Editing Ljubljana (section)

==Dragon symbol==
The city's symbol is the [[Ljubljana Dragon]]. It is depicted on the top of the tower of [[Ljubljana Castle]] in the Ljubljana coat of arms and on the Ljubljanica-crossing [[Dragon Bridge (Ljubljana)|Dragon Bridge]] ({{lang|sl|Zmajski most}}).<ref name="ARCH1242">{{cite book |author=C Abdunur |title=ARCH'01: Troisième conferénce internationale sur les ponts en arc |publisher=Presses des Ponts |year=2001 |isbn=978-2-85978-347-1 |page=124}}</ref> It represents power, courage, and greatness.

Several explanations describe the origin of the Ljubljana Dragon. According to a [[Slavic mythology|Slavic]] myth, the slaying of a dragon releases the waters and ensures the fertility of the earth, and it is thought that the myth is tied to the [[Ljubljana Marsh]], the expansive marshy area that periodically threatens Ljubljana with flooding.<ref name="Exhib_20102">[http://www.mgml.si/media/katalog_9_5.pdf Exhibition catalogue Emona: myth and reality] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105154411/http://www.mgml.si/media/katalog_9_5.pdf |date=5 November 2013}}; Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana 2010</ref> According to [[Greek mythology|Greek legend]], the [[Argonauts]] on their return home after having taken the [[Golden Fleece]] found a large lake surrounded by a marsh between the present-day towns of [[Vrhnika]] and Ljubljana. There [[Jason]] struck down a monster. This monster evolved into the [[dragon]] that today is present in the city coat of arms and flag.<ref name="InfoDragon2">{{cite web |title=The dragon – city emblem |url=http://www.ljubljana.si/en/about-ljubljana/images-of-ljubljana/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907174416/http://www.ljubljana.si/en/about-ljubljana/images-of-ljubljana/ |archive-date=7 September 2015 |access-date=2 August 2015 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

It is historically more believable that the dragon was adopted from [[Saint George]], the patron of the Ljubljana Castle chapel built in the 15th century. In the legend of Saint George, the dragon represents the old ancestral [[paganism]] overcome by [[Christianity]]. According to another explanation, related to the second, the dragon was at first only a decoration above the city coat of arms. In the [[Baroque]], it became part of the coat of arms and, in the 19th and especially the 20th century, it outstripped the tower and other elements in importance.