Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders
Slovenia is a country rich in history and cultural heritage, with many historic sites that showcase its diverse past.
Ljubljana Castle
Photo from Flickr, copyright Lorenzo L M.
Ljubljana Castle stands above the downtown of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. Originally a Medieval fortress, probably built in the 11th century and rebuilt in the 12th century, it acquired its present outline with an almost complete overhaul in the 15th century, whereas the majority of the buildings date to the 16th and 17th centuries. At first a defense structure and since the first half of the 14th century the seat of the lords of Carniola, it was since the early 19th century used as a penitentiary, then in the first half of the 20th century as a residential complex and in the latest ti ...
St. George's Cathedral
Photo from Flickr, copyright Janis Mogie
Above the compact Piran town centre reigns St. George"s Cathedral, which gives the city its special character. It was probably built in the 12th century, but no exact data in this regard exists.
In the 14th century, it was built to its present size. In the year 1344, on the Day of St. George, the cathedral was consecrated by nine bishops from near and far. It acquired its present appearance after Baroque renovation in the year 1637. The Bell Tower was completed in 1608, and the Baptistery in the year 1650. During these years, reinforcements were made to the hill on which the cathedral re ...
Bled Castle
Bled Castle is built on a precipice above the city of Bled in Slovenia, overlooking Lake Bled. According to written sources, it is the oldest Slovenian castle and is currently one of the most visited tourist attractions in Slovenia.
The history of the castle reaches back to 1004 when the German Emperor Henry II gave his estate at Bled to Bishop Albuin of Brixen. At that time, only a Romanesque tower protected by walls stood in the place of the present day castle. The first castle was built in approximately 1011 but the Bishops of Brixen never resided there. This is precisely why the castle ha ...
Predjama Castle
Photo from Flickr, copyright Shadowgate
Predjama Castle is a Renaissance castle built within a cave mouth in the historical region of Inner Carniola. The castle was first mentioned in the year 1274 with the German name Luegg, when the Patriarch of Aquileia built the castle in Gothic style. The castle was built under a natural rocky arch high in the stone wall to make access to it difficult. It was later acquired and expanded by the Luegg noble family, also known as the Knights of Adelsberg (the German name of Postojna).
The castle became known as the seat of the knight Erazem Lueger, lord of the castle in the 15th century and a ren ...
Celje Castle
Celje Castle was once the largest fortification on Slovenian territory. The first fortified building on the site (a Romanesque palace) was built in the first half of the 13th century by the Counts of Heunburg from Carinthia on the stony outcrop on the western side of the ridge where the castle stands. It had five sides, or four plus the southern side, which was a natural defence. The first written records of the castle date back to between 1125 and 1137; it was probably built by Count Gunter. In the western section of the castle, there was a building with several floors. Remains of the walls o ...
Ptuj Castle
Photo from Flickr, copyright wuestenigel
The mighty Ptuj Castle was built in the mid-12th century, when it was constructed to defend against the Hungarians. The oldest written record about the castle is by the chronicler of the Salzburg archbishop Konrad I, who occupied this position from 1106 to 1147. The old chronicler wrote that Konrad I had the castle rebuilt on the site of the old demolished one. That means that even before the 12th century, there was a constructed castle. What remains of it is the west tower, which belongs, according to the architecture, to the 10th or even the 9th century. In that period, there were most proba ...
Piran Town Walls
Photo from Flickr, copyright Norbert Bánhidi
Significant parts of the city walls of Piran remain well-preserved. Piran's three walls were built in response to the city's expansion. The first wall was built in the 7th century, separating the town into four streets. The first wall can be seen in the old part of the town. The wall was moved south-west when new streets were built. The fortification wall, which was built along the southern coast of the town, hasn't changed much since it was first built.
In the final phases of expansion between 1470 and 1538, the second fortification wall was built to protect the peninsula during construction ...
Hrastovlje Church
Photo from Flickr, copyright jodastephen
Holy Trinity Church is a historical building in Hrastovlje. There are two hypotheses about its origin. According to the first, it is a Romanesque church from the 12th century. According to the second, it is an example of the Istrian variant of Early Venetian Renaissance architecture from the 15th century. The church stands behind a wall that the local population built to protect itself from Turkish attacks in the 16th century.
The church and wall were built on bare rock, and for this reason do not have deep foundations. The church is built mostly out of stone, as is typical for the entire coa ...
Velenje Castle
By form and function, PeleÅŸ is a palace, but it is consistently called a castle. Its architectural style is a romantically inspired blend Neo-Renaissance and Gothic Revival similar to Schloss Neuschwanstein inBavaria. A Saxon influence can be observed in the interior courtyard facades, which have allegorical hand-painted murals and ornate fachwerk similar to that seen in northern European alpine architecture. Interior decoration is mostly Baroque influenced, with heavy carved woods and exquisite fabrics.
PeleÅŸ Castle has a 3,200-square-metre (34,000 sq ft) floor plan with over 170 room ...
Idrija
Photo from Flickr, copyright Uros P.hotography
Heritage of Mercury. Almadén and Idrija is a joint UNESCO World Heritage site in Almadén, Spain, and Idrija, Slovenia. The property encompasses two mercury mining sites. In Almadén mercury has been extracted since Antiquity, while in Idrija it was first found in 1490. The sites bear testimony to the intercontinental trade in mercury which generated important exchanges between Europe and America over the centuries. The two sites represent the two largest mercury mines in the world and were operational until recent times. Mercury played an important role in extracting gold and silver from ore ...