Things to do in Maribor
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Ancora
A pizzeria worth consideration is Ancora, on the 1st floor of a very popular bar/restaurant.
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Maribor Regional Museum
The Maribor Castle also contains the Maribor Regional Museum, one of the richest collections in Slovenia, which is arranged in 20 rooms. Be advised that at the time of research the museum was undergoing extensive renovations and parts (or all) of the permanent collection may be closed.
On the ground floor there are archaeological, clothing and ethnographic exhibits, including 19th-century beehive panels painted with biblical scenes from the Mislinja and Drava Valleys, models of Štajerska-style hayracks, Kurent costumes and wax ex voto offerings from the area around Ptuj. Upstairs there are rooms devoted to Maribor's history and its guilds and crafts (glassware, wrought ir…
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Vinag Wine Cellars
This square east of Maribor Castle, along with leafy Trg Generala Maistra and Rakušev trg to the north, would be unremarkable except for the honeycomb of Vinag Wine Cellars below that cover an area of 20,000 sq metres and can store seven million litres of plonk. The cellars, dating from the early 19th century, are managed by the wine export company Vinag.
They are filled with old oak barrels, steel fermentation tanks and an 'archive' of vintage wine - all kept at a constant 15°C. There's a small cellar open to the public.
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Old Vine
About 150m east along the Pristan embankment is Maribor's most celebrated attraction, the so-called Old Vine, which is still producing between 35kg and 55kg of grapes and about 25L of red wine per year after being planted more than four centuries ago. It is tended by a city-appointed viticulturist, and the dark red Žametna Črnina (Black Velvet) is distributed to visiting dignitaries as 'keys' to Maribor in the form of 0.25L bottles designed by the celebrated Slovenian artist Oskar Kogoj.
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Maribor Castle
Maribor Castle, on the square's northeast corner, is a successor to the Piramida fortress of medieval times. The 15th-century castle contains a Knights' Hall (Viteška Dvorana) with a remarkably disproportionate ceiling painting, the baroque Loretska Chapel and a magnificent rococo staircase (1759), with pink walls, stucco work and figures arrayed on the banisters and visible though glass doors from the corner of Grajska ulica and Slovenska ulica.
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Cathedral of St John the Baptist
The imposing Cathedral of St John the Baptist dedicated to St John the Baptist, dates from the 13th century and shows elements of virtually every architectural style from Romanesque to modern (including some inept 19th-century attempts to 're-Gothicise' it). Of special interest are the flamboyant Gothic sanctuary and the choir stalls with reliefs showing scenes from the life of the patron saint.
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Maribor Island Swimming Pools
Maribor has several outdoor swimming pools, including the Maribor Island Swimming Pools, a sand bank at the end of a dammed-off portion of the Drava River called Maribor Lake, about 4km west of the Old Town. A sunbathing area is reserved for naturists. Local bus 15 from the train station will drop you off at the Kamnica stop, near the start of the footpath leading to the bridge and the island.
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Slomškov Trg
South of City Park is Slomškov Trg, named after Anton Martin Slomšek (1800-62), the Slovenian bishop and politician who was beatified by the late Pope John Paul II in 1999, the first Slovene to earn such distinction. That's him seated in front of the cathedral just southwest of the light pillar, a 16th-century lantern that once stood in the churchyard.
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Glavni trg
Maribor's marketplace in the Middle Ages, Glavni trg is just north of the river and the main bridge crossing it. In the centre of the square is perhaps the most extravagant plague pillar found anywhere in Central Europe. Behind it is the town hall built in 1565 by Venetian craftsmen living in Styria. Running north from Glavni trg is pedestrianised Gosposka ulica.
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Plague Pillar
Maribor's marketplace in the Middle Ages, Glavni trg is just north of the river and the main bridge crossing it. In the centre of the square is perhaps the most extravagant Plague Pillar found anywhere in Central Europe. Designed by Jožef Straub and erected in 1743, it includes the Virgin Mary surrounded by half a dozen saints.
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Gostišče Pri Treh Ribnikih
A great place for a meal if you want to get out of the city but don't feel like travelling is the 'Inn at the Three Fishponds' in City Park. Oddly, its specialities are cheese štruklji (dumplings) and stuffed pork ribs, with fish all but banished from the menu. There's quite a good wine card.
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National Liberation Museum
Two blocks north of the castle is a stunning 19th-century mansion housing the National Liberation Museum, whose collections document Slovenia's struggle for freedom throughout the 20th century, with particular emphasis on work of the Pohorje Partisans during the Nazi occupation.
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Toti Rotovž
This peculiar place behind the town hall, with a wine cellar below and a terrace in a lovely arcaded square, tries (not altogether successfully) to serve Slovenian, Balkan grilled, Thai, Japanese, Italian, Greek and Mexican dishes. What is this? Fusion confusion?
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Vinag
The wine cellars in trg Svobode, dating from the early 19th century, are managed by the wine export company Vinag. The wine shop here has a large selection of local vintages, including Mariborčan, Laški Rizling, Chardonnay, Traminer and Gold Muscatel.
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Slovenian National Theatre Maribor
This branch of the SNG in Ljubljana has one of the best reputations in the country, and its productions have received critical acclaim throughout Europe. The city's ballet and opera companies also perform here. Enter from Slomškov trg.
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Fontana Terme Maribor
Fontana Terme Maribor, a huge spa complex, is 2km west of the centre and accessible via bus 8 or 15. It offers thermal pools and whirlpools with a water temperature of 33°C to 37°C, sauna, solarium, fitness centre and massage.
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Minorite Monastery
South of the Fine Arts Gallery and across Koroška cesta is Maribor's market and the dilapidated remains of the 13th-century Minorite Monastery, closed by Joseph II in 1784 and used as a military barracks until 1927.
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Piramida
To the northeast of City Park is Piramida (386m), where the titans of Marchburg once held sway and a chapel now takes pride of place. There's some lovely residential architecture in the streets around the park.
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City Park
North of Maribor's Old Town is City Park: a lovely arboretum with three ponds, swans and a bandstand. It also contains a small Aquarium-Terrarium with 45 small tanks filled with tropical fish and reptiles.
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Water Tower
About 300m east is the pentagonal Water Tower, a 16th-century defence tower. Just north of it a set of steps lead to Židovska ulica (Jewish St), the centre of the Jewish district in the Middle Ages.
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Judgement Tower
To the south of the Minorite Monastery along the riverfront is the round Judgement Tower, the first of four defence towers still standing, with curious friezes on the south side.
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Gril Ranca
This place serves simple but scrumptious Balkan grills like pljeskavica and čevapčiči in full view of the Drava. Cool place on a hot night.
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Takos
This atmospheric Mexican restaurant in Lent serves excellent fajitas and quesadillas turns into a snappy little night spot after the 23:00 happy hour on Friday and Saturday.
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Štajerc
The 'Styrian' pub-restaurant is the place to head for if you're in the mood for reasonably priced local dishes. It has a lovely garden open in the warmer months.
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Mariborska Kavarna
The olde-worlde 'Maribor Café' has been renovated to within an inch of its life and the outside and inside are now generations apart. Still, it's central.
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