Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
around to direct you to what you want to see. Touring the whole shebang takes about two
hours.
• Buy your ticket in the long building just below the main part of the castle. This same build-
ing also has the castle's highlight, the...
Collection of Traditional Carnival Masks:
Ptuj's Mardi Gras celebration, called
Kurentovanje, is well-known for its processions of fanciful masked characters (see sidebar,
nextpage).Thisexhibit—as colorfulasanepisodeof
Sesame Street
—offersanentertaining
look at the complete Kurentovanje experience. The various costumes are all lined up in one
long hall, as if re-enacting the processional that stomps through Ptuj's streets each spring.
First come the spearmen, dressed more or less like normal folks. Soon after, the plow is
used to symbolically “wake up the soil” and set the stage for a season of bountiful crops.
Then you'll see a group of striking Kurent costumes—from old homemade costumes (turn
an old coat inside-out to reveal the fur lining) to today's store-bought version (they run
about €500). After the giant hen comes the bear, a reminder of times when Roma (Gypsy)
entertainers actually did bring trained bears to town. The horse (called Rusa) is taken by a
farmer from house to house, trying to “sell” it to neighbors. But the horse is unruly and ob-
noxious—supposedly good luck for the health and fertility of livestock. The costume of the
old woman carrying the old man on her back seems whimsical, but it represents a power-
ful theme: We carry the memory of the deceased with us always. Near the end are Jürek
(swaddled in greenery, representing spring) and Rabolj (a Kurent-like monster, representing
winter); these two do battle—and, of course, the spring always wins.
• After seeing the masks, head up into the main part of the castle, climbing the cobbled road
into the courtyard. Show your ticket to go through the gate, and then climb the main stairs
(on the left side of the courtyard) one floor up.
