SLOVENIA 441P The Jewish Quarter
Židovska 4. Tel (02) 252 7836.
# 8am–4pm Mon–Fri, 9am–2pm
Sun. & http://www.pmuzej-mb.si
Standing on a terrace
immediately inland from
the Water Tower is the Jews’
Tower (Židovski četrt), a
quadrangular red-brick
struc ture attached to a short
stretch of the surviving city
wall. The narrow lanes beside
the tower were once home
to Maribor’s Jewish commu-
nity, who were an important
presence in the city from the
13th century until their exter-
mination by the Nazis during
World War II. The beautifully
restored 14th-century
Synagogue (Sinagoga) now
houses an exhibition devoted
to local Jewish heritage.VISITORS’ CHECKLIST133 km (83 miles) NE of
Ljubljana. * 91,000 £ from
Ljubljana, Vienna or Zagreb. @
from Ljubljana. n Partizanska
cesta 6, (02) 234 6611.Old Vine adorning the Drava
riverfront in the Lent quarter
Water Tower on the banks of the calm Drava river, Maribor
P Lent
Downhill from the city centre
is the charming river side
quarter of Lent, which was
once a busy port from where
rafts laden with local tim-
ber began their journey
south along the Drava and
Danube rivers.
Today, Lent is a bustling
neighbourhood, its well-
preserved Baroque houses
home to modern art galleries,
cafés and bars. Growing
along the façade of one of
the water front houses is the
famous 400-year-old Old
Vine (Stara trta), believed
to be the oldest vine in the
world. Marking Lent’s western
boundary is the Judges’ Tower
(Sodni stolp), a barrel-shaped
medie val struc ture with a
curious mansard roof. To
the east is the rather pecu liar
16th-century Water Tower
(Vodni stolp) featur ing a
penta gonal ground plan
and a tall, tapering roof.Ptuj p
135 km (84 miles) NE of Ljubljana.
* 11, 000. £ @ n Slovenski
trg 5, (02) 779 6011. _ Ptuj
Carnival (late Feb/early Mar).
http://www.ptuj-tourism.siSet on the banks of the Drava
river, the charming rural town
of Ptuj is one of the oldest
in Slovenia. During the Roman
period, it served as a legion ary
base and the centre of local
trade. Ptuj’s most revered
sight is the 2nd-century
Orpheus Monument (Orfejev
spomenik), the carved tomb-
stone of a Roman adminis-
trator, which depicts the scene
of Orpheus playing the lyre
and taming a group of wild
animals. This stands on
Slovenski Square (Slovenski
trg), in the town centre.
Slightly uphill from the monu-
ment, St George’s Church
(Cerkev sv Jurij) is a treasure
trove of Gothic reli gious art,
with a famous sta tue of
St George near the main
entrance. The grand attraction
of the town, how ever, is the
fortified Ptuj Castle (Ptujski
grad), dating from the 10th
cen tury. Expanded several
times, the most important
renovation occurred under
Walter Leslie, Baron of
Balquhane, in the 1650s. The
castle is now home to the
Regional Museum, which
boasts an extensive archaeo-
logical collection, furniture
acquired through the ages and
a section on local ethnography.+ Ptuj Castle
Tel (02) 778 8780. # May–mid-
Oct: 9am–6pm daily; mid-Oct–Apr:
9am–5pm Tue–Sun. & -Period furnishings at the Regional
Museum, Ptuj Castlewith an onion-domed clock
tower and an arcaded
Renaissance court yard at the
back. In the centre of the
square is an ornate Baroque
Plague Col umn (Kužno
znamenje), raised in 1743
to commem orate the Great
Plague of the 17th century.