Ptuj

Slovenia's oldest town: a castle above the Drava, medieval lanes, Haloze wines and the UNESCO-listed Kurent carnival.

Slovenia's oldest town

Ptuj was born Roman: Poetovio was one of the largest cities of Pannonia, and the town that grew from it is considered Slovenia's oldest. Seen from the banks of the Drava, its orange rooftops line up beneath the white castle — a panorama worth the 25-minute detour from Maribor on its own. Medieval lanes, the town tower, monasteries and a regional museum inside the castle: everything is walkable.

Kurentovanje, the carnival of the Kurenti

In late February, the Kurenti — shaggy figures in sheepskins with bells at their belts — chase winter out of the streets. Kurentovanje is inscribed on UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list and remains Slovenia's biggest carnival. We covered it in detail in our article on the Ptuj carnival.

Haloze wines and thermal baths

South of town, the Haloze hills roll out some of the country's steepest, most spectacular vineyards, and Ptuj's historic wine cellar is reputed to be among Slovenia's oldest. After the tasting, Terme Ptuj — a water park and saunas on the Drava — rounds off the programme, a favourite with families.

Roman Poetovio: mithraea and the Orpheus Monument

From Poetovio, Ptuj keeps a rare Roman inheritance: several sanctuaries of Mithras — the mithraea — preserved in situ, some open to visitors in their protective pavilions, and the Orpheus Monument, a 2nd-century stele standing on the main square, recycled in the Middle Ages as a pillory. Few towns this size in Europe can line up such historical depth along a single street.

Getting there

Ptuj is 25 minutes from Maribor and 1h45 from Ljubljana by motorway. For an unusual experience on the Drava, see our report on gold panning on the river.

Photo: focusonmore.com — CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.