The Ljubljanica (), known in the Middle Ages as the ''Sava'', is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

in the southern part of the

Ljubljana Basin The Ljubljana Basin ( sl, Ljubljanska kotlina) is a basin in the upper river basin of Sava. It is the most populated area in Slovenia and it is metropolitan area of Ljubljana. Its main rivers are the Sava, the Kamnik Bistrica and the Ljubljanica ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. The capital of Slovenia,

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

, lies on the river. The Ljubljanica rises south of the town of

Vrhnika Vrhnika (; german: Oberlaibach;''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 120. la, Nauportus) is a town in Slovenia. It is the seat of the Mun ...

and flows into the

Sava River The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally t ...

about downstream from Ljubljana. Its largest affluent is the

Mali Graben The Mali Graben ( sl, Mali graben) is a creek and a natural branch of the Gradaščica River in southwest Ljubljana. It flows south of and parallel to the Gradaščica and is the largest affluent of the river Ljubljanica. It is also known as ''Str� ...

Canal. Including its source affluent the Little Ljubljanica ( sl, Mala Ljubljanica), the river is in length. The Little Ljubljanica joins the Big Ljubljanica ( sl, Velika Ljubljanica) after and the river continues its course as the Ljubljanica. The Ljubljanica is the continuation of several

karst river Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

s that flow from the Prezid Karst Field ( sl, Prezidsko polje) to Vrhnika on the surface and underground in

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s, and so the river is poetically said to have seven names (six name changes): Trbuhovica,

Obrh Obrh Creek () is a losing stream that originates and terminates in the Lož Karst Field in the Municipality of Loška Dolina. It is a watercourse in the Ljubljanica watershed. It is created by the confluence of Little Obrh Creek ( sl, Mali Obrh) ...

, Stržen, Rak,

Pivka Pivka (, german: St. Peter in Krain, it, San Pietro del Carso) is a small town in Slovenia in the Pivka Basin in the Karst region. It is the seat of the Municipality of Pivka. It belongs to the traditional region of Inner Carniola. Name Pivka ...

, Unica, and Ljubljanica.

Archaeological significance

The Ljubljanica has become a popular site for archaeologists and treasure hunters to dive for lost relics and artifacts. Locations in the river between Ljubljana and Vrhnika have offered up pieces of history from the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...

to the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

, belonging to a variety of groups, from local ancient cultures to more well-known groups like the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

and the

Celts The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...

. One of the more significant findings is a yew spearhead, found in 2009 in

Sinja Gorica Sinja Gorica (; german: Schweinbüchl''Intelligenzblatt zur Laibacher Zeitung'', no. 141. 24 November 1849, p. 68. or Schweinsbüchel, later ''Scheinbüchel'') is a settlement immediately northwest of Vrhnika in the Inner Carniola region of Sloveni ...

. It has been dated to about 35,000 to 45,000 before present, the

Szeletian The Szeleta Culture is a transitional archaeological culture between the Middle Paleolithic and the Upper Palaeolithic, found in Austria, Moravia, northern Hungary, and southern Poland. It is dated 41,000 to 37,000 years before the present ( BP), ...

period, and supplements the scant data about the presence of Stone Age hunters in the

Ljubljana Marsh The Ljubljana Marsh ( sl, Ljubljansko barje), located south of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, is the largest marsh in the country. It covers or 0.8% of the Slovene territory. It is administered by the municipalities of Borovnica, Brezovica ...

area. Exactly why the Ljubljanica became an article dumping ground is unknown, but most historians believe that it is related to how local tradition has always held the river as a sacred place. These treasures may have been offered "to the river during rites of passage, in mourning, or as thanksgiving for battles won." The Ljubljanica has become a popular attraction in Europe for treasure hunters. This has created an ethical debate between local historians and international treasure seekers. It is believed that the river has offered up between 10,000 and 13,000 objects, of which many have been lost to the public. Many pieces have been sold into private collections, or are hidden away by the original treasure hunters. In 2003, to help curb this trend, Slovenia's national parliament declared the river a site of cultural importance and banned diving in it without a permit.

Gallery

Image:Ljubljanica.ogg, The Ljubljanica at

Nove Fužine Nove is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Vicenza in the region of Veneto, north-eastern Italy, with just over 5,000 inhabitants. It is located on the Brenta river, near Marostica and Bassano del Grappa. The town is home of a local netwo ...

File:Ljubljanica noč.JPG, Night view of the river File:Reflexion in river Ljubljanica.JPG, Reflection of houses at the Cankar Embankment File:Ljubjanica Ljubljana night Franciscan Church.jpg, Center of

with Annunciation Church in the background File:Ljubljanica river 01.jpg, The Ljubljanica from the Cobbler Bridge in Ljubljana File:Grad Bistra 01.jpg, One of the springs of the Ljubljanica at Bistra Castle near Vrhnika File:Ljubljanica 01.jpg, View of Ljubljana from the Ljubljanica

References

External links

Condition of Ljubljanica
- graphs, in the following order, of water level, flow and temperature data for the past 30 days (taken in Moste by

ARSO The Slovenian Environment Agency (Slovenian: ''Agencija Republike Slovenije za okolje'' or ''ARSO'') is the main organisation for environment of the Republic of Slovenia. It was established in 2001 with a reorganisation of the ''Hydrometeorological ...

) * https://web.archive.org/web/20070311005227/http://expo98.literal.si/eng/zakladi/vode-slovenije/ljubljanica.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20081011222409/http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0701/feature6/index.html {{Authority control Rivers of Inner Carniola Rivers of Ljubljana Transport in Ljubljana Stone Age sites in Slovenia Bronze Age sites in Slovenia Iron Age sites in Slovenia Roman sites in Slovenia Archaeology of Slovenia Underwater archaeological sites Protected areas in Ljubljana Articles containing video clips Ljubljana Marshes

Archaeological significance

Gallery

See also

References

External links