Maribor is the center of Styria and the second largest city in Slovenia. It has a varied historical past. It was first mentioned as a town in 1254. A year later, the town began to build two kilometers long city walls that restricted the old city center.
The walls were further strengthened with defensive towers. In the Middle Ages, a Jewish community lived in Maribor, which built a synagogue. At the end of the 17th century, the city was affected by the plague, and at that time Maribor got one of the most beautiful cultural monuments in the city, the Plague sign. Beautiful church of Saint John the Baptist became the chair church in 1895. The construction of the railway from Vienna to Trieste in 1846 brought the city rapid industrial development. Due to the expansion of the city and with that the traffic, it was necessary to build new bridges that demolished the medieval design of the old part of town called Lent. The Drava River has been an important thoroughfare since Roman times. During First World War, General Rudolf Maister successfully defended the northern border and Maribor remained a Slovenian city. In Second World War, the city was almost demolished by air strikes allies and occupiers.
The consequences of the occupation behavior were visible for decades after the end of the war. After the war, the city experienced a rapid development. Maribor is today the economic, university, cultural, tourist and transport center of northeastern Slovenia. Maribor has many cultural and natural attractions, so it can take you all day to visit the city. Natural sights include: the Old Vine, Maribor Island, Three Ponds, Kalvarija, Piramida, Maribor Town Park, Studenski Forest, Drava, Pohorje, Stolni Vrh and others. Among the cultural sights are Maribor Castle, Cathedral Church, synagogue, water tower, court tower, Plague mark, Lent, Betnava Castle, Drava Bridge, Vetrinje mansion, Franciscan Church, National House and many others. Maribor with Pohorje, which fascinates nature lovers and adrenaline enthusiasts, offers an unforgettable experience on one hand and wine-growing hills on the other. Wine roads cross the slopes of Pohorje and the wine-growing hills and form a wine-cultural route.
Maribor is also an attractive place for shopping at Europark Maribor, where a number of renowned names are gathered, with an attractive range of global brands. The Habakuk Convention Center, however, is an ideal place for business and professional meetings.