Holiday apartment in Stari Trg: Churches, Stations of the Cross and Roman heritage

Stari Trg combines a place name that has developed over centuries with impressive churches, a historic Stations of the Cross and archaeological traces dating from the Late Iron Age to the Middle Ages. The current name Stari Trg is first documented in 1331 as „Antiquum forum“. It takes less than ten minutes to walk from Slovenj Gradec to Stari Trg.

Culture and history

At the foot of Grajski hrib, Colatio was located on the Roman road from Celeia to Virunum. Colatio was an ancient settlement and posting station whose development can be traced from the 1st to the 5th century AD. The site is one of the few preserved and researched Roman posting stations in the territory of Slovenia. South of Stari Trg, the Roman cemetery of Colatio is also located on both banks of the Draga stream.

Grajski hrib also reaches far back into the past: the hill was already inhabited in the Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age. The Late Bronze Age is dated to the period from the middle of the 14th to the middle of the 12th century BC. The archaeological sites of Grajski hrib and Colatio form an archaeological complex of European significance. Finds at the Puščava archaeological site provide evidence that a hillfort existed there during the Late Iron Age.

The Puščava archaeological cemetery comprises 136 Late Antique and early medieval graves; two further graves were discovered there in 1995. In Grave 8, both female and male grave goods were found with the same skeleton. The Late Antique graves date from the end of the 4th to the 5th century. After a two-hundred-year interruption, part of the cemetery was used again from the early 8th century.

Churches and sacred paths

Above Stari Trg stands the medieval castle, first mentioned in 1091 as Grez („Gradec“). In the centre of the village, St. Radegund's Church is situated on a steep slope below the castle. Beneath the presbytery, it preserves a Late Gothic crypt; its high altar was created by J. J. Mersi in 1768.

St. Pancras Church preserves further distinctive features. Its western entrance was built around 1240, and the tympanum above the portal contains a fresco depicting Mary and Jesus. The church also includes a covered holy staircase whose walls are decorated with frescoes of Passion scenes. Its architecture incorporates elements of one of the oldest castles in Slovenia.

The Stations of the Cross in Stari Trg leads from St. Radegund's Church to St. Pancras Church. It comprises thirteen chapels built around 1790 and ends at the holy staircase as the fourteenth station. The reliefs in the chapels come from the J. Mersi sculpture workshop in Slovenj Gradec. The Mythical Trail presents St. Pancras Church above Stari Trg as part of a ritual triangle in the Mislinja Valley.

Tradition in the landscape

Two hayracks are among the area's special rural landmarks. Despite being fully restored, the Mežnikov hayrack still has a wooden structure in a traditional design and retains the year 1865; this makes it one of the oldest hayracks in the area. The Rupertov hayrack is a traditional Toplar standing on a hilltop in Stari Trg and dates from the end of the 19th century.

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Further destinations

For further options, direct connections lead to Mislinja, Sele and Slovenj Gradec.

To the higher-level travel overview: Slovenj Gradec.