How should you spend a pleasant afternoon in the embrace of the ancient past?
From Terme Zreče, you can take a trail to the industrial zone below, to the former location of a black coal mine. When you reach it, the road slightly ascends until you get to the Gračič village and, from that point onwards, to the very top of Brinjeva Gora Mountain, where the traces of first human settlements date about 4,000 years back (Neolithic). Interestingly enough, Brinjeva Gora was also settled by the Celts throughout the Bronze and Iron Ages, followed by the Romans and a Slavic settlement. The Freudenberg Castle stood proudly at this site in the Middle Ages. Nowadays, you are taken under the wings of the Church of the Holy Mother of God and Church of Saint Agnes. Your trail will take you to the Zimrajh Inn, where you unknowingly have a cup of coffee on top of a Roman cemetery.
A picturesque cultural landscape and charming nature with extensive vineyards. What more could you want?
Head to Slovenske Konjice along the former narrow-gauge railway track that used to connect Poljčane, Slovenske Konjice and Zreče. Then walk through the large vineyards, past one of the largest and most state-of-the-art furnished wine cellars in Europe, Zlati Grič, to the Zlati Grič Inn, from where an exquisite view of Slovenske Konjice and Konjiška Gora Mountain, where the ruins of the once magnificent Slovenske Konjice Castle stand proud on the one hand and a 9-hole golf course on the other, opens up. The historic centre of Slovenske Konjice with its cafés, city gallery, Church of St. George and the Trebnik Herb Gallery is only a stone's throw away.
The road through the village of Žiče and the valley of St. John will take you to the mysterious Žiče Charterhouse. In about 1155, the former owner of the property, the Border Earl of Styria Ottokar II, set out to establish an abode for monks stemming from the Grande Chartreuse in France. After arriving in 1160, the monks started to construct the majority of the facilities, which were initially made of wood but later on mostly of masonry. In the 15thcentury, the present Gastuž was built. This building is one of the oldest preserved inns in Central Europe. Life in the monastery came to an end in 1782, when the Žiče Charterhouse was abolished by Emperor Joseph II's Decree. After 1827, the facilities started to deteriorate, but the Charterhouse was revived during recent years.
KSEVT - Kulturno središče evropskih vesoljskih tehnologij
KSEVT prevzema osrednjo kulturno vlogo v Vitanju. Arhitekturna zasnova izhaja iz načrta prve geostacionarne vesoljske postaje – bivalnega kolesa, ki ga je leta 1928 v svoji knjigi opisal Herman Potočnik Noordung, nekoč Vitanjčan, ki je pomembno zaznamoval področje raketne tehnologije. Velika stalna razstava v KSEVT-u je posvečena ravno njemu ter njegovim idejam in rešitvam za osvajanje vesolja. Poleg »vesoljskega muzeja« se v KSEVT-u odvijajo tudi druge lokalne, regionalne in planetarne dejavnosti.