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On 8th February, the Slovenian National Day of Culture, Slovenes turn to their greatest romantic poet France Prešeren, who is credited for his revolutionary contribution in turning Slovenes from half-literate peasants to a self-aware nation. As a central figure to the nation'sidentity, Prešeren's statue on "his" square is one of the central sights of Ljubljana. This iconic landmark, created by Ivan Zajec in 1905 under Mayor Ivan Hribar, portrays the poet with hismuse. At the time, the statue wasa matter of some controversy as Bishop Jeglič was disturbedby the topless musein the vicinity of the cathedral.

In the 20th century, Ljubljana wasdecorated by a series of sculptures, many of them with themesthe WWII resistance and socialism. In 2010, Ljubljana saw a renaissance in sculpture. Many new statues appeared in busy places. One is the one of the already-mentioned Mayor Hribar, situated at Breg. Hribar is recognized as one of the most prominent people in Ljubljana's history. A liberal politician, credited for the reconstruction of the city after the earthquake in 1895,he was denied his last mayoral term by Kaiser Franz Joseph II, because of his support ofanti-German protests in 1908. He continued hisbrilliant political and diplomat career until his suicide in 1941, as a protest to the Italian occupation.

The Fascist occupation, which took many of Ljubljana's people to the labour camps, resulted in women'sprotests, which were violently broken up. At one such gathering,women rallied in front of the Diocese, begging the Bishop to intervene with the occupiers to release their relatives. Apillar was raised in 1953, with an engraved finger pointing at the Diocese, was essentially anti-clerical and was removed in 1991. In 2010, a new statue of "the women" was installed to commemorate the historical event, this time without shaming references to the church.

Another set of statues,which you will probably encounterare those on the new Mesarski most (Butcher's Bridge), leading to the central market. It is a sculptural opus by Jakov Brdar, featuring Adam and Eve, a Satyr and Prometheus, as the characters in a story of the life of butchers.