Ptuj – The Oldest Slovenian Town

Ptuj – The Oldest Slovenian Town

It was once a famous and mighty Roman city of Poetovio and later, with the arrival of the new lords - the Ptuj gentlemen, a vibrant trading centre in the Middle Ages. The city blossomed with splendid buildings and monasteries, and soon became famous for its excellent wine and thermal spas. Today's Ptuj is more than a place of rich history and glorious past. It is a vibrant European centre of culture, a city of festivals, extraordinary ethnographic and vibrant tradition deeply rooted in the lives of Ptuj citizens.

OVERVIEW

DAY 1:
Ptuj is an old town, above which stands the once mighty castle. Its greatest landmark is the Kurent, whose uniqueness is recognized by UNESCO. Kurents are known to chase away winter every spring in one of the most colourful carnivals in the world. After a walk through the city, we will stop at the Minorite Monastery and take a tour of the Church of St. George and St. Paul, one of the oldest Gothic churches in Slovenia, which was beautifully restored in the Baroque period. We will have lunch in one of the local restaurants famous for delicious food. Because Slovenia is the land of wine and Ptuj with its cellars its mighty representative in this field, you will also visit one of the cellars. Tasting of Styrian wines in a vaulted cellar will certainly be an exceptional experience. At the end of the day, you will head to the hotel and enjoy dinner and excellent wellness.

DAY 2:
After a delicious breakfast, we will ascent to the Ptuj castle, where we will enjoy the most beautiful view of the city. In the Regional Museum, you will see collections of national importance. Particularly interesting are the musical instruments collection, the weapons collection and the traditional carnival masks collection, and you will surely be impressed by the feudal housing culture collection, the middle and early modern century art collection, the glass painting collection, beautiful tapestries and paintings by painters from 16 to 18th century. After lunch, you will visit the Dominican Monastery, which, with the donations of wealthy nobles and townspeople, has developed into an artistically valuable complex, which today is considered a monument of European importance. It was built in several medieval construction phases, and at the turn of the 17th to 18th centuries it was finished in the baroque style. You will most admire the cross corridor, designed in the early 13th century. There will be some free time for shopping and walks through picturesque streets of the town.

PACKAGE PRICE PER PERSON

  • Private tour with a guide and transport: from 245 €
  • Group travel: from 174 €

THE ADVENTURE/PACKAGE INCLUDES

  • Tour of Ptuj
  • Tour of the Minorite Monastery
  • Tour of the Dominican Monastery
  • Visit to the Ptuj Castle and the Regional Museum
  • 1 x wine tasting
  • 2 x lunch in a selected restaurant
  • 1 x dinner
  • 1 x accommodation with breakfast at the Primus Hotel****

For more information about trips and activities click here.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

  • Program can be carried out from 1 May to 31 October, arrivals possible every day of the week
  • the program is intended for groups of 2–7 persons and larger groups for which the program can be adapted
  • Possible to combine two or more packages
  • Tourist fee is included in the price
  • Due to the Covid-19 situation, VIP tours and group tours are suspended until further notice.

Grand Hotel Primus ****

Through a prism of modern times, Grand Hotel Primus reveals how the wealthy Romans who passed this region enjoyed life. You can enjoy yourself, too, either in the hotel pool and in the wellness centre, or you can join the party on central pools, which are especially lively in summer with their slides. The hotel is located in the centre of the spa facility. You can relax at the Valens Augusta wellness, with its thermal baths, and the World of saunas Flavia, you can also treat yourself to various beauty programmes or massages. Feel free to dive into the intimate atmosphere of the pool complex Vespasianus, that includes a children’s pool, pool with an outdoor exit and two whirlpools. There is a Thermal park nearby for double the fun.

The hotel, named after the famour Roman warrior Marcus Antonius Primus, has a total of 118 rooms with modern design. All rooms have an LCD TV, free WiFi, a minibar, and most of them also have a balcony.

The hotel restaurant offers self-service breakfasts.

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Ptuj

Ptuj is an extremely interesting and mysterious city with the oldest history in Slovenia, numerous attractions and a genuine tourist offer. The city lies in a picturesque landscape between the Slovenske Gorice and Haloze, and the Drava and Ptuj Fields where many natural beauty spots are intertwined. Ptuj is not only the oldest Slovenian city. It is a city of festivals and many other cultural events enriching the old city centre and the neighbouring towns throughout the year.

