City centre

THE MARKING OF ST. FLORIAN (Ešd: 10236)
Above the brook there is a beautifully designed plaque marking St. Florian with four saints – on the central pillar there is a statue of St. Florian, and on the lower pedestals around it there are statues of St. Francis Xavier, St. Roch, St. George and St. John Nepomuk. The monument reminds us of the frequent fires that the town has been ravaged by, as Konjice has been burned to the ground at least four times in its past. The monument was erected in the 18th century by the famous Konjice sculptor Franc Zamlik.

MARY’S MARKING (Ešd: 10360)
Mary’s Marking from 1737 is located in the upper part of the square near the parish church of St. George in Slovenske Konjice. The image of Mary has sadly been quite eroded by the ravages of time.

STARI TRG 1 (Ešd: 10213)
A long large building stands in the north-eastern end of the square . The north and west facades are sculpted. The facade surfaces are smooth, covered only with a narrow dividing wall. The corners are accented with a  interlaced cornerstones, the window openings on the floor have wide, plain artificial borders, and above them are shallow triangularl-shaped  designs. The building is one of the most important architectures in the market, due to the preserved floor plan design, quality material components and the large mass that completes the northern part of the southeastern market side.

STARI TRG 2 (Ešd: 10214)
A large extensive two-storey building stands independently as the last in a series of buildings on the northwestern market side, just above the Dravinja river. Basically, the building is from the 17th century with a preserved ground floor. In the Baroque style, it received its current shape and exterior appearance with a fresco of St. Florian on the entrance facade and an arcaded corridor on the courtyard side. Due to the Renaissance composition of architectural elements and the preserved interior with its quality wall formwork. Architecturally, it is one of the most significant buildings on the square. The floor corners are accentuated by baroque sewn edges, and the windows have panoramic panels. The entrance facade has been formed in cast iron and concrete.

STARI TRG 3 (Ešd: 10212)
This two storey building stands in an interrupted square sequence. Due to its uniform Renaissance base, it is one of the most important buildings in the square. The street facing facade is almost without division, partly more recent and insignificant. The building was rebuilt in the 19th century. Its original appearance has not changed significantly.

STARI TRG 5 (Ešd: 10211)
The tall, three-storey building stands in a continuous row and it is one floor higher than the others. The street-side facade is richly articulated with distinct plastic modelling. The diamond motif appears in a deep rustic (roughly carved stone) on the ground floor and between the two dividing walls between the ground floor and the second floor. The façade is completed by a dense cantilever wreath. With its distinctive façade in the new historical style at the end of the 19th century (Neo-Renaissance) and with its quality building furniture, it is a beautiful example of a bourgeois house in the square.

STARI TRG 7 (Ešd: 10215)
Unique architecture from 1894. An excellent example of a representatively designed “bourgeois” house from the period of late historicism. Formerly – the district head office.

 STARI TRG 15 (Ešd: 10216)
A large single storey building stands in a closed series of buildings on the south-eastern (SE) side of the square. It has two connecting tracts on the courtyard side. The street-side facade has more recent openings on the ground floor and is almost without division. On the courtyard facade of the main section, there is a beautiful Renaissance arcade corridor on the first floor, surrounded by a cross-reef vault. The unique Renaissance image with its quality building elements and richly decorated interiors makes it one of the most exceptional square houses in Slovenske Konjice.

STARI TRG 17 (Ešd: 10217)
The single storey building is located amongst a closed series buildings on the south-eastern (SE) side of the square. Architecturally, the street-facing facade is is almost as it was since the beginning of the 20th century. The only emphasis is given by the stone portal with a keystone on the triangularly broken lintel. The building has a Baroque design, which is visible on the ground floor, while there are no important architectural elements on the first floor.

STARI TRG 21 (Ešd: 10218)
A tall, two storey building stands in a closed row. The street-facing facade has minimal divisions at ground floor level, which is limited to a narrow dividing wall, corner sewn edges and simple window borders. The ground floor has more recent openings: the stone portal is rectangular, simple, with bumpers and simultaneous cassette gates. The building is basically early Baroque, as indicated by the ground floor section with arched rooms.

