Article content continued

After being levelled by an earthquake in 1895, the city was rebuilt in the Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles that were so popular in Vienna, the empire’s capital at the time. A generation later, architect Joze Plecnik remodelled the city in his distinctive classical-meets-modern style. Like Gaudí shaped Barcelona and Bernini shaped Rome, Plecnik made Ljubljana what it is today.

Ljubljana feels small and low-key, and it is. But this is no sleepy backwater, the city is by far the country’s largest city and its cultural capital. Ljubljana is on the cutting edge when it comes to architecture, public art, fashion and trendy pubs. In its relaxed pedestrian centre, it seems all roads lead to the main square. Fancy facades and whimsical bridges ornament daily life with a Slovenian twist.

The Ljubljanica River, lined with cafes, restaurants, and a buzzing outdoor market, bisects the city. The riverfront market is a hive of activity, where big-city Slovenes buy directly from the farmer. Some farmers still use wooden carts to bring veggies in from their garden patches, then flip them over to use as a sales stand.

Photo by CAMERON HEWITT PHOTO / CAMERON HEWITT PHOTO

The market provides a great opportunity to connect with locals. It’s worth an amble any time, but is best on Saturday mornings, when the townspeople take their time wandering the stalls. In this tiny capital of a tiny country, you may even see the president searching for the perfect melon.

Spanning the river are several distinctive bridges designed by Plecnik, who walked to work each day and had to live with what he designed. The Triple Bridge — where the main square joins the river — is both a popular meeting place and a beloved symbol of the city. The bridge seems almost Venetian: A nod to the city’s unique location — midway between Venice and Vienna, linking the Italian and Germanic worlds. The Cobblers’ Bridge encapsulates Plecnik’s style perhaps better than any other structure: Simple, clean lines adorned with classical columns.