Fine Arts) and Academia philharmonicorum (Academy of Music). At the time of its greatest activity, around 1714, it was an international association of 42 members from Carniola and the counties of central Austria assembled under the patronage of Bishop Franz Karl von Kaunitz. It fell into decline in the summer of 1725, but was revived in 1781, thanks to the efforts of Slovene Enlightenment figures. It was only active for another 20 years or so and thereafter declined again because the members' outlooks and expectations were too much at variance.

The Robba Fountain (Slovene: Robbov vodnjak), since the first half of the 20th century also known as the Fountain of the Three Carniolan Rivers (Vodnjak treh kranjskih rek), is the fountain that stands in front of Ljubljana Town Hall at Town Square in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It was originally made in 1751 by the Italian sculptor Francesco Robba and is one of the city's most recognisable symbols.