130th ANNIVERSARY OF THE LJUBLJANA EARTHQUAKE

One hundred and thirty years ago, a devastating earthquake shook Ljubljana, profoundly shaping the city’s appearance and future development. To mark this important anniversary, we present a short commemorative video that brings to life historical footage of the earthquake’s aftermath using artificial intelligence tools. Using AI, we revived digitized photographs by Wilhelm Helfer — coloring them and enriching them with depth and movement to offer a completely new, vivid perspective of Ljubljana at the time.

The video is not just a reflection on the past—it also offers a glimpse into the future. It showcases how cultural heritage in digital form opens up new avenues for storytelling, encourages innovative approaches to reuse, and bring the rich collections of the National and University Library (NUK) closer to a wider audience. We’ve also introduced a digital assistant named Vid, who learned (also) from our materials and enables interactive exploration of the 1895 Ljubljana earthquake. Vid draws on NUK’s holdings and publicly accessible sources. By combining memory and the use of AI, we have reached a new milestone in the development of the Digital Library of Slovenia, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary this autumn.

“It felt as though it were coming from afar. It grew and turned into a dreadful and terrifying rumble. The ground began to sway, first gently, then all at once with such tremendous force that one's blood froze. Everything cracked and collapsed. It felt as though an abyss had opened and the entire city was vanishing into it. A thousand cries could be heard, screams of pain and desperate weeping. Walls cracked and fell, roofs shattered and caved in, chimneys crumbled, and bricks poured into the streets from every direction.”

(Josip Paulin: The Easter Earthquake of April 14, 1895, and the Emperor’s Visit, 1895)

Video
Concept, material selection, and script: Maj Blatnik, Irena Eiselt, PhD, Urša Kocjan, Mojca Trtnik
Audio-visual design: Maj Blatnik
Material digitization: Andreja Knapič, Tanja Prevejšek
AI tools used in video production: Google Veo 2, Kling 1.6 (Elements, Pro, Classic), Minimax, Runway Gen-3, Pika.com, and DeOldify
Music: Envato.com

Website
Text: Tomaž Bešter, Jana Kolar, PhD
Website design and development: Eva Malalan, Ajda Zavrtanik Drglin, Andreja Hari
Digital assistant development: Bakir Toskić, Ajda Zavrtanik Drglin
Tools used for digital assistant creation: Chatbase

Production: National and University Library, 2025
Project lead: Jana Kolar, PhD

With special thanks to the Geological Survey of Slovenia for contributing grey literature.

Sources

Anonimno (1895). O ljubljanskem potresu. Dom in svet (Ljubljana), letnik 8, številka 10. URN:NBN:SI:DOC-76OWW5ZA
Narodna in univerzitetna knjižnica
Armič, Josip (1895). Ljubljana ob potresu 1895. URN:NBN:SI:IMG-BPNNFEGI
Narodna in univerzitetna knjižnica, G Gr I 717
Helfer, Wilhelm (1895). Adamič-Lundrovo nabrežje. URN:NBN:SI:IMG-7LHMCBK8
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Helfer, Wilhelm (1895). Gosposka ulica (pogled proti Knežjemu dvorcu). URN:NBN:SI:IMG-5S3A3ISL
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Helfer, Wilhelm (1895). Kongresni trg (Uršulinska cerkev sv. Trojice). URN:NBN:SI:IMG-59TD67Z2
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Helfer, Wilhelm (1895). Krakovski nasip (zasilna bivališča v zeljarskih sodih). URN:NBN:SI:IMG-KA7BWKLW
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Helfer, Wilhelm (1895). Levstikov trg (Deželno redutno poslopje in cerkev sv. Jakoba). URN:NBN:SI:IMG-WMOM146G
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Helfer, Wilhelm (1895). Zaloška cesta (notranji minister Marquis Bacquehem pregleduje garnizijsko bolnico). URN:NBN:SI:IMG-D50IN5UI
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Helfer, Wilhelm (1895). Župančičeva ulica (Deželno gledališče, danes SNG Opera in balet). URN:NBN:SI:IMG-5772HU68
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Hribar, Anton (1895). Ne obupuj, Ljubljana bela!. Dom in svet (Ljubljana), letnik 8, številka 10. URN:NBN:SI:DOC-BXISNU32
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Lampe, Frančišek (1895). Razne misli po potresu. Dom in svet (Ljubljana), letnik 8, številka 11. URN:NBN:SI:DOC-8LS4DVBX
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Ljubljana – Laibach (1921?). https://plus.cobiss.net/cobiss/si/sl/bib/232026371
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