Discovering Slovenia: Dolenjska, an overlooked region

Whenever we talk with travelers that have been to Slovenia or read some blog writing about it, they are all very familiar with places like Bled, Ljubljana and Piran. Places in Dolenjska region are less known, but no less beautiful.

Dolenjska is a region in South-East part of Slovenia. It’s very green with a lot of hills. On their slopes you will see a lot of vineyards where locals are producing regions most know wine, Cviček. River Krka gives a special mark to the region. It has a beautiful spring and a nice fishing area in the upper stream. It’s also a region with most castles, hot springs and spas in Slovenia.

We decided to take a daily road trip and visit few of the remarkable places of Dolenjska.

1. Otočec

A settlement is situated right in the middle between Ljubljana and Zagreb (Croatian capital). The most notable place there is Otočec castle. It stands on the island on river Krka. Around the castle there is a beautiful park, with a lot of water animals. Today this is a 5* hotel and a very popular wedding destination. It’s a charming place, where your eyes rest on all the green spaces, surrounding the castle.

2. Kostanjevica na Krki

Same river, another island, another cool place. Place is situated on a man made island. It has a lot of old, village houses surrounded by green river Krka. Due to frequent water floods, some people call Kostanjevica the Venice of Dolenjska. We were there in time of no flood, so we cannot confirm that, but we can confirm that this place is magical.

To get a feeling, how it really looks from above, we’re sharing a photo. Unfortunately it’s not our own, because you have to have wings to make one. 🙂

source

Near Kostanjevica there is Božidar Jakac gallery. Although we are not really into art, this exhibit in a church impressed us. It was a temporary, painting exhibition. Pictures were drawn with fluorescent colors, so you could only see them with special lighting. Exhibition was made by Tomislav Buntak and it was called Potovanje junaštva (Travel of heroism).

Although Dolenjska has a lot more to offer, we listed just the main places worth visiting. If you would like to get a feeling about the region, grab a car, and make a cruise. Slovenia is luckily small, so a quick daily cruise will give you a good insight into this beautiful region.