The Municipality of Slovenske Konjice

The Municipality of Slovenske Konjice is located in the Dravinja Valley in northeastern Slovenia. It spreads over 97.8 square kilometers and has a population of 13,600. One hundred kilometers from Ljubljana, it is easily reachable by expressway and via the sport airport in Loce.

The town of Slovenske Konjice is located between the winegrowing hills of Skalce and the forest greenery of Konjiska gora. Here the Gospodicna stream rises and runs through the old town core from Trebnik Castle to the Dravinja Hotel, from the old to the new. The beauties of this 850-year-old town line the Gospodicna from Trebnik Castle past the Sv. Jurij parish church and the Riemer Gallery to the pedestrian bridge across the Dravinja River to the more modern section of town. Near Slovenske Konjice in the Sveti Janez Valley beside the Zicnica stream is the legacy of the first Carthusian monastery built outside of France. The eloquent ruins of this once powerful monastery built around 1160 have been extensively rebuilt in recent years with the support of the state and international institutions with the aim of reviving the monastery itself as well as the surrounding area. Slovenske Konjice and Loce are linked by a Wine Road along which the inns satisfy even the most demanding gourmets with local farm food. The wines produced in the vineyards of Slovenske Konjice were praised by Santonio in his 15th-century diary, and they are famous for their quality. It is therefore no surprise that the first noble wine in Slovenia was produced in Skalce.

The great forest wealth, the abundance of stream and rivers, an area of pure limestone, good clay, and ore deposits all provided an excellent basis for crafts in the ancient past. The transit trade influenced the growth of manufacturing enterprises, among which mining, ironworks, glassworks, leatherworks, and lumber were particularly important. Many of these original craft and manufacturing activities declined and disappeared, but those that survived were the basis for the development of modern industries in our region.

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The Skalce and Konjiska gora areas are interlaced with numerous trails that the people of Slovenske Konjice enjoy using for Sunday walks from where they consider their town and make plans for its beautification. They were rewarded for their efforts with Slovenia’s national “Most Beautiful Excursion Destination” award for the last two years in a row. The town is also participating in the international “City of Flowers” competition Entente Florale 1998, and our traditional Jurjevanje festival ranks us among Europe’s Carnival towns. The Loce Summer Festival has a twenty-five year tradition and attracts numerous Slovene and foreign visitors in August when old farm customs are presented and everyone enjoys the music and other cultural and entertainment performances. Concern for a tidy and attractive environment is also evident in Loce where the Fishermen’s Association maintains the Jernejcek fish pond Here, fishermen and strollers on the attractive, carefully maintained trail can enjoy the silence of a deciduous forest broken only occasionally by the singing of birds.

The people of Slovenske Konjice take care of their town and their municipality for their own pleasure. Where local people feel good, tourists will feel good as well. And the people of Slovenske Konjice see a brighter economic future in tourism.