New Year's trip, or through Slovenia at a gallop. Celje, Maribor, Ptuj
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January 2 is the third day of our acquaintance with Slovenia. The morning is just wonderful, sunny and light frost, and now we have a different direction, and again three small cities of Slovenia are on our way, but these are one of the most ancient cities in the country.
Cele is one of the oldest cities in the country, located in the historical region of Lower Styria, at the confluence of two rivers. Celje is the third largest city in Slovenia. And the historical center and sights are easy to get around on foot. This is just for us, we have a gallop.
The city is located at the foot of a hill. In the Middle Ages, Celje was the only center of an independent Slovenian state. The settlements on this site were founded by the Celts, then they were conquered by the great Roman Empire. The Romans founded a city here and named it Celje. The settlement developed into one of the most prosperous Roman colonies. After the collapse of the empire, the city was destroyed by the Huns. Recovery began only in the early Middle Ages.
The acquaintance with the city began with the Celski House, a very pretty house, built by a Viennese architect, at first it was called the German House. And again the city is still sleeping, and we are alone again and no one bothers us.
One of the famous shrines of the city is the church of the Holy Virgin Mary. Beautiful building and architectural monument.
The next one on our way is the Prince's Palace, today in the building of the Museum of Local Lore. Next - the Old Count's Palace, built in the middle of the 15th century in the Renaissance style, in the photo it is in the very corner, a beautiful building. Now here is a museum.
We go out to the river embankment, the water is clear, the views are gorgeous.
Further along the path, the Water Tower is the southeastern part of the old city wall. The tower is from the 15th century and is one of only four still standing.
And then through the streets and back streets we return to the bus.
I had quite a bit of free time and I just walked around the town.
We left, but the city hasn't woken up yet. My memory of the city is like a small chest full of surprises, around every turn you can find something interesting. The main attraction is the castle, but we don't get there. The powerful fortress is covered with myths and legends, and no wonder, for 7 centuries the fortress and the castle. The castle is undergoing restoration work.
The next city is Maribor, the second largest city in Slovenia, located in the north-east of the country at the foot of Mount Pohorje and surrounded by a river. The city was founded in the 12th century, and was called the Duchy of Styria, which, of course, was first part of the Roman Empire. Now the city is the transport, industrial and wine-making center of Slovenia.
Our acquaintance with Moribor began with this sculpture:
But when we went to the embankment, and there is beauty. And again this simply “fabulous” color river, we go along the embankment to the winery.
The Mirabol winery is one of the oldest in Europe, and the vineyard is the oldest in the world. Now there is a museum here, but everything is closed on January 1-2, a day off, but still we don’t get in - a gallop.
We go to the city center, passing through the narrow streets, we come to the town hall square, however, the road is being repaired there, but the building did not get any worse from this, but it was not possible to take a picture without a fence.
Town Hall Square:
Passing past cafes that invite you to sit, but it's still early and everything is closed.
Maribor Bell Tower is located in the city center and is part of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. The temple was built in the 12th century, the bell tower was added later. Now the tower is a museum.
In the ancient castle of Maribor, built in the Middle Ages, there is a regional museum.
We go out to Freedom Square, the people are gradually waking up and already at the skating rink there are those who want to enjoy the winter.
And we continue to the oldest building in the city - this is the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. The church was built in the 12th century.
The tour ended and everyone dispersed to their activities, some went to dinner, and I have free time for self-examination.
The city is gradually waking up and people are coming to the cafe, good weather, a day off, rest.
And in this cafe I wanted to sit for a cup of coffee:
I also looked into these corners:
And this is how the city looks from the bridge:
And then the most delicious - tasting. We climb the mountains, pass vineyards, the bus is large and slightly fits into the turns. Everyone thought “what brought us here”, but it was not in vain. As they say now, a family business, they keep vineyards, make wine, and it’s so nice that on a day off they opened, kindled a fireplace, and generally prepared for the meeting. We sat, bought and went back to the city for the remaining group.
We pick up people and go to the next city - Ptuj, the northwestern part of Slovenia, a settlement in these places appeared before our era. In the 15th century BC. e. The settlement became part of the Roman Empire. All in all, a rich history.
The main attraction is the Ptuj Castle, also around the 9th-10th century. Here everyone very quickly examined the castle, walked along the Town Hall Square, looked at the City Tower, walked along the embankment. Everything is interesting, and this is the last town in Slovenia, but we still have Termi and further towards the house.
The route was drawn up so that we managed to see the most historically significant places in the country. The country is interesting and deserves more attention.
This is how our routes around Slovenia looked like, it was very comfortable to live in one city and just travel around the country.
