St. Peter's Bridge ( or , in older sources also ''Šent Peterski most'' or ''Šentpeterski most''), also Ambrož Bridge (), is a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

, the capital of Slovenia, that crosses the river

Ljubljanica The Ljubljanica (), known in the Middle Ages as the ''Leybach'', is a river in the southern part of the Ljubljana Basin in Slovenia. The capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana, lies on the river. The Ljubljanica rises south of the town of Vrhnika and ...

in the northeastern end of the old town. It is a continuation of Rozman Street (). West of it lie Vraz Square () on the northern (left) bank of the river and

Ambrož Square Ambrož is a given name and surname in Czech and Slovene derived from Ambrosius. Equivalent spellings in other languages are listed under See also. People * Ambrož Hradecký (died 1439), Czech priest, preacher, and political leader * Berta Ambro� ...

() on its southern (right) bank. East of it lies the Petkovšek Embankment () on the northern bank and the Poljane Embankment () on the southern bank. The bridge is named after the nearby St. Peter's Church. It is intended primarily for motorised traffic, but is also used by pedestrians.

History

Originally, a wooden

footbridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

held over the Ljubljanica on the site. It was property of Bishops of Ljubljana, who used it to access their land on the other bank. According to a legend, unconfirmed by historical sources, Bishop

Thomas Chrön Thomas Chrön (; November 13, 1560 – February 10, 1630) was a Carniolan Roman Catholic priest, bishop of Ljubljana, and patron of the arts.Rajhman, Jože, & Emilijan Cevc. 1990. Tomaž Hren. ''Enciklopedija Slovenije'', vol. 4, pp. 50–5 ...

(1560–1630) led a procession of the Blessed Sacrament across the footbridge, guarded from the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

s by the blacksmiths of Ljubljana. The story tells that the Chrön Cross at nearby Grain Square (), now

, was erected in remembrance of their victory. In 1776, the wooden ''Bridge Behind the Barracks'' () replaced the footbridge. It was built to link St. Peter's Barracks north of the river and the Poljane residential district south of it. In 1835, it was replaced by a new one. There were actually two bridges, the wider one used by draft animals and the narrower one by pedestrians, and from the beginning of the 20th century, by the Ljubljana tram. The construction of the present iron and concrete bridge started at the beginning of the 20th century. Due to World War I, it was only completed in 1918. The wooden bridge was transferred to the Prule neighbourhood, where it then served as the

Prule Bridge The Prule Bridge () or the Brickmakers' Bridge () is a bridge crossing the Ljubljanica River in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is located in the Trnovo District to the south of the Ljubljana old town and links the residential districts of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Peter's Bridge Bridges in Ljubljana Bridges over the Ljubljanica Road bridges in Slovenia Center District, Ljubljana Concrete bridges Bridges completed in 1918 20th-century architecture in Slovenia