One of the distinctive features of Prekmurje used to be mills on the Mura River, but only two of them survive. The mill is powered by Mura’s water flow that turns the waterwheel. Some mills are fully floating, while for others, only the waterwheel floats on water. The floating mill at Ižakovci was built as a cultural attraction in 1999, representing a picturesque link between the present and the past. It provides a concrete example of how people used to live in harmony with nature, exploiting the force of water without exerting harmful effects on the environment. Before World War II, there were supposedly more than 90 such watermills on the Mura River. The still active Babič Mill is particularly interesting, as you can buy flour that was ground there. The traditional business of the Babič family has passed on from generation to generation. The first mill was built in 1928, while all waterwheels built by 1990 were swept away by the flooding waters. The current waterwheel is the fourth in a row.

According to legend, the crusaders stopped here on one of the hills to rest during their travel to the Holy Land. They were warmly welcomed by the locals, who offered them wine that was just heavenly. The crusaders decided to stay there and name the place Jeruzalem.

Today, Jeruzalem is a picturesque village founded around Mary’s church from 1652. The church boasts the picture of the Mother of God, which is said to have been brought by the crusaders from the Holy Land. There is the Jeruzalem mansion next to the church, which is now transformed into a boutique hotel with a rich botanical garden well worth a visit. Jeruzalem is also the highest peak around, reaching 341 m. When the weather is clear, you can see as far as Lake Balaton.

In this part of Slovenia, people used to make wine long before the Romans came. The wine-growing hills of Ljutomersko-Ormoške gorice in Prlekija have always provided optimum conditions for making white wines. The vineyards enjoy plenty of sun, cool nights and soil rich in minerals originating from the era of the Pannonian Sea ten million years ago. The best vineyards in the region are located on top of the hills, which surround the gem of the region, the village of Jeruzalem. This is the place where some of the best wines are born.

Furmint is a local variety considered the pride of Jeruzalem and Prlekija. It features an excellent character, distinctive freshness and rich taste.

According to legend, its name (šipon in Slovenian) originates from the times of Napoleonic wars. The locals offered a glass of their wine to the soldiers for refreshment, and the soldiers expressed their delight by saying: “C'est si bon!” (This is good!). The locals had difficulties understanding them and thought they said “šipon”.

The bird-scaring rattle is the guardian of the vineyards and scares off the birds while the grapes mature. A traditional Prlekian bird-scaring rattle has four paddles, and each part is supposed to be made from a different type of wood. It is said it has a special power to protect vineyards, and not only against pests. Around here, the bird-scarring rattles are erected on the Assumption Day, 15 August, or even before, on St. Lawrence Day, 10 August.

At Hermanci, on top of the Prlekian Strmec Hill, there is the greatest bird-scarring rattle in the world!

It all began just like in a fairy tale. Once upon a time, there was a young master called Tomaž who created delicious chocolate kisses for his beloved Jasmina ... The estate's tradition grew into exceptional chocolate delights enriching the wide range of local delicacies. You can taste and buy chocolate with the taste of pumpkin, the Prekmurje gibanica cake, the hurka grape or Traminer wine. Of course, you can also get the standard ones with hazelnuts or walnuts as well as others.

The estate also grows and makes other delicacies, allowing you can choose from a wide range of excellent products. The foodies will be excited about excellent wine, liquors, pumpkin oil, a number of spreads, jams and home-dried meats.

Jože Plečnik was born on 23 January 1872 in a modest house near the centre of Ljubljana as the third of four children. Since he did not excel in school, he father took him in to his joinery shop. Thanks to the state scholarship, he continued his schooling at the State Trades School in Graz and learned to be cabinet-maker and furniture designer. In Vienna, after a year of working with the architect Wagner, he enrolled in the academy in 1895. After three years of study, he graduated as the best in his class, which earned him the Roman grant allowing him to travel to Italy and France. Following his return, he stayed with Wagner for another year, and started an independent path in 1900. In this capacity, he renovated or built several buildings, notably the Zacherl Palace and the Church of the Holy Spirit. In early 1911, Plečnik was active in Prague as professor at the arts craft school, but during the first ten years he spent in Prague, he did not build much. The work at the Hradcany Castle and gardens did not begin until 1920 and were completed in 1934. The Czechoslovak President Masaryk asked him to create symbols of the new state that the people would recognise and follow. He absolutely succeeded. During the work performed on the castle, he also renovated the President’s residence at the Lany Castle and built the Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord at Vinohrady.

