Cobbler’s Bridge

The Cobblers' Bridge, a work by Plečnik

The Ljubljana audio-guided tour has you discover one of its most charming bridges: the Cobblers' Bridge. Designed by the architect Jože Plečnik in the 1930s, it is part of his great project to develop the banks of the Ljubljanica.

From butchers to cobblers

It is said that in the Middle Ages, the wooden bridge that was here housed a butcher's shop, but the smell was so strong that the emperor ordered it to be moved. The cobblers then settled in its place, and the bridge kept their name. Plečnik wanted to give the site a real pedestrian bridge, both practical and elegant, lined with columns that give it the air of a square suspended above the river.

What there is to see

Wide and open, lined with stone columns, the Cobblers' Bridge resembles more a small square than a simple passage. It is an ideal place for strolling, from which you admire the Ljubljanica, its banks laid out by Plečnik and the façades of the old town. Like the other bridges of the capital, it illustrates the art with which the architect was able to make the river the heart of Ljubljana.

Practical information

The Cobblers' Bridge spans the Ljubljanica, in the heart of the old town of Ljubljana. Reserved for pedestrians, it can be crossed freely at all hours and on the level. It is one of the finest viewpoints over the river and its banks.

Who designed the Cobblers' Bridge?

The architect Jože Plečnik, in the 1930s, as part of his development of the banks of the Ljubljanica.

Why is this bridge called the Cobblers' Bridge?

Because the cobblers settled there after the departure of a medieval butcher's shop, judged too smelly by the emperor.