The row of linden trees was planted around 1810. According to local tradition, the trees paid tribute to Napoleon’s marriage to Maria Louisa of Austria. At the time, Napoleon had incorporated most of present-day Slovenia into his Illyrian Provinces, under which the Slovenian people enjoyed greater cultural autonomy than ever before, and their language finally attained official status.

Even after Napoleon’s eventual defeat, the promenade continued to honor Napoleon. While it provided generations of locals and travelers with almost two kilometers of shade, its symbolism was just as important; the people of Logatec embraced the 290 trees and their historical connections, which recalled an unusual, often romanticized period in Slovenian history.

The carriages and wagons that once made their way past the trees were eventually replaced by cars, but the trees remained, and in the 1980s, they became protected by law. Some of the trees were lost to disease and storms over the years, but the promenade managed to remain largely unchanged until 2016. That’s when dozens of the historical trees were chopped down amid great controversy. The authorities decided to remove the trees because of disease and widespread damage from a recent ice storm, but many locals remained unconvinced of the need for such drastic intervention. The controversy underscored the locals’ attachment to a promenade that has become one of the most enduring symbols of their home town.