Almost at the same time when he was appointed the principal architect in charge of the Prague Castle renovation, he also took up the position of professor in the architecture department at the newly established University of Ljubljana. This was the time when his first work in Ljubljana was realised (old technical faculty, Spiritual Exercises retreat house and an annexe to an old house in Trnovo). Later on, he designed Saint Francis of Assisi Church in the Šiška district and the Church of the Ascension in Bogojina, the Orli society stadium, the Mutual Insurance building (now Triglav) and the Loan Society in Celje. The 1930s were the period of major urban development projects in Ljubljana, known from the literature as Plečnik’s Ljubljana. He gained world fame by genius solutions such as the Triple Bridge and the Covered Market, the arrangements of the banks of Ljubljanica as well as the Congress Square and Tivoli Park. Special mentions also go to the National and University Library, the Ursuline Grammar School, the Church of Sts. Cyril and Methodius in the Bežigrad district, the Žale Cemetery and the Church of St. Michael at the Ljubljana Marshes. After World War II, he built several memorials to the National Liberation Struggle, renovated the Križanke outdoor theatre, arranged the Kranj theatre, renovated the Church of St. Benedict in Stranje and the Church of St. Mary in Ponikve. Global architecture considers him to be one of the best architects of his era.

Less than 50 years ago, pottery used to be the most wide-spread craft in Prekmurje. In some parts of the region, clay soil was the source of the basic raw material. There were pottery guilds active in many villages. In some of the villages, there were dozens of potters operating. Villages that were highly known for the number of potters were Filovci, Kobilje, Bogojina, Tešanovci, Lončarovci, Sebeborci ...

Prekmurje is known for black pottery without glazing and with almost no decorations. Useful vessels were mostly made: vases, jugs, baking trays and narrowed-necked jugs known as pütre.

Ocean Orchids is a company dating back 10 years and employing 40 people. In a year, they grow two million orchids. The company is environment-friendly, as their way of growing orchids has the lowest carbon print in Europe. Their location provides a strategic advantage of using geothermal energy, which is one of the most important renewable energy resources. In the village of Dobrovnik, in a place covered by the Pannonian Sea a few million years ago, a tropical greenhouse was built. What looks like a simple idea at a first glance is a fruit of several years of research and development supported by youthful energy and passion for the unusual world of orchids. Their excellent results have proven that this way of cultivation in this part of Slovenia and Europe is highly efficient, as they use 20% less energy than other orchid greenhouses. Near the greenhouse, a geothermal well was drilled, which ensures water for heating the greenhouse and allows for a successful growth of tropical plants. The well drains 85% of the geothermal energy needed for heating the greenhouse. The production and sales at Ocean Orchids have the lowest environmental impact in Europe. Compared to other producers, their CO2 emissions into the environment amount to only 6%. As the only orchid growers in this part of Europe, they will continue to improve their carbon print and upgrade the technology by increasing the scale of growing tropical orchids.

Beekeeping is a traditional agricultural activity in Slovenia; the beekeeper's main task is to harvest bee products (mostly honey) from the hives.

Picking honey from hives depends on hives, usually the back or upper part of the hive is removed. To keep the bees calm, they need to be "smoked", which means the bee smoker is used to calm them down. Then the beekeeper takes out the boxes with honey cells from the hive. He takes out full frames, and inserts the empty ones, so that bees can fill them. With a special tool he opens the cells and extracts the honey, which is then filtered, and the result is a dense sweet honey that is ready for use.

Most beekeepers occupy themselves with beekeeping because of the production of honey, but beekeeping is much more than just honey production. This is a very diversified activity and because of this, beekeepers have a good chance of developing entrepreneurial ideas in beekeeping. They can opt for a larger number of queens and bee families, focus on marketing and in the opening of sales space - e.g. home-made beekeeping rooms or produce quality Slovenian honey with a protected geographical indication. They may opt for the production of pollen or royal jelly.

Among the beekeeping devices are personal equipment and tools with which the beekeeper takes care for a tidy beehive. Personal equipment is necessary, each beginner as well as a beekeeper with several hives needs to have it, because he must be protected from bee stings. The basic equipment includes a protective net or headgear that can be placed on another headgear or is placed on a hat with wide ends. For the protection of hands, special gloves are needed, which have suitable design, with rubber above the palms, as they protect against the stings.
Among the tools is a hive chisel which is used to open the hive parts that are glued with propolis. It is also used to remove wax extensions. Small whisk broom is used to remove the bees from the honeycombs when the honey is poured. A small ash tool on a longer handle is used to clean the bottom of the hive. In addition to the basic tools, special claws can be used to pull out the honeycombs, while the paint spatula is used to clean the hives. The beekeeper also needs a source of smoke to sooth the bees. To this end, he uses bee smokers: manual bellows or bellows driven by a special mechanism.

In the past, beekeepers were using the cooked and dried wood mushroom. Among the beekeeper tools there are also accessories for marking the queen bees. In the accessories, there are four colours and nets to catch the queen during painting and drying of the paint. This device is not used if the wings of the queen are trimmed. Beekeeper ensures that the inventory, tools and equipment are always in good condition, and if necessary, the tools and equipment are further disinfected before use. The documents of the beekeeper are: the production plan, the analysis of the profitability of individual products, the calculation of operations, the list of investments in the new season, etc.


Beekeeper produces honey, pollen, propolis, royal jelly, beeswax and bee venom. (Bee venom is used for pharmaceuticals and homeopathy).