These places are a real paradise for even the most demanding gourmets and lovers of authentic home cooking. Tourist farms and wine shops in Ptuj are famous for their excellent home-made food and excellent wines. In short, by visiting the oldest city in Slovenia and its picturesque countryside with the gentle hills of the Slovenske Gorice and Haloze you will discover a small part of the world well worth visiting or spending your leisure time.

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Vinska klet Osterberger

The Osterberger Wine Cellar and wine bar is named after the first hotel owners, Franz and Constanza Osterberger, who bought a house when it was auctioned in 1890. They also obtained the right to open a coffee house. The family stayed in the hotel until 1945 when it became a state-owned property.

The facade holds the initials of the owners, namely the initials of their names F(ranz) C(onstanza) O(sterberger). Franc Osterberger died in 1905 and his business was taken over by the widow, Constanza. After her death the property was inherited by their children. Their son Franc Osterberger later run the hotel, and Alexander was the manager of the Osterberger estate in Gorca, Dežno 43. The building with baroque facade and a very interesting history is now a beautiful city hotel Mitra. It is in the surroundings of the historic town of Ptuj, at Prešeren Street 6 and Grajska Street 1. The hotel with its location, exterior and interior arrangements reflects the appearance of the old city centre. The first record of the object is from 1777.

The hotel reminds us of yet another story with the renovated wine cellar and wine shop. The story was an important part in the development of the rich heritage of the present-day hotel and the oldest Slovene town of Ptuj. Some years before and after 1900, the hotel performed an extremely important activity of the time. It was Franc Osterberger, the elder son who was not only the owner of a hotel and cafeteria, but also a wine producer and wine wholesaler specialized in wines from the Haloze area.

In 1907, the Association of Agricultural Societies of Styria awarded a silver medal to Osterberger wine production with an honorary certificate for his achievements in the field of viticulture.

The wine cellar can accommodates up to 40 lovers of vintage wine, and due to its rich offer of wine each visitor can choose and buy premium wine for oneself or friends. Tantalizing aroma, sophisticated flavour, delightful fragrance, wine culture and careful production of winegrowers from the wine-growing regions of Slovenia will create a story of history for each visitor to the renovated wine cellar Osterberger. The guests can pamper their taste buds in top quality wines such as Traminec, Renski Riesling, Yellow Muscat, Blue Pinot, Šipon, Cviček, Rebula, Merlot, etc. A visit to the Osterberger wine cellar and the tasting of top quality wine is definitely an unforgettable adventure and, above all, a necessary part when walking and exploring the oldest Slovenian town of Ptuj.

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Dominican Monastery

The huge building complex of the Dominican monastery in Ptuj with more than 2,000 m2 on the ground floor and just as much on the first floor and in the basement with the congress and cultural centre has a diverse past. Throughout history, Ptuj has been organized around three buildings: Ptuj Castle, the Minorite and Dominican monasteries. Therefore, the Minorite monastery has been one of the most important buildings in Ptuj throughout history. A 13-century rectangular monastery had its own walls in the Middle Ages that were connected to the system of the city fortification. Part of this wall is still preserved. It can be seen in the south where there is an escarp (a fortified wall to defend the building) towards the Drava River, while the remains of a tower can be found in the western part. There used to be a trench and smaller entrance to the city. In front of the monastery, there is a park called the Sunny Park. Its terrace above the Drava River offers a beautiful view of the southern part of the city, the Drava Field and all the way to Haloze, Donačka Gora and Boča and Pohorje. The Salzburg Archbishop Eberhard II (1200-1246) and Matilda Ptujska (died 1253), a widow of Frederick III, are credited with the establishment of the Dominican monastery in Ptuj.

The monastery was built on two floors already in the earliest period, and the eastern tract of the cloister (oratory) is certainly its most beautiful part. In the first half of the 13th century until the construction of a church on its north side, it served as a chapel. The construction of the church was one of the most demanding works in the monastery associated with high expenditure and it lasted until 1252. The church was consecrated in 1255 on request of the Dominicans. It was consecrated by the Archbishop of Salzburg Philip Spanheim. The anniversary of consecration is celebrated on the third Sunday after Easter. The old chapel opens onto the corridor with a portal and a double lancet window (arched window is vertically divided into two identical parts with a column or tower, and with decorative ribs at the top). The portal is the result of several restorations. The monastery is built in a transitional style between Romanesque and Gothic, which is beautifully seen in the chapel in the eastern tract, where the right double lancet window is still late Romanesque (double window with semicircular arches), and the left one is already Gothic (with pointed conclusions and other details). Originally, the old chapel had a flat ceiling, and it was not vaulted until the 17th century. The traces of a belt with decorative paintings are preserved and they indicate the height of the original flat ceiling. On the eastern side, the chapel had a presbytery (a central, usually somewhat raised area in the church where the priest conducts religious services) that extended into today's park. Only the arch in the eastern wall still reminds us of the presbytery. Until recently, the old chapel was the exhibition area of ​​the Ptuj Museum with its gothic statues and the remains of early gothic frescoes from the demolished Minorite church.

