The Ljubljana city authorities are planning to cut down over a fifth of all trees from the castle hill for safety reasons, applying heli-logging to safely remove more than 200 trees that are slated for felling.

Together with experts at the Ljubljana Biotechnical Faculty, the municipality checked over 900 trees on the hill in the heart of the city, and 205 have been designated as potentially problematic and ready for felling according to various criteria.

"We're talking about just over 22% of the total number of trees recorded or 105 cubic metres of trees," Gregor Danev, head of the Slovenia Forest Service, told reporters at the Ljubljana mayor's weekly press conference on 8 October.

An open call to select the contractor is excpected to be published this month, and the municipality would like to see the work start this year. The project, which has been long in the making, will be carried out in stages.

Safety cited as main reason

The primary aim is to protect the residents and buildings at the foot of the castle hill, in the Old Town area, as well as to protect castle hill visitors, Deputy Mayor Rok Žnidaršič explained.

Some of the locals have expressed concerns about minor rockslides and called for measures to remedy the situation. The project will also seek to strengthen the protective role of the forest.

There will be protective measures in place during the project, such as a protective barrier and a bank stabilisation system. Due to the steep terrain and loose soil the logs will be airlifted by helicopter.

"This will be one of the few instances of heli-logging in Slovenia, which will make it a valuable experience for the future," Danev said.

Festive season not to be disrupted

Ljubljana Castle is the capital's main sight, attracting visitors and locals throughout the year. One of the busiest times is the festive month of December, which is fast approaching.

Mayor Zoran Janković said the municipality would adapt the timeline to make sure all of the planned events go ahead smoothly. The public will be notified about road or path closures and the sites where work is in progress will be fenced off.

A total of €1.2 million has been set aside for the project, but the final figure should be lower, according to the mayor.

Project likely to be met with opposition

The project is sure to capture a lot of public attention, not only because of heli-logging but also because of potential opposition by environmental campaigners and residents.

Last year, the municipality's massive tree-cutting campaign in the city's largest park Tivoli and at the Rožnik and Šišenski Hrib hills upset some locals and NGOs, who argued it was too extensive and the decision-making process lacked transparency.

The relevant inspectorate suspended the project, which started in December 2022, due to the municipality's failure to obtain a mandatory conservation opinion before starting works, but the campaign was given the go-ahead to resume in the end.