Friday, February 25, 2011

One of my favorite public projects- city planning in Ljubljana




The Path of Rememberance and Comradeship - The Green Ring, Ljubljana is also known as the Green Ring. This is a gravel paved foot path made for recreational purpose and it runs all around the city. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Ljubljana. The entire path is around 33 kilometers in length. The path goes through both urban regions and the forests and the surrounding meadows as well. The path also runs along the course of barb wire fence. This fence also surrounded the city of Ljubljana during the time of the Second World War. This was constructed by the German and the Italian forces to prevent contacts of the city with its hinterland. This fence was guarded by 400 policemen and 1,300 soldiers. They used check the identity papers of the travelers going to and from the city. The visitors must take a walk along the Path of Rememberance and Comradeship - The Green Ring, Ljubljana.


The Path was completed in 1985. Since the liberation of
the city until 1962, 102 memorial octagonal stones were
laid along the line where the wire fence ran during the
occupation. These marked the positions of the bunkers of
the occupying army. The designer of the memorial stones
was the architect Vlasto Kopač. The PST is presently 4m
wide, almost 33 km long and covered with gravel. Along
the green area adjacent to the PST 7,400 trees of 49 tree
species have been planted. Landscaping was performed
by youth brigades and numerous volunteers who did more
than 350,000 hours of work. The Path of Remembrance and
Comradeship was proclaimed by a City Council decree in
1988 as a unique historical monument of landscaped nature
and is outstanding even by world standards. Based on an
idea by the architect Janez Koželj, PST has been fitted with
standard signposts, information boards, plaques and metal
floor markings, as well as flagpoles at the turn-offs.
The PST is also termed the Green Ring of Ljubljana
as it runs under the shade of trees that enclose it. The
name Green Ring was adopted by the society who, with
the tenacious work of volunteers, Želva (a company
employing disabled persons) and funds from Ljubljana
City Council, are successfully maintaining the PST.



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