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Minorite Monastery

The Minorite monastery in Ptuj is one of the most important buildings of the historic centre which closes the old part of the city at Minorite Square towards the west. The lower part of the square closes a monolithic white monastery wall with a beautiful baroque church of St. Peter and Paul leaning on it. In its façade above the entrance, decorated with four tall pillars, the church patrons, St. Peter and Paul are placed in niches on the left and on the right side.

The oldest Slovene town, known for its historic centre has been even richer and more beautiful after the completion of the renovation of the Minorite Church of St. Peter and Paul, the renovation of which began in 2001. Even today, the monastery plays an important cultural and educational role. Since 2007, it has had a private monastery music school and it also hosts a very active Society of Intellectuals of Victorin Ptujski with a rich cultural programme. The refectory or the dining room and the yard host concerts, exhibitions and various meetings. The monastery library in the south-western corner on the 2nd floor is of exceptional national importance. Based on the book collection it can be concluded that the establishment of the library dates back to the beginning of the 16th century. It was transferred to the corner stucco in 1925.

The monastery boasts a library with over 5000 books, some of them dating as far back as the 16th century and the majority of them are from the 17th and 18th century. The most valuable work is Trubar's New Testament from 1557, 1560 and 1561. The last appendix of Paul's letter to the Corinthians and Galatians was the most complete specimen until a few years ago when the last part of 1577 was discovered in Jerusalem. But even now it is extraordinary due to its volume. It is very interesting that the Minorite library remained fairly well preserved during the last war. Only few valuable books are missing. The oldest date in the library is not associated with any of the books but with a parchment of the Theodosius Code from the 9th century serving as a book cover. More recently, the library has obtained two more valuable books, a facsimile of the Pericopes of Henry II - a book of Sunday readings, and a facsimile of Gutenberg's bible. In the Minorite monastery, there is also a provincial library that began its operations on 8 February 2008. It contains 14,000 books that can be borrowed. The library is open on Wednesdays between 9am and 11am and on Thursdays between 16am and 6pm. It is also possible to borrow books outside the opening hours based on a prior agreement. The library is included in Cobiss programme of Slovene libraries. It is interesting, in particular, that the library contains many books that cannot be found in other libraries.

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  • H1 Grand Hotel Primus ****
  • 2 Ptuj
  • 3 Vinska klet Osterberger
  • 4 Dominican Monastery
  • 5 Minorite Monastery

Transfer from the airport

Guests arriving by air will be offered comfortable transfers at competitive prices from close by airports. Our chauffeur will meet you at the arrival and will bring you back safely and on time
to the airport at the departure. You can cancel the transfer from your home to the hotel without expenses within 72 hours prior to scheduled transfer. You will receive the information about the exact time of departure a day before the scheduled transfer.

  • One-way transfer
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  • Type of transfer:
    One-way transfer
  • Price:
    € per person
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    km
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Transfer from home to the hotel

Guests from northern Italy are offered the possibility of transport from home to the hotel. You can choose between
morning or afternoon directory term, the carriage is available for 2-7 passengers, reservation up to 5 days prior to departure. The notice of the exact time and location of departure one day prior to the tour.

  • One-way transfer
  • From - to:
    BENETKE - MORAVSKE TOPLICE
  • Distance:
    km
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    h
  •  
  • Type of transfer:
    One-way transfer
  • Price:
    € per person
  • Number of people:
  • Return transfer
  • From - to:
    BENETKE - MORAVSKE TOPLICE
  • Distance:
    550 km
  • Travel time:
    5,5h
  •  
  • Type of transfer:
    Return transfer
  • Price:
    € per person
  • Number of people:
Total for all passangers: 0 € Confirm the selection
No, thank you