Holiday apartment in Velenje: discover the castle, lake and culture

Velenje combines impressive cultural sites with Lake Velenje and an unusually vivid mining history. Velenje Castle is one of the best-preserved castles in Slovenia. It acquired its present Renaissance appearance in the 16th century. The castle is also home to the Velenje Museum, which offers eleven permanent exhibitions in the fields of museum and gallery collections. Among other things, visitors can see an African collection, mastodon remains and contemporary Slovenian art.

Culture and history

The Slovenian Mining Museum offers a special historical perspective: the tour leads 160 metres underground and presents the life of miners in 20 scenes with 15 puppets. It concludes with a ride on the underground railway. Velenje Castle Chapel is also located in the castle. It displays a small collection of Baroque church art from the former Church of St George in Škale, which had to be demolished in the middle of the 20th century due to mining subsidence.

The retro walk Experience Socialism also leads from the statue of Marshal Tito to the former workers’ centre. It includes interactive stations as well as a tasting of an authentic socialist workers’ meal. In the centre of Velenje, the monumental statue of Marshal Tito dominates the complex of the central town square. Tito Square is designed as a place for gatherings, cultural events and celebrations, and is surrounded by Velenje’s most important buildings.

Art in the centre

The Velenje Gallery is housed in a modernist building on Tito Square in the city centre. Its focus is on contemporary art from the Šalek and Upper Savinja valleys, from Slovenia and from Europe. The collection comprises just under 1,000 works, including Slovenian modern and contemporary art, graphics, photographs, drawings and an international collection of paintings.

The House of Minerals offers a different approach to natural history. More than 12,000 different minerals from the private collection of collector and expert Jože Rihtar are displayed there. The exhibition also includes a geological collection of precious stones, semi-precious stones and ornamental stones. Velenje’s cultural offerings therefore bring art, urban history, mining and the history of the Earth together, without any one focus displacing the other themes.

Lake and nature

Vista is located on Lake Velenje next to Velenje Beach. Vista includes a 14-metre-high viewing platform and a long lakeside pier. The site also serves as a venue for cultural, sporting, entertainment and tourism events. Velenje Beach is the designated bathing area on Lake Velenje; lifeguards and other trained staff ensure safety there. At the same time, the beach is a starting or finishing point of the ŠTREKNA cycling route.

A park features diverse aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Around 120 bird species have been recorded there, including 29 endangered species. In addition to its role in nature conservation education and teaching, the park offers good and interesting opportunities for recreation. Water, open habitats and the observed birdlife thus form another clearly defined area of interest alongside the museums and historic sites.

Events for children

Every year, Velenje hosts the Pika Festival, the largest children’s festival in Slovenia. In the centre of Velenje, it features theatre, puppet and dance performances, concerts, creative workshops, exhibitions and interactive experiences. The festival complements the permanently accessible museums, galleries and squares with an annual cultural event with a clear focus on children.

You can explore other destinations at the same level via Topolšica, Šoštanj and Gorenje.

To the overview of higher-level travel destinations: Velenje.