A medieval town
Ljubljana Old Town in all its medieval glory ... This kite aerial view of Stari (Old), Gornji (Upper) and Levstik Squares, and Rožna (Flower) street encompasses the heart of Ljubljana's Old Town, the centre of the medieval settlement that begun in around year 1000, was first mentioned in Nomina defunctorum parchment between 1112 and 1125 (VII. kalendis Decembris Rodulfus advocatus obiit, qui XX mansos iuxta castrum Leibach canonicis dedit), and was granted market rights in 12
Death on the Plain - Iron Age Burial Mounds of Podlože
In the middle of the fertile plain below Ptujska Gora, south of river Drava, stands a group of burial mounds or barrows. They date to the 7th and 6th century BCE - Early Iron Age - and are a part of a wider Lower Styrian Hallstatt culture. The burial complex as seen from a kite. The first exploration of the mounds was done in 1906; due to lack of modern archaeological methods - and the treasure hunt frenzy - the finds are scattered (most of them are probably in the museum of
A Pearl of Gothic Art - St. Mary the Protectress at Ptujska Gora
In the south of Drava plain the land rises from the rich fields to the hills called Haloze. This is a poor, underdeveloped region of Slovenia, but one can find two treasures here: the people, and the fascinating Minor basilica of St. Mary the Protectress at Ptujska Gora. Built at the end of 14th century and finished in 1410 this large Gothic church with three naves is probably the most outstanding example of sacral architecture in Slovenia. The centerpiece of delicate interio
Sweet & Sour
In our last post we showed you Ormož Basins Nature Reserve, an extremely important bird sanctuary that was created on the former wastewater disposal pools of Tovarna Sladkorja Ormož (TSO; Ormož Sugar Factory). Now we'd like to show you the former factory itself. Ormož Sugar Factory today, with "Ormož Sea" - a hydroepower reservoir on river Drava. The fertile fields on the plains of the lower Drava river are perfect for growing sugar beets. And since sugar is somewhat of a str
Sugar and Birds (and Buffaloes): Ormož Basins Nature Reserve
A rare - and sweet - story of a fruitful cooperation of nature conservationists and heavy industry. The fertile fields of Prlekija by the river Drava are perfect for growing sugar beet, so a sugar factory was built in Ormož in 1979. The processing of sugar beets into sugar requires special wastewater disposal pools (those are actually shallow basins filled with water and leftover soil and beet peels, regularly dredged). The pools of Ormož Sugar Factory soon attracted birds an
Enchanting Prlekija
Prlekija is a region of Slovenia that's not defined by physical borders, but rather by language, the Prlekija dialect; a melodic, dreamy language that reflects all the different landscapes, its rich and tumultuous history, the sun and the wine (and that all the other Slovenes can not understand at all). Prlekija has hills and vineyards, fertile plains by rivers Drava, Dravinja, Mura and Scavnica, swampy forests and oxbow lakes, cute little villages and ancient towns. A truly
