Paved Roman streets, a rare Old Christian baptistery, the mighty Old Castle Celje and Prince’s Palace (former Counts’ palace), city churches and restored medieval wall speak of the former power and glory of “the second Troy.” A short stroll around the city will unobtrusively reveal the architectural gems from other, later periods.
The old county, which is now The Celje Regional Museum, presents one of the best examples of Renaissance architecture in Slovenia. The Saint Mary’s Column on the Main square and The Prothasi mansion with its beautiful wedding hall are magnificent Baroque representatives. The City Hall is a representative of classic architecture which has been the place of Celje Museum of Recent History for over a decade. You can experience the 19th century and early 20th century Celje through a number of buildings with different historical styles: from the beautiful Neo-Renaissance Nation’s Home to the impressive Neo-Gothic German House (now Celjski dom). Young are the creations of the famous architect Jože Plečnik, especially the beautiful building of the former People’s Loan Society on the corner of Vodnikova street and Stanetova street.
You can also learn about the rich past of Celje from both of its city museums. The Celje Regional Museum’s collection, which represents the history of Celje and its surroundings from Paleolithic to the 20th century, is supposed to be one of the nicest in Slovenia, as experts say. In addition, the famous celling in the main hall of the Celje County is without a doubt the most important monument of visual art between the Renaissance and Baroque on our grounds. The history of the 20th century Celje is represented by the Museum of Recent History, part of which is also the Children’s museum, and also its wing on Razlagova street, the Pelikan Glass Photographic Studio, which is the only one of its kind in Central Europe. Live visual art is displayed at the Gallery of Contemporary Art, which has its premises at the restored tract of the county’s mansion.
For nature, nice weather and fresh air lovers, a great way to relax is a walk around the Šmartinsko lake. A bike path and walking path start at the Church of the Holy Spirit and leads all the way to the lake. There are wooden benches along the way which enable you to relax and rest, a walk around the lake will offer many interesting information about the lake itself and the life in it, so don’t hesitate to stop in front of the informative boards and learn something new.
Source: Municipality of Celje