"Maribor" a Maribor Travel Page by Willettsworld

Maribor is Slovenia’s second largest city and is located in the north of the country in the region known as Stajerska. It lies in the foothills of Pohorje, a hilly area used for recreational activites and the Slovenske Gