Originally named 'The Jubliee Bridge of the Emporer Franz Josef I', to commemorate his forty year rule. It was not renamed 'Dragon Bridge' until July 1919. Replacing and older oak bridge, the bridge was part of a larger urban renovation plan by then mayor, Ivan Hribar.

At the time it was the first bridge in Slovenia to be paved with asphalt, the first re-inforced concrete bridge in Ljubljana and one of the earliest re-inforced concrete bridges in Europe. At its time of opening, it was also the third largest arch in Europe. 

Legend suggests that Jason was the founder of Ljubljana and that he and his Argonauts killed a dragon. Local legend accords, that when a virgin crosses the bridge, the dragons wag their tails.