Ljubljanica in the context of Mali Graben

Emona (early Medieval Greek: Ἤμονα) or Aemona (short for Colonia Iulia Aemona) was a Roman castrum, located in the area where the navigable Nauportus River came closest to Castle Hill, serving the trade between the city's settlers – colonists from the northern part of Roman Italy – and the rest of the empire. Emona was the region's easternmost city, although it was assumed formerly that it was part of the Pannonia or Illyricum, but archaeological findings from 2008 proved otherwise.

The Visigoths camped by Emona in the winter of 408/9, the Huns attacked it during their campaign of 452, the Langobards passed through on their way to Italy in 568, and then came incursions by the Avars and Slavs. The ancient cemetery in Dravlje indicates that the original inhabitants and invaders were able to live peacefully side by side for several decades. After the first half of the 6th century, there was no life left in Emona. The 18th-century Ljubljana Renaissance elite shared the interest in Antiquity with the rest of Europe, attributing the founding of Ljubljana to the mythical Jason and the Argonauts. Other ancient Roman towns located in present-day Slovenia include Nauportus (now Vrhnika), Celeia (now Celje), Neviodunum (now the village of Drnovo) and Poetovio (now Ptuj).

Jože Plečnik (pronunciation) (23 January 1872 – 7 January 1957) was a Slovenian architect who had a major impact on the modern architecture of Vienna, Prague and of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, most notably by designing the iconic Triple Bridge and the Slovenian National and University Library building, as well as the embankments along the Ljubljanica River, the Ljubljana Central Market buildings, the Ljubljana cemetery, parks, plazas. His architectural imprint on Ljubljana has been compared to the impact Antoni Gaudí had on Barcelona.

His style is associated with the Vienna Secession style of architecture (a type of Art Nouveau), but he also has influences from the baroque tradition in Slovenia, as well as Byzantine and early eighteenth century Viennese architecture. Plečnik was one of the notable twentieth century masters who embraced historic forms and ideas, paying what he believed to be a debt to history. He remained a classicist of the Schinkel School, rejecting the more radical ideas of other European architects such as Walter Gropius. Besides in Ljubljana, he worked in Vienna, Belgrade and on Prague Castle. He influenced the avant-garde Czech Cubism. He is also a founding member of the Ljubljana School of Architecture, joining it upon an invitation by Ivan Vurnik, another notable Ljubljana architect.

Vrhnika (pronounced [ˈʋə̀ɾxnika] ; German: Oberlaibach; Latin: Nauportus) is a town in Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Vrhnika. It is located on the Ljubljanica River, 21 km from Ljubljana along the A1 motorway.

Podpeč (pronounced [pɔtˈpeːtʃ]) is a village on the right bank of the Ljubljanica River in the Municipality of Brezovica in central Slovenia. The municipality is part of the traditional region of Inner Carniola and is now included in the Central Slovenia Statistical Region.

Numerous artefacts dating from the Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman period, and the Middle Ages have been recovered from the river bed of the Ljubljanica. Until the 19th century, Podpeč was an important river port, particularly for the movement of building materials from nearby quarries for use in Ljubljana. The area has been declared an archaeological site of national importance by the Slovenian Ministry of Culture.

Nauportus (Navport, Navportus) (Ancient Greek: Ναύπορτον) was an ancient Roman town in Pannonia Superior (later 10th Italian region) on the road from Aquileia to Emona with a port at the Nauportus river, now the Ljubljanica River, Slovenia.

Strabo wrote that near the Nauportus was a river, called Corcoras (Ancient Greek: Κορκόρας), which received the cargoes.