In our cellar

DURATION: 1 day
For groups of 40-50 people

GUIDE: partly
PROGRAMME:
Early morning departure from the arranged bus- stop. Driving on the highway all the way to Maribor and withdrawal of passengers in the center of Maribor, at the Tourist Information Center (TIC).

9:00

There, our guide is waiting for us and takes us on a two-hour trip, where we visit and get to know the Franciscan Church, Maribor Castle, Plague Sign, Rotovž – Town Hall, Slovenian National Theater Maribor and of course Lent.

Maribor is the second largest city in Slovenia and the center of the Municipality of Maribor. It is a university and metropolitan city and the economic, financial, administrative, educational, cultural, commercial and tourist center of northeastern Slovenia. Maribor was the European Capital of Culture in 2012 and the European Youth Capital in 2013. In 2012, it also hosted the European Youth Chess Championship. The town developed along the Drava River, below the castle there. The first mention of the castle dates back to 1164. The castle was called Marchburg, which means castle in the mark (the mark was a border county). The castle stood on the hill of the Pyramid, just above the city.
The settlement did not form under the fortress itself; firstly because of the dock under the castle and secondly because of the heavily swampy southwestern area. The settlement was formed along today’s Koroška cesta, ending in today’s Glavni trg, where two important routes from Koroška to Ptuj and from Ljubljana to Graz met. The first mention of the settlement of Maribor is from 1204. The square next to the castle is mentioned. In 1254, the square was granted city rights. With the victory of Rudolf of Habsburg over Otokar II. in 1278 the town began to develop rapidly. Maribor defied the siege of Matthias Corvinus in 1480 and 1481 and the siege of the Ottoman Empire in 1532 and 1683.
The city remained under the rule of the Habsburg Monarchy until 1918.
Today, the city has a number of institutions of national importance. The University of Maribor, the Institute of Information Sciences – IZUM, Nova KBM, Zavarovalnica Maribor, SNG Maribor, the University Clinical Center Maribor and the Archdiocese of Maribor are based here. National institutions such as Pošta Slovenije, the Slovenian Enterprise Fund, the Public Energy Agency of the Republic of Slovenia and the Railway Transport Agency are also based in the city.
Maribor is the center of Slovenian Styria and the seat of the Podravska region and the eastern cohesion region with a very favorable position at the crossroads of important European routes, along the Drava River, between Pohorje, Kozjak and Slovenske gorice, between the Drava Valley and the Drava plain.

11:00

On Lent, our first real stop is the House of the Old Vine – once part of the city walls, today a temple of wine tradition and culture of Maribor, Styria and Slovenia. They will spoil us with a tasting of top quality wines and chocolate.

In front of the House of the Old Vine in the central part of the old town on Lent, the Old Vine, the oldest vine in the world, has been deeply rooted for more than 400 years. The house was built in the 16th century and to this day on the south side, facing the Drava River, has not undergone significant architectural changes. The house was once part of the city walls, where angry fights often took place between the defenders of the city and the attackers. In the middle Ages, the House was engulfed in fire several times, but the solid “velvet blade” planted in front of it has survived to this day. Not even the bombing during World War II came to life, even though the House was partially demolished. Today, the House of the Old Vine houses a temple of wine tradition and culture of Maribor, Styria and Slovenia with guided tours of the rich wine heritage and museum exhibits. A convenient tourist information center is also available to visitors to the city. The Old Vine House also bears the honorary seat of Slovenian and international associations sworn to worship wine and wine culture: the Association of Honorable Wine Convents of St. Urban, the Association of the European Order of the Knights of Wine, the Association of the Slovenian Order of Knights and the Association of Slovenian and Maribor Wine Queens. In the House of the Old Vine, visitors have at their disposal a wine shop and a tasting room of top wines from the Maribor wine-growing sub-region, as well as a souvenir shop and excellent Slovenian chocolates. Throughout the year, the House hosts numerous events with a wine and culinary theme. In the summer months, you can sit in the wine garden and enjoy the view of the venerable “wine queen” in the company of excellent Styrian wine.

12:30

After wandering around the city, we head towards the bus and continue our way to the Land of Lešnik, only a few kilometers away. In a beautiful location, they provide us with lunch, typical Styrian delicacies and unique dishes, all accompanied by a good noble drop. After lunch, an hour of free time to explore the Land of Lešnik. You can relax your thoughts while playing mini golf, learning about traditional herbs in the herb garden, or a scoop of highly prized homemade elderberry or watermelon ice cream.

16:00

At 4 pm we get on the bus again and head towards Jarenina. We visit Dveri-Pax, one of the most modern wine cellars in Slovenia. They treat us to several wine samples and homemade bread and cheese snacks.

The Dveri-Pax Wine Cellar continues the more than 800-year-old Benedictine tradition of winemaking in the area of ​​northeastern Slovenia. With respect for nature and tradition and following the trends in the field of winemaking, they cultivate 73 hectares of their own vineyards. The top quality of their wines is proven by numerous awards from the largest international evaluations in the world, such as Decanter in London, AWC Wienna and many others. At the Decanter wine selection in London, they received the highest award for ŠIPON straw wine 2009 – the International Trophy, thus proving that with their top quality they are cutting the very top of the world’s wine producers.

In 1130-1135, the noble Rudolf Wittenswald donated the Jareninski dvor estate in gratitude to the church, and Bishop Konrad I of Salzburg donated the entire estate to the Benedictine monastery of Admont. The estate has increased over the centuries with additional purchases and donations. The Order also acquired vineyards in the area of ​​the Iron Gates and the Chapel. In 1300, the abbot of Admont, Engelbert, bought a vineyard at the Iron Gates from the citizen of Radgona, Lubeta Valba. On all the estates, the Benedictines produced wine, which the Admont subservient peasants transported by wagon to Austria. Written sources say that the monastery’s vineyards were beautifully cultivated, but they also skillfully celled with wine. The monks gave the administrators written instructions on how to manage the subordinate farmer or. tenant of the vineyard from the instructions (“Instructiones”) issued by the abbot Anselm Lierzer in 1712, in extensive 43 points, to the manager at Jareninski dvor (Jahringhof): Since vineyards are of special importance to them, they order workers to perform their duties with the utmost enthusiasm, fidelity and diligence to ensure that any work is done in a timely and appropriate manner, that the first pruning and hoeing is carried out in their presence, with special care and effort, as these two tasks must not be done too late; causes great damage to the crop, and the vines should not be tied early or in wet weather.

At the arranged hour, we set off from Jarenina back home.