Medieval afternoon in Celje

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After I spent 2 nights in Graz, on my way back to Ljubljana, I spent an afternoon in Celje, an old city between Maribor and Ljubljana. Celje was a home to the famous Celje counts, the most important aristocratic and ruling house from the region that is Slovenia consisted of today. Many signs and symbols can be found in the city that remind on that period, from the city's coat of arms to the most impressing one - an upper city with a well kept castle and included buildings. The history starts back in 14th century when this county was under rule of Habsburg monarchy when the county started to strength up conquering many surrounding counties and getting new ones as rewards from the Habsburg monarchy itself. Whats left of it is the mentioned castle above the city. Celje itself is a small, clean, very environmentally concious regarding to the drawings that represent eco-friendly transportation under one of the bridges. With narrow, short and rocky streets, old architecture and small town squares make this town still medieval reminding visitors of a rich tradition and history of this place. Of course, I wont even suprise you with the fact that it was raining again. Celje is situated on the bank of river Savinja, small, shallow and very clear and transparent. The castle can be seen nicely from the river bank. After consulting with some local old man I had some suggestion how to reach the castle. An ordinary road, extremely sheer to someone from a plain takes you up by foot in 35 mins. Fortunately, on my half way there I saw a car that took me up. Interesting was that the driver is actually an employee at the castle complex. He was also happy and glad that people from Yugoslavia still come to Celje and was willing to help me. Some reconstructions were going on those days, but the complex was open to visitors and apsolutely tidy. The walls offer a great view over the valley and Celje. I spent some time walking around the castle, passing many different sections and walls until I hit the road back to the station to catch a train to Ljubljana. I missed the supposed train, but another one came soon.

The walls offer a great view over the valley and Celje.