Dragons

Since dragons appear to be in demand in the blogosphere these days, I have decided to repost one of my earlier entries from this blog.

This verdigris-coated creature stands proudly along with three others of his kind, each occupying one side of the bridge called, how appropriately, The Dragon Bridge.

Dragon is a symbol of Ljubljana. There are a few legends as to why this is the case.

According to some, the legend of the dragon is connected to St. George, the patron of the Castle Chapel, usually depicted as slaying a dragon.

A more intriguing myth involves Jason and the Argonauts. After taking the Golden Fleece, or so the story has it, Jason and the Argonauts, running away from the pursuers, wandered into the estuary of the Danube. Having had no other option, they continued up the Danube and the Sava and eventually the Ljubljanica all the way to its source. There they disassembled the Argo and carried it on foot to the shores of the Adriatic Sea where they reassembled the ship and proceeded with their journey. Along the way they came across a huge lake and a swamp where a ferocious monster lived. Jason killed the monster and founded a settlement nearby, which got to be known as Aemona and subsequently Ljubljana (Laibach/Luwigana). The swamp monster later took the role of a dragon.

There is evidence of human presence in this area since the Bronze Age. There is no evidence whatsoever of the presence of a swamp monster or any suchlike creature. If they could speak, I wonder what these bronze-cast dragons guarding the bridge would have to say on that matter?