Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Post Office
(Kambičev trg 5; 8-9.30am & 10am-5pm Mon-Fri, 8am-noon Sat)
Tourist Information Centre Kostanjevica
( 498 81 50; tic-gbj@galerija-bj.si;
9am-6pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct, 9am-4pm Tue-Sun Nov-Mar)
On the ground floor of an old
mill just beyond the entrance to Kostanjevica Castle.
Getting There & Away
There are daily departures from Kostanjevica to Novo Mesto (€3.10, 40 minutes), Brežice
(€2.70, 30 minutes), Ljubljana (€9.20, 1½ hours) and Krško (€2.70, 20 minutes).
Posavje Region
Posavje, the area 'on the river' is rich in archaeological finds from the Hallstatt, Celtic
and especially Roman periods. Its large number of fortified castles date from the Turkish
invasions from the 15th century, and a century later it took centre stage during the peasant
uprisings and the Protestant Reformation. The 19th-century railway brought prosperity.
During WWII, the occupying German forces engaged in a brutal program of 'ethnic
cleansing' and expelled more than 15,000 Slovenes. Many were deported to Serbia, Croa-
tia or Germany.
BREŽICE
07 / POP 6490 / ELEV 158M
From a traveller's perspective, Brežice is the most interesting town in Posavje. One of the
best museums in provincial Slovenia is here, and a popular spa and water-park complex is
just down the road.
History
Situated near where the Krka flows into the Sava, Brežice was an important trading centre
in the Middle Ages. Its most dominant feature has always been its castle, mentioned in
documents as early as 1249. In the 16th century the original castle was replaced with a
Renaissance fortress to strengthen the town's defences against the Turks and, later, ma-
rauding peasants who, during one uprising, beheaded nobles at the castle and impaled
their heads on poles. Today the castle houses the Posavje Museum.
