On a guided walk, visitors learn about the diverse history and heritage of Slovenske Konjice.

Experienced tourist guides will share the stories that once, and today, have shaped the life of the inhabitants of Slovenske Konjice. On the way, visitors will learn about the diverse, almost 900-year history of the town, which originated under the mysterious Konjiška gora, through market houses, monuments and important buildings. The tour runs from the Town Square and ends at the Trebnik Mansion.

The themed guided tour of Slovenske Konjice will present you an important part of the local history, which has given the place an indelible seal.

Before the invention of plastics, leather was one of the most important raw materials, so it is not surprising that tanners can be found in almost every market as far as back as the Middle Ages. In Konjice, the leather industry was mainly marked by the Lavrič family, which in a short period of time became one of the most important leather shops in Slovenia. After the Second World War, the company. Konus, developed out of it, which was not only synonymous with quality, but at the same time one of the drivers behind the development of the area.

Take a walk in the footsteps of the great poet Ivan Minatti from Slovenske Konjice, who once wrote the famous masterpiece, You Must Love Someone.

Few people know that on 22nd March, 1924, the great Slovenian poet, translator, publicist and academic Ivan Minatti was born in the old market centre of Slovenske Konjice. As a five-year-old boy, he left the town along the Dravinja, but he loved to return to it, especially in the last years of his life. People of Konjice met him at their cultural events, on walks around the city with his wife, Lojzka, and among the wine-growing hills. Slovenske Konjice also awarded him the title of ‘Honorary Citizen’. With the guide, you will get to know the places in the city that have marked Minatti’s life, and at the same time you will listen to some of his verses, the verses of his wife, Lojzka Špacapan, and their daughter, poet Katarina Minatti.

With the guide, visitors will learn about the interesting history and life of the Carthusians in the Žiče Carthusian Monastery.

The first Carthusians from the Great Carthusian Monastery in France came to the remote Valley of St. John the Baptist in 1160. The Žiče Carthusian Monastery was the first monastery of its kind in Central Europe, and at the end of the 14th century it even became the seat of the General Prior of the Roman Obedience for a short period of time. On the guided tour, visitors will learn many interesting stories about what their everyday life looked like, how they were organised, what their impact was on the surrounding places and much more.

A guide brings children closer to the past life in Carthusian monastery in an understandable and playful way.

Adventure guiding through the Žiče Carthusian Monastery is designed interactively, so children are included in it at all times. By playing roles, they put themselves in the shoes of monks, make up the menus from the monastery kitchen, play charades and much more. In this way, they are presented with who is a monk and how the day was spent behind the walls of the monastery.

On a guided experience, visitors experience the silence and sounds of unspoiled nature and delve into the life of Carthusians who dealt with herbs and lived and worked in deep contemplation.

The herbal garden in Žiče Carthusian monastery, which is maintained by Majda and Katja Temnik, offers an ideal environment for a unique contact with the silence and sounds of nature. In the morning dawn, before the door of the Carthusian monastery opens, the participants spend an hour in “guided” silence. With the help of leaflets (hints, exercise and thought), participants are guided through an authentic direct experience of silence and pure sounds of nature.

Programme includes:

• a special experience of silence amongst the unspoiled monastic nature,
• the booklet Light of Silence,
• homemade apple strudel from Carthusian Gastuž – the oldest working inn in Slovenia,
• a cup of Majnika Homemade Tea from our organic production and
• ticket for the Žiče Carthusian Monastery.

CONTACT:
Katja Temnik
Žiče 66a, 3215 Loče
E:  zeliscni.vrt.majnika@gmail.com
T:  031 317 109 (Katja)

Žička kartuzija, a quiet beauty in the hidden Valley of St. John the Baptist near Slovenske Konjice, is a place that simply amazes you. The former Carthusian monastery, whose roots date back to the 12th century, is still a place of peace, quiet and tranquility, where even the sound of a telephone signal is seldom heard. There you can find authentic Carthusian gardens, a quaint herbal shop, a pottery workshop and a sparkling wine cellar, Gastuž 1467 – the oldest inn still operating in Slovenia and an exceptional example of preserving cultural heritage at the Church of St. John the Baptist, which made Žička Kartuzija one of the TOP 100 most sustainable destinations in the world in 2022. In today’s terminology, we could say that the Carthusians, as one of the strictest monastic orders, were able to live in touch with nature and with themselves and find ways to earn money for their community that did not harm the environment or society. As early as in the 12th century, the monks of the Žiče Carthusian Monastery organised their lives responsibly, with human, environmental and economic well-being in mind and in accordance with today’s criteria of sustainable and socially responsible development. That is why the managers of Žiče Carthusian Monastery strive to reintegrate these values into its everyday life. Žička kartuzija is slowly but steadily awakening from a centuries-long slumber.

Our green experience is intended for a small number of visitors, preferably 12 people and a guide. This is the exact number of monks who lived here, along with the Prior (12 + 1). The minimum number of participants is 8. We are preparing an experience for you together with many providers who are shaping the pulse of today’s Žička kartuzija. Therefore, booking is required at least 3 days before arrival. The best time to experience it is from April to the end of September. It takes time. From early morning to late afternoon. Only in this way will you be able to hear the silence and listen to the whispers of the stories that Žička kartuzija has been quietly telling since the 12th century.

You can see the full program HERE.

PRICE PER PERSON:  60€ (with a minimum attendance of 8 people)

PRICE INCLUDES:  Guided tour of the garden; PREMIUM herbal salt; Guided walk along the Silent Energy Themed Path of the Žiče Carthusian Monastery; Guided tour to the viewing platform with a viewpoint niche above the church presbytery accompanied by Gregorian chants; Pottery demonstration at the potter’s shop; Tasting of 3 types of homemade bread, 4 types of herbal spreads and bread and 5 types of herbal drinks at the herbalist’s shop; A glass of Zlati Grič sparkling wine; A portion of the Carthusian stew “Ole Potride” with homemade bread and baked apple, filled with nuts, almonds and cream; a leaflet about the Žiče Carthusian Monastery, a destination newspaper and other promotional material.

BOOKINGS : TIC Slovenske Konjice, Stari trg 27, 3210 Slovenske Konjice | T: +386 (0)3 759 31 10 | M: +386 (0)51 444 140 | E: info@tickonjice.si