440 SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp446–7 and pp448–9

Slovenia’s second largest city, Maribor occupies
a strategic location on the Drava river. Settled by
Slavs in the early Middle Ages, the city became
an important trading centre. However, with the
expansion of the Ottoman Empire, it turned into
a border fortress and trade declined. The city’s
fortunes improved with the construc tion of the
Vienna–Trieste railway in 1846. Today, it has a
mix of old and new architecture; the riverside quarter of
Lent has the most attractive Baroque buildings.

Maribor o

• Maribor Castle and
  Regional Museum
  Grajska 2. Tel (02) 228 3551.

  9am–4pm Tue–Sat, 9am–2pm

  
  

  Sun. & http://www.pmuzej-mb.si
  Dominating the northern end
  of Castle Square (Grajski trg),
  Maribor Castle (Mariborski
  grad) was built in 1478 to

  
  

MARIBOR CITY

CENTRE

The Cathedral of St John

the Baptist 2

The Jewish Quarter 5

Main Square 3

Maribor Castle and

Regional Museum 1

Lent 4

Key to Symbols see back flap

P Main Square

The town’s long, rectangular

Main Square (Glavni trg) took

shape in the 13th cen tury,

when Maribor was emerging

as a major commer cial centre

in the region. On its northern

side is the Town Hall (Rotovž),

Ornate west wing façade of the
15th-century Maribor Castle
R Cathedral of St John
the Baptist
Slomškov trg. Tel (386) 2251 8432.

dawn–dusk daily.

Just southwest of the castle,
Maribor’s medieval cathedral
(Stolna Cerkev sv Jana
Krstnika) is predominantly
Gothic in style, although a
characterful Renaissance

protect Maribor from Ottoman

attacks. Once the Turkish

threat receded, the castle

became an aristo cratic resi-

dence. Today, it is home to

the Regional Museum

(Pokrajinski muzej), which

displays folk costumes, military

uniforms, furniture spanning

several eras and Gothic and

Baroque religious art. The

building’s 18th-cen tury Rococo

staircase, adorned with statues,

is remarkable.

Baroque
statue

bell tower was added in

1601. The interior decorations
      date mostly from the Baroque
      period, although some
      exquisitely carved medi eval
      stone stalls remain in the
      choir. A chapel to the left
      of the main altar is dedicated
      to Bishop Anton Slomšek,
      who promoted the Slovenian
      language at a time when
      Maribor was ruled by a
      German-speaking elite.

Baroque Plague Column on the

Maribor’s Main Square

0 metres

0 yards

200

200

KEY

Pedestrian zone

Bus and

Railway

Stations

550 m

(600 yards)

GRAJSKITRG

SLOMŠKOVTRG

PLAGUE

MONUMENT

KRAIGHERJATRG BORISA

ROTOVŠ KITRG

SQUAREMAIN

Water

Tower

St Alosius’s

Church

Old Vine

Town

Hall

Synagogue

Cathedral of

St John the Baptist

Maribor Castle and

Regional Museum

The Jewish Quarter

Lent

Judges’

Tower

Drava

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LEKA

RNIŠ

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