Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BELA KRAJINA
Bela Krajina has countless opportunities for active pursuits and relaxing stops along the
heritage trails and wine roads. Ask the TIC in Metlika or Črnomelj for the excellent
brochure-map
Kolesarske Poti Bela Krajina
(Bela Krajina Bike Trails), with 15 itineraries
- some of them circular - outlined. Bela Krajina contains two important parks: the
259-hectare Lahinja Country Park and a large part of the 4332-hectare Kolpa Country Park.
Like Dolenjska, Bela Krajina is famous for its Hallstatt and Roman sites; a 3rd-century
shrine to the god Mithra near the village of Rožanec is one of the best preserved in Europe.
In the Middle Ages, Bela Krajina was the most remote part of Slovenia, and in some ways
it still feels like that. Many of the peasant uprisings of the 15th and 16th centuries started
here or just across the border in Croatia.
Metlika
07 / POP 3273 / ELEV 167M
Metlika lies in a valley at the foot of the Gorjanci Hills and is an excellent springboard for
hiking and cycling in the area. It is surrounded by Croatia on three sides; the Kolpa River
and its 'beaches' lie about 1km to the south. There was a major Hallstatt settlement here
during the early Iron Age, and the Romans established an outpost in Metlika on the road
leading to the important river port of Sisak in Croatia. During the Turkish onslaught of the
15th and 16th centuries, Metlika was attacked 17 times and occupied in 1578.