STARI TRG 22 (Ešd: 10219)
A tall, storey building stands in a closed row. The street-facing facade contains neo-Renaissance elements from the second half of the 19th century. On the ground floor, there are preserved gates, which have a rich, carved Renaissance motif. In the middle axis, on the first floor, there is a painting of the Sacred Family from 1893. All visible building elements speak for a uniform, late Baroque building design.

STARI TRG 23 (Ešd: 10220)
The two storey building is located in a closed series on south-eastern (SE) side of the square. The street-side facade is still intact, minimally articulated, with a narrow dividing wall. The window openings on the ground floor have wide frames, the wide rectangular portal has round deflectors. The windows at floor level have narrow profiled borders. The division of window leafs is interesting, with the bars densely intertwined above the light entrance. The building has an early 17th century design.

STARI TRG 24 (Ešd: 10221)
A large building stands in a closed series on the northwestern (NW) market side. The street-facing facade is richly articulated. The ground floor has deep horizontal rustication, which is penetrated by high, segmentally closed shop windows and a wide stone, segmentally closed portal with deflectors in the middle axis. The windows are richly accented with channelled pilasters bearing straight, profiled heads. The visible building material and preserved elements in the main tract are early Renaissance. The preserved original design, Renaissance and Baroque architectural elements and the quality 19th century reworking give the building cultural and historical value.

STARI TRG 25 (Ešd: 10222)
The two storey building is located in a closed building series. The intact street-facing facade is divided on the ground floor with horizontal shallow rustication, and on the first floor with a half-timbered division. The building substance is from the 16th or early 17th century. Due to its age, preserved materials and important architectural components, it is one of the most important architectures in the square.

STARI TRG 26 (Ešd: 10223)
The storey building is located in a closed building series. The modestly articulated street-facing facade is broken down along the third axis. The display windows are more recent. The floor windows have narrow borders and panels under windows with rectangular fields. The building foundations are from the 17th century.

STARI TRG 27 (Ešd: 10224)
The narrow single building is located in a closed building series. The 19th-century street-facing facade received new windows during the 20th century, so the original classic layout is truncated. The building has an older design, but Baroque building components predominate.

STARI TRG 28 (Ešd: 10225)
The particularly long building is located in a closed building series. The street-facing facade is uneven and minimally articulated. In addition to the Renaissance design, the exceptional preservation of some comprehensive interiors also gives the building a distinct value.

STARI TRG 29 (Ešd: 10226)
This large building is located in a closed building series. The street-facing facade shows an unchanged image from the first half of the 19th century with minimal articulation. It is evident that the garden plot of the building was arranged in a park style, i.e. it was a major building and had an important owner. Stegenšek refers to it as the “judiciary house of Negro”. The building is therefore one of the most important Baroque architectures with preserved substance, basic floor plan and some elements.

STARI TRG 31 (Ešd: 10227)
This is a corner building. The street-facing façade is almost undivided, but still intact. The ground floor windows have simple mortar borders, the dividing wall is a wide mortar strip, and the windows on the ground floor have shelves in addition to the profiled borders. A memorial plaque to the national hero Dušan Jereb is installed next to the rectangular stone portal with cassette gates. The building is from the late 16th or early 17th century, as evidenced by the preserved oriel window and vaults in this part of the building. Today, the building is important mainly because of the preserved architectural element, characteristic of the late 16th century – the oriel window, which is rare in the Styrian area.

STARI TRG 34 (Ešd: 10228)
The storey building is located in the closed series on the north-western (NW) side of the square. The street facade is original, made with minimal horizontal division. The windows have simple mortar borders. The entrance has a rectangular wooden portal and cassette doors. The way in which the entrance vaulted places the building in the 17th century, while all other vaults are of somewhat younger, Baroque style, so it was probably – depending on the type of vault – thoroughly rebuilt after the fire of 1765.

STARI TRG 36 (Ešd: 10229)
The large, corner, storey building was built in the Art Nouveau style at the beginning of the 20th century (the year 1904 is marked n the hall floor). The facade surfaces are adorned with typical Art Nouveau treatment. The building is a quality representative of Art Nouveau in our country, which is expressed both in the architecture and in all associated details and equipment. A bank used to operate in the building.

STARI TRG 38 (Ešd: 10230)
Kaplanija  – originally this was a mortuary And was converted into a chaplaincy in 1799.

