Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
with its baroque and Renaissance murals; and the exhibit in the loft, which re-creates an
early-20th-century country kitchen, complete with original furnishings and fittings.
THE HAYRACK: A NATIONAL ICON
Few things are as Slovenian as the
kozolec,
the hayrack seen almost everywhere in the country. Because the
Alpine ground can be damp, wheat and hay are hung from racks, allowing the wind to do the drying faster and
more efficiently.
Until the late 19th century, the
kozolec
was just another tool to make a farmer's work easier and the land more
productive. But when artist Ivan Grohar made it the centrepiece of many of his impressionist paintings, the
ko-
zolec
became as much a part of the cultural landscape as the physical one. Today it's virtually a national icon.
There are many different types of Slovenian hayracks: single ones standing alone or 'goat hayracks' with
sloped 'lean-to' roofs, parallel and stretched ones and double
toplarji
(hayracks)
,
often with roofs and storage
areas on top - deserving subjects of an artist's eye.
Hayracks were traditionally made of hardwood (usually oak). Today, however, the hayrack's future is in con-
crete, and the new stretched ones seem to go on forever.
Ptuj
02 / POP 19,015 / ELEV 224M
Rising gently above a wide valley, Ptuj (in English sounding not unlike someone spitting)
forms a symphony of red-tile roofs best viewed from across the Drava River. One of the
oldest towns in Slovenia, Ptuj equals Ljubljana in terms of historical importance but the
compact medieval core, with its castle, museums, monasteries and churches, can easily be
seen in a day. There are so many interesting side trips and activities in the area that you
may want to base yourself here for a while.
History
Ptuj began life as a Roman military outpost on the south bank of the Drava River and later
grew into a civilian settlement called Poetovio on the opposite side. By the 1st century
AD the largest Roman township in what is now Slovenia, Poetovio was the centre of the
Mithraic cult and several complete temples have been unearthed in the area.
Ptuj received its town rights in 977 and grew rich through river trade. By the 13th cen-
tury it was competing with the 'upstart' Marburg (Maribor) upriver, in both crafts and
