Nastanek in razvoj ljubljanskega Mestnega trga do leta 1300 v luči rezultatov arheoloških raziskav

Archaeological research carried out in the old town centre in 2009 and 2016 yielded important information regarding Ljubljana’s development. The earliest archaeological traces of the medieval settlement in the Town Square area near the present-day Triple Bridge point to a pre-urban core of the subsequent town, which began to develop before the mid-twelfth century, which at least roughly coincided with the time when the Spanheim family arrived in central Carniola. Then followed urban planning. The streets were laid out before the plots were marked out and build on. Such an ambitious project was usually not part of the town’s natural evolution but a result of organizationally and financially complex reconstruction of the existing settlement, which can be understood as the founding of the town. According to archaeological data and mentions in written sources, Ljubljana may have been founded during the period of Herman of Spanheim (1161–1181), Duke of Carinthia. However, it is not excluded that this already happened during the time of his brothers Henry (1144–1161) or Ulrich. The latter was the first to name himself after Ljubljana in 1144.