STARI TRG 39 (Ešd: 10231)
An extremely long storey building stands a broken line of buildings bordering the square. The building is basically Renaissance with Renaissance window sills along the facade. On the west facade, in a white frame, there is a fresco of St. Florian. The fresco has been repaired several times, but could be from a time after the fire around 1600. The street facade is undamaged, decorated with minimal division. Its present appearance dates from the first half of the 19th century. The entrance portal with the year 1833 shows all the features of this period. The frames are adorned with scales and tufts, the windows have narrow rod-shaped profiled borders and strongly protruding sills. The building is one of the most exceptional square architectures with a Renaissance floor plan and well preserved architectural elements.

OLD TG 40 (Ešd: 10232)
The parish church closes the Old Square. The north-eastern (NE) section dates from the 15th century. The other wings were built around 1632. The unique stucco ceiling in one of the rooms dates from 1770.

LOTUS FLOWER
Artist: Milislav Tomanić, 1985
Location: in front of the entrance to the Nova KBM building on Oplotniška cesta in Slovenske Konjice
Message: A closed circle of seated females connected into a flower as a symbol of life.

CORE
Artist: Vasilije Četković – Vasko, 1975, iron
Location: Town square, at the personal entrance to the Konus industrial zone
Message: The core is represented by all employees of the former Konus company. Konus has grown from a leather shop into a community of diverse production. The core expands in its sheath and gives an idea of further development and direction of the company. The author says that the bright core is a symbol of reason, ideas, progress, development, it is the eye and heart that beats within us, it is an atom and a symbol of energy on which we all depend and without which we cannot live. The core represents the past, present and future life and work of the Konjice economy.
Source: K.B., 1975 ‘Core – sculpture in front of the factory.’ KONUS Newsletter, July 1975:  5.

OWL
Artist: Jože Svetnik, 1987, iron
Location: Mestni trg 18
Message: The owl is the mythological protector of scientific activity. In the modern world, it is a symbol of wisdom.

MEMENTO MORI
Conceptual design: Arpad Šalamon, 1997, wood
Location: near the chapel of rest in Slovenske Konjice
Message: The figures on the oak trunk symbolically show the transience of the world, reminiscent of death and respect for life; they are memories of interwar and post-war victims. Memento Mori is a Latin saying “be aware of death”, which can also be translated as “be aware that you are mortal”, “be aware that you are going to die”, “be aware that you must die” or “be aware of your death”. The statement describes a type of art that is diverse but has a common message – alerting people to their mortality. The proposal for the installation of a memorial sculpture was submitted by Janez Jazbec. The author of the conceptual art idea is the Konjice painter Arpad Šalamon. Carving of the motifs on an oak trunk, which reached its final age in the Sports Park under Konjiška gora, was carried out by members of the Cultural Association of Artists of Slovenske Konjice, which was chaired by Franci Ratej. Milan Lamovec (Didi), Zlatko Prah (Zlati Prah), Slavko Tomše, Vojko Kumer, Slavko Slapnik (Gadi), Franci Ratej (Franki) and Arpad Šalamon participated in the voluntary work on the sculpture. The project of placing the sculpture in a space together with the external arrangement – access, pedestal and fence, which is part of the symbolic expression of the sculpture, was contributed by MA Miro Kvas.

LITTLE ANT
Artist: Franjo Funkelj, 2010, iron, concrete
Location: Tovarniška cesta 3, Kongrad
Message: In the treasury of proverbs, the ant is a virtue of diligence and harmonious construction of a dwelling.

MONUMENT TO KONJICE LEATHERWORKING or WINGS
Artists: Goran Horvat and Jože Horvat (Jaki), 1987, white concrete
Location: Mestni trg 18, entrance to the Konus office building
Message: The monument represents the leather industry which developed along the rich water resources, as water has a central place in the sculpture. The monument consists of three wings, of different sizes, which are placed in a circle when seen from above. The wings represent the letters of the stylised signature of the author Goran Horvat, small h and g; they are stuccoed with plant and animal motifs of Jože Horvat, whose similar graphics can also be found in the Velenje Gallery and the Mozirje Central Library. Near the Monument to Konjice leatherworking, there is also a street called Usnjarska cesta – Leatherworking Road. We learn a little more about Konjice leathermaking from the article Leather Factory in Konjice, by Vinko Zdovec, in the magazine Zbornik 2000, Konjice and its surroundings; the development of leathermaking is also presented in the brochure KONUS 1874 – 1974.
Source: Goran Horvat, March 2022

