Symbol of the Slovenian capital and sentinel of the iconic Emperor Franz Josef Jubilee Bridge, Ljubljana’s dragon is comfortably the city’s most recognizable resident. Not only does he perch, with teeth bared and wings spread, on all four corners of the aforementioned arch, but his image also appears on the town’s coat of arms, flag, river walls, manhole covers, and even on the crest of the local soccer team.

The Legend of Ljubljana’s Dragon

Legend has it, that many centuries ago, this fearsome lizard lurked in the marshes that surround the Ljubljanica river, feeding on fish, otters, river rats… and those humans unfortunate enough to stray into its territory, who as simple farming folk, were easy prey for this fire-breathing monster.

What no doubt this dragon hadn’t reckoned on, was a bona fide Greek hero, sailing up the river on the mighty Argo galley with a battle-hardened crew of warriors and a barbarian sorceress in tow. Jason was in fact on the run from King Aeetes: he had won the Golden Fleece from the Colchian ruler fair and square, but to add injury to insult he had also stolen the king’s beautiful daughter, Medea, into the bargain (her magic had helped Jason complete the three tasks Aeetes had set him, and the two were very much in love… at least for now).

Naturally, Aeetes sent his entire fleet in pursuit of this smooth-talking kidnapper, chasing him across the breadth of the Black Sea; until Jason had been forced to take evasive action, sailing the Argo up the mouth of the Danube river, then into the Sava, and then finally up into the Ljubljanica river, as he tried to make it back to Thessaly, Greece, anyway he could.

Having slain the leader of their would-be captors (by underhand treachery, I should probably add), the Argonauts were able to continue their journey relatively unmolested, until, coming towards the spring of the Ljubljanica river, the waters grew too shallow for the hull of such a mighty vessel.

Jason decided that his crew had no choice but to dismantle the ship and carry the boat in pieces, across the land to the Adriatic sea (which was nearby), where they could reassemble their vessel and sail for home. But as it was winter already, he also decreed that they would have to spend several months where they were, until the weather was favorable for their journey.

So they did just that, building a village on stilts in the marshes surrounding the river. Unwittingly though, they had stumbled into the hunting ground of the dragon.

On a cold winter’s day, shortly after the Argonauts had set up their winter camp, the Greeks heard a terrible shrieking and saw the shadow of a giant flying beast rise from the waters next to their new home. Spitting fire and noxious fumes over their wooden houses, the monster set half the village on fire, with many of the Argonauts plunging into the icy marsh waters to save themselves.

Several drowned, and one unlucky soldier was plucked by the scaly talons of the dragon and dragged back to its lair for supper.