Pairs of green griffins or gryphons with curved eagle beaks support the lamp standards along the balustrades of the Dragon Bridge spanning the River Ljubljanica at Ljubljana, Slovenia – companions to four fearsome-looking and much larger green copper dragons that guard the four corners of the structure. The bridge was built in Art Nouveau / Vienna Secession style to designs by Dalmatian architect and engineer Jurij Zaninović (1876-1946) and opened to traffic in 1901, when Ljubljana was a city in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Ljubljana, Slovenia: pairs of green griffins with the curved beaks of eagles support the lamp standards along the balustrades of the Dragon Bridge spanning the River Ljubljanica – companions to the four fierce-looking and much larger green copper dragons on pedestals that guard the four corners of the structure. A griffin, griffon or gryphon is a mythical and legendary creature with the body, tail and back legs of a lion and the head, beak and wings of an eagle. Some, such as these, also have the front feet of a lion, while others in antiquity, heraldry and art have eagle talons instead. As the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts, and the eagle the king of birds, in medieval times griffins were seen as powerful and majestic creatures and were thought to guard treasure and priceless possessions. The Dragon Bridge was built in Art Nouveau / Vienna Secession style to designs by Dalmatian architect and engineer Jurij Zaninović (1876-1946) (known in Italy as Giorgio Zaninovich). It opened to traffic in 1901, when Ljubljana was a city in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was originally named the Jubilee Bridge of the Emperor Franz Josef, but renamed as the Dragon Bridge in 1919. The triple-hinged arch structure was one of Europe’s earliest reinforced concrete bridges.
Size: 4256px × 2832px
Location: Dragon Bridge, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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