Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Town Square (Mestni Trg)
TodayPtuj'smainsquare,thislivelypeoplezone(justdownMurkovastreetfromSlovenski
trg)isahubofactivity.Majoreventsandfestivals—including theKurentovanjeMardiGras
festival—take place here.
The square is watched over by the distinctive
Town Hall,
built by a visionary mayor
a century ago. The three flags represent (left to right) the European Union, Slovenia, and
the Municipality of Ptuj. Over the left door (on the corner) are two statues commemorating
Ptuj's Roman history: on the right, Emperor Trajan, who granted Ptuj city status in the early
second century
A.D.
; and on the left, St. Viktorin, a Ptuj bishop who wrote scholarly works
on ecclesiastical themes during the late third century
A.D.
, until he was martyred by Emper-
or Diocletian.
FacingtheTownHallinthemiddleofthesquareisastatueof
St. Florian,
whotradition-
ally protects towns against fire. Ptuj was devastated by four different fires in the late 17th
and early 18th centuries. This statue is a 1993 replica of one that was built here after the
fourth fire, in 1744. Miraculously, the town never burned again...or maybe not so miracu-
