Ljubljana Castle

Lonely Planet review

Known as Ljubljana Castle (Ljubljanski Grad), there have been fortifications of one kind or another on Castle Hill (Grajska Planota) since at least Celtic times, but the existing Ljublijana Castle mostly dates from a 16th-century rebuilding following the 1511 earthquake. It was a royal residence in the 17th and 18th centuries and a prison and barracks in the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries.

About 80% of the castle has been renovated in recent years, and it is now frequently used as a venue for concerts and other cultural activities, and as a wedding hall on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

The castle was a royal residence in the 17th and 18th centuries and a prison and barracks in the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries.

The castle's main highlight is the 19th-century Pentagonal Tower. The viewing platform, 95 wrought iron steps from the bottom, offers vertiginous, 360-degree views of the city and surrounding countryside. At the base of the tower is the relatively new Virtual Museum, where you don your 3D glasses and audio guide (available in four languages) and travel through the main (albeit badly described) epochs of Ljubljana's history before coming to a stuttering halt in 1991 and the declaration of independence.