Arch. Plečnik's Marketplace, marketplace in Ljubljana, Slovenia
Arch. Plečnik's Marketplace is a two-level structure extending along the Ljubljanica River between Triple Bridge and Dragon Bridge, featuring semicircular windows and stone arcaded walkways. The design integrates lower market stalls with upper shops through a continuous architectural form with distinctive brick and stone details.
The 1895 earthquake destroyed a monastery with a diocesan college for girls on Vodnik Square, and the cleared site became an open-air market. Jože Plečnik designed the riverside market halls between 1931 and 1939; Matko Curk's company built them from 1940 to 1942, originally covering 1,876 square metres. Plečnik's planned covered bridge across the river gap was only realised in July 2010 as the Butchers' Bridge. Since August 2021 the market has been part of Plečnik's UNESCO World Heritage listing.
The market's name honours Valentin Vodnik, the poet and linguist whose square hosts the outdoor stalls; the halls between Vodnik and Pogačar squares hold the covered trade. The colonnade at the Triple Bridge end shelters stalls selling herbs, spices and arts and crafts, while flowers are sold at the junction of the two squares.
The market runs daily except Sundays, so plan around that closure. The halls sit on the right bank of the Ljubljanica between the Triple Bridge and the Dragon Bridge; the flower stalls cluster where Pogačar Square meets Vodnik Square. Fish and dried fruit are on the lower level of the hall, while the colonnade at the Triple Bridge end shelters herbs, spices and craft stalls.
Plečnik planned a monumental covered bridge to fill the gap between the two market halls, linking the market to Petkovšek Embankment, but it was never built in his lifetime. The idea was realised in July 2010 with the opening of the Butchers' Bridge at that spot. The market halls were built by Matko Curk's company between 1940 and 1942, covering 1,876 square metres.
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