Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Maribor
02 / POP 88,350 / ELEV 275M
Despite being the nation's second-largest city, Maribor has only about a third of the popula-
tion of Ljubljana and often feels more like an overgrown provincial town. It has no unmiss-
able sights but oozes charm thanks to its delightfully patchy Old Town along the Drava
River. Pedestrianised central streets buzz with cafes and student life and the riverside Lent
district hosts a major summer arts festival - indeed, Maribor was European City of Culture
in 2012. Maribor is the gateway to the Maribor Pohorje, a hilly recreational area to the
southwest, and the Mariborske and Slovenske Gorice wine-growing regions to the north
and the east.
History
Maribor rose to prominence in the Middle Ages and grew wealthy through the timber and
wine trade, financed largely by the town's influential Jewish community. The waterfront
landing (Pristan) in the Lent district was one of the busiest river ports in the country. The
town was fortified in the 14th century.
Though its fortunes declined in later centuries, the tide turned in 1846 when it became
the first town in Slovenia to have train connections with Vienna. Maribor thrived again and
began to industrialise.
Air raids during WWII devastated Maribor, and by 1945 two-thirds of it lay in ruin.
