The Dragon Bridge (Zmajski most)

<p>The Dragon Bridge crosses the Ljubljanica just downstream of the market, and its four copper dragons — one at each corner, wings up and jaws open — have become the symbol of the city. It was completed in 1901, when Ljubljana was rebuilding after the great earthquake of 1895, and is an early and unusually confident piece of Vienna Secession engineering: one of the first reinforced-concrete bridges in this part of Europe, dressed in art-nouveau ironwork and lamps.</p><p>The dragon belongs to Ljubljana's founding myth, in which Jason and the Argonauts, escaping up the Danube and the Sava, killed a marsh-dwelling beast where the city now stands; it holds the city's coat of arms and the castle tower alike. The affectionate local claim that the dragons wag their tails when a virgin crosses is offered to every visitor, and should be treated accordingly.</p>