foto: Jeancaffou

Ljubljanski grad je ljubljanska srednjeveška arhitekturna znamenitost, ki stoji na grajskem gricu.

Glede na arheološke raziskave je na obmocju grajskega kompleksa clovekova prisotnost neprekinjena od leta 1200 pr. n. št., ko so bile postavljene prve naselbine in kasneje utrdbe. Grad je pisno prvic omenjen leta 1144 kot sedež koroških vojvod Spanheimov.

Svojo prvotno obliko je grad zamenjal v 15. stoletju, ko je doživel povecavo (sklenjeno obzidje z ogelnimi stolpi in dvema vhodnima stolpoma, preko katerih so vodila dvižna vrata ter grajska kapela. V 16. in 17. stoletju so postopno nastali ostali objekti, ki mejijo na grajsko dvorišce in tvorijo sedanjo celoto grajskega poslopja. Zaradi upadanja upravnega pomena (na njem niso bivali vladarji oz. deželni upravniki z mnogimi pooblastili), pa tudi zaradi izgube strateškega pomena gradu z obzidjem, je vzdrževanje gradu postalo financno breme, zato je pocasi zacel propadati.

V zacetku 19. stoletja so oblasti v gradu uredile kaznilnico in delno vojaško utrdbo in s tem zmanjšale priljubljenost zgradbe med prebivalci mesta.

Mestna obcina Ljubljana je leta 1905 odkupila grad in na njem naselila prebivalce, ki so ostali prebivalci gradu do srede šestdesetih let 20. stoletja, ko so se pricele priprave na obnovo.

Ob koncu 60-ih let 20. stoletja se je zacelo vec kot 35-letno obdobje obnavljanja gradu. V 90. letih 20. stoletja je grad zaživel predvsem v sklopu porocnih svecanosti, ki so jih mestne oblasti zacele prirejati v prvi obnovljeni grajski stavbi (poleg stolpa in kasneje kapele), v 3.tisocletju pa je Ljubljanski grad postal prizorišce mnogih kulturnih prireditev in razstav.

Ljubljana Castle is a medieval castle in Ljubljana, Slovenia. It is located on the Castle Hill overlooking the old town.

According to archeological surveys, the area of the present castle has been settled continuously since 1200 BC, when the first settlements and later fortifications were built.In 1144, the Ljubljana Castle was mentioned as a property and the seat of the Carinthian dukes of the House of Spanheim.

In 15th century, it was almost completely demolished and rebuilt with a complete wall and towers at the entrance, where a drawbridge was placed. A chapel was also built at that time. In the 16th and 17th centuries, other objects were gradually built. Because it was not a home of a ruler or another important noble person and because a fortification in the area was no longer required, the castle started to lose its importance. The maintenance costs were too high so the castle began to crumble.

In the 19th century, the castle was redesigned partially as a prison and partially as a military stronghold, making it less popular among the citizens.

 In 1905, the castle was bought by the Ljubljana Municipality, who planned to establish a City Museum in it. The plan was however not carried out. Instead, the city decided to settle poor families into it. The residents stayed there until the mid-1960s, when preparations for renovation of the castle began.

At the end of the 1960s, the long and extensive renovation works started. The whole renovation took more than 35 years. In the 1990s, the use of the castle as a place for weddings and cultural events began.