WOMAN ON HORSEBACK
Artist: Vasilije Četković – Vasko, 2009, bronze
Location: Mestni trg
Message: The horse as a noble creature is one of the most widespread animal figures in art. The message of the sculptor and author of the statue is appropriate for Slovenske Konjice, as the town has a horse in its coat of arms as a living historical symbol of the square from around 1571. A grain of new time has sprung up, although it will still have to stand on tiptoe in order for the city to dance into the future with new horizons and the consolidation of human values, which is our great moral duty. The optimism of the people is always cherished and reflected by the environment in bad or good times, because none are eternal. Only happy people are content people. Check out the statue in its space.

HORSE AND WOMAN
Author: Vasilije Četković – Vasko, 2017
Location: City Park under Trebnik Castle
Message: The author in this composition, in the metaphor of a horse on its back and a woman next to him, tells about the respect for a woman who helps a man survive and get back on his feet. That in an increasingly divided human world, a path to human coexistence in all environments and relationships is necessary for us to survive. We all like to climb up the ladder, even at the expense of another, without end, until we fail and fall into disgrace. The author realised this himself when he became seriously ill. Aware of his threatened condition, he saw in front of him the only opportunity to rise back up next to a woman who unconditionally follows him and helps him. Thus, his monument of the horse and the woman was created from the discovery of the disease to an eventual return to good health. This is a special story. As if the woman and the horse had a premonition of where they would be most accepted and safe, they found their place among horses and real people – in Slovenske Konjice. The place where their ride had also first started. A story with many beginnings and endings in which people will be able to meet each other and themselves. Facing their own ups and downs, trying to understand them.

The history of the Trebnik Castle dates back to the 14th century, more precisely to 1308, when it was first mentioned in historical sources as “Trebnikke”, and it was mentioned as a mansion under the Konjice castle in 1362. The mansion acquired its final appearance in the 16th century.

Over time, numerous events have affected it and its owners. The most characteristic and important owner was the Windischgrätz family, which owned the mansion from 1828 until the end of the Second World War. They lived in it only occasionally, it served them more as a summer residence. A lot of attention was paid to the surroundings, especially the horticultural aspect. They had a landscaped garden and their own gardener. This is also where the great love for flowers comes from, which spread in Slovenske Konjice and still lives today.

After the war, the mansion came into the ownership of the Municipality of Slovenske Konjice, which dedicated the manor premises to various activities, such as a cinema, café, kindergarten amongst others. This most likely affected the rather poor and abandoned state in which the mansion found itself in 1997.

In the shadow of the mighty Konjiška gora and the tranquility of the charming park by Trebnik, which continues into the over 870-year-old town centre of Slovenske Konjice, there is a strong pulse of the past. Today, the Trebnik mansion is generally accessible and intended for the implementation of health and related activities in Building B, as well as catering and tourism or accommodation, and some departments of the Slovenske Konjice Music School have found a home in Building A.

A sufficient number of parking spaces are provided next to the building, and the mansion is located in an extremely attractive and pleasant part of Slovenske Konjice – in a renovated city park with a picturesque jogging trail, a sports park, a quaint pond with an islet and a children’s playground in the shade of mighty trees. The park is divided by the murmuring stream, Ribnica, which continues its path past the Church of St. George into the Konjice old town square.

On the ground floor of the renovated Building B of the Trebnik Castle there is the Trebnik Restaurant and Café, and on the first floor, which includes four business premises, there are various service activitiesincluding space for lectures, consultations, , business meetings and conventions. On the same floor there is also the 90 m2 “Christianne’s room” (named after the last living person from the Windischgrätz family) and can accommodate 40 to 60 people offering various layouts with 24 conference tables, 60 chairs and a speaker’s desk. The room is heated and equipped with a projection screen, a freestanding whiteboard, an LCD projector and internet access. Over time, it has also become a venue for occasional exhibitions.

In the attic space of the renovated mansion, visitors can sleep in comfortable and tastefully furnished rooms. The Trebnik Manor – ROOMS has eight bright and spacious rooms, which have contemporary furnishing. Read more about accommodation at www.dvorectrebnik.si