Zrece is a picturesque settlement located in the northeastern part of Slovenia, below the slopes of Pohorje in the upper part of the Dravinja Valley. The place is surrounded by nearby hills, in the west by the ridges of Zabork, Golek and Krizevec, in the north and east by a ridge descending from Rogla.
Zrece is the youngest Slovenian town, which became an urban settlement in 1987 and is the seat of the municipality of the same name. It is an important tourist and economic center of the wider area. The toolmakers companies Comet and Unior have their headquarters here, and Terme Zrece in particular contributes the most to the development of tourism. In Zrece and its surroundings, in addition to the spa center, there are several smaller hotels and inns with accommodation. The place is a starting point for trips to the central part of Pohorje and to the ski resorts or tourist - recreational facilities located on Rogla. Natural healings at Terme Zrece are acratothermal springs with a temperature of 35 degrees Celsius, healing mud and a temperate mid-mountain climate. Around the town there are hop plantations on the lowlands, orchards and vineyards on the eastern slopes. In written sources, Zrece is first mentioned under the name Rece in 1206, and they have been developing as a single settlement since 1980, when the villages of Dobrava and Zgornje and Spodnje Zrece merged. The clustered central part of Zrece is surrounded by the settlements of Golek, Jamnik, Bork and Dobrovlje. In the middle of the settlement once stood the Zrece manor, which was owned by the Carthusians of Zice and was built in 1718. The remains of the manor, represented by a quality baroque portal, are built into the western part of the parish church. Church of Saint Egidija, despite the rebuilding, preserved the Romanesque forms, which are distinguished by a rectangular presbytery.
Next to the toolmaking company is a park with iron sculptures by foreign and domestic authors. Forma viva Zrece began to emerge between 1973 and 1975. The works of art are associated with the search for the authenticity of the place and the blacksmithing that develops here.