Saturday 25 September 2021 • Promotional Content


A cultural and culinary city guide to Maribor, Slovenia


Against a backdrop of a restored old town, the Slovenian city is embracing its cultural identity, from colourful festivals to age-old winemaking. Words: Jessica Vincent


Maribor Town Hall and Plague Monument PHOTOGRAPH: SUPERSTOCK O


n the banks of the Drava River, Slovenia’s second-largest city cuts a handsome dash. A riot


of colour, the medieval, red-roofed houses and turquoise church spires of Maribor stand against a forested backdrop of the Pohorje Mountains. As the seasons change, so too does the landscape, shifting from green to orange to brown and then snowy white. Te city itself is no stranger


to transformations, either. After decades of war and occupation, Maribor has been revitalised. It’s no clearer than in the car-free centre, where restored baroque buildings are now home to fine-dining restaurants and boho cafes serving speciality coffee and vegan ice cream. With six of its restaurants receiving Michelin stars for the first time in 2020 and now the 2021 European Region of Gastronomy, Slovenia is enjoying its culinary moment in the sun — palpably so in Maribor, where the streets smell of freshly baked rye bread and tarragon-filled dumplings, and restaurants serve buckwheat stews, and Slovenian ales are sipped kerbside on candle-lit Poštna Street. Te country’s largest wine region is right on the doorstep, too. Here, family-run vineyards age their wines just as the Romans did, with the finest bottles appearing on tables across the city. Glavni Trg, Maribor’s main


square, in the old town, was once a marketplace. Second World War bombing damaged many of its pastel- coloured, 14th-century buildings, but most have now been restored, and there are plans to reintroduce a farmers’ market — a tradition dating back to medieval times. It would be remiss to visit Maribor


without experiencing its wine culture. A five-minute walk from Glavni Trg is Vinag Wine Cellar, one of Slovenia’s largest and oldest underground wineries. Walking through dimly lit tunnels lined with bottles and barrels is an adventure in itself, but the wine-tasting, which takes place inside a room-sized concrete tank and involves squeezing feet-first through a metal hatch, is quite the experience, too. For an extra


Te east of the country played a key role in


securing Slovenia’s title as European Region of Gastronomy


fee, you can enjoy local cheeses with more wine, all by candlelight. Afterwards, cross the river to the


Lent area to visit the Old Vine House. Home to the world’s oldest productive vine (at the ripe old age of 400), this small museum tells the story of Slovenian winemaking and offers tastings and purchases. Tere was a time when the


neighbourhood of Lent didn’t have a great deal to tempt visitors, but the growing number of wine and cocktail bars are slowly pumping life back into this historic riverside hangout. Vinoteka Maribor, housed in a former 16th-century fortress known as the Water Tower, has an extensive list of ecological wines from the Podravje region, plus views over the Drava. Maribor is the ideal base for


exploring Podravje, the largest of Slovenia’s three wine-growing regions. Family winemakers here preserve age-old viticultural traditions, such as using amphoras to age wine underground, or using all-natural methods. You can hire a car in Maribor and explore the many vineyards yourself — most are best-known for their white varieties. Call ahead for tastings. Alternatively, take a half-day tour


with local sommelier Jernej Lubej, who focuses on boutique ecological wineries near the Austrian border, such as Ducal, Doppler and Kušter. Be sure to make time for Dreisiebner, a guest house, winery and restaurant in Špicnik with great views of a much- photographed heart-shaped road. Take a short detour on your


way back to Maribor to visit Ptuj, Slovenia’s oldest settlement. Today, Ptuj is a picturesque mix of medieval churches, Roman ruins and cobbled streets lined with cafes, wine bars, art galleries and craft shops. Te east of the country played


a key role in securing Slovenia’s title as European Region of Gastronomy, with a focus on sustainable, experimental, yet traditional, cooking. It’s the sort of cuisine you’ll find at Mak, a menu-less Maribor restaurant that was recently awarded the Michelin Plate. Maverick chef David Vracko is bold with his choice of flavours, but his interaction with guests — theatrical and memorable — is even bolder. Afterwards, dive back into the town centre for a nightcap along Poštna Street, with wine bars such as LeVino Wine Bar and Kavarna Isabella often spilling out onto the pavement at weekends. First published in the September 2021 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK). Read the feature in full online at nationalgeographic.co.uk


Te Travel Guide 5


The famous heart-shaped road, viewed from Špicnik PHOTOGRAPH: GETTY


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