Maribor: Culture, Wine and the Old Vine

Maribor can be explored through several clearly defined themes: Jewish cultural heritage, museum history, wine culture and the Old Vine. If you are looking for a hotel in Maribor, these themes can help structure your plans. The following sections cover cultural sites, wine experiences and the landscape of the wider destination.

Jewish Cultural Heritage and City History

The Maribor Synagogue is an important monument to Jewish cultural heritage in Slovenia and is one of the oldest surviving synagogues in Central Europe. Since 2011, it has operated as an independent public institution under the name “Center of Jewish Cultural Heritage Synagogue Maribor”. The monument and institution give Jewish cultural heritage in the city a clearly defined cultural focus.

Some surviving ground-floor houses display several features of a Jewish ghetto. These include Židovska 3. Together with the synagogue, this subject offers different starting points for anyone interested in Jewish cultural heritage in Maribor.

The Maribor Regional Museum has been based in Maribor Castle since 1938 and presents the permanent exhibition “Between the Glamour and the Misery of the Middle Ages”. Lent is the oldest part of the city of Maribor. You can therefore consider a specifically named museum focus and the historical context of a city district as different ways of exploring the city's history.

Wine Cellars and the Old Vine

The Vinag wine cellar is one of the largest and oldest traditional wine cellars in Europe. It has more than two kilometres of underground tunnels and 15,000 m² of cellar space. Vinag offers tourist packages that include an expert-guided tour of the wine cellar, a choice of tasting samples in varying numbers and optional snacks. Several specific features are therefore relevant when choosing: the cellar tour, the number of tasting samples and the option to add snacks.

A tasting of Queen's wine or fruit juice is included when visiting the Old Vine Museum. The Old Vine also offers a guided tasting of Styrian wines, inspired by a sommelier and accompanied by culinary greetings. By comparison, Vinag's tourist packages combine a cellar tour with a variable number of tasting samples; at the Old Vine, the tastings mentioned above are the main focus.

The Old Vine, known as Stara trta in Slovenian, is designated as a natural asset of national importance for its botanical and tree-related value. In 2004, it was included in the Guinness Book of Records. This designation links its natural value with the vine's established significance, without placing its record entry in a context beyond the year stated.

Hills and Trails in the Maribor–Pohorje Destination

The wider destination offers a different focus from museums and wine cellars: in the Maribor–Pohorje destination, green hills in the easternmost part of the Slovenian Alps are crisscrossed by numerous hiking and mountain trails, close to the city of Maribor. If you would like to consider trails and scenery as well as cultural heritage and wine on your trip, this regional perspective offers another way to explore Maribor.

Discover more destinations: Loka, Fram, Limbuš, Starše, Bresternica, Dobrovce, Spodnje Hoče, Miklavž na Dravskem Polju.

For the main travel overview: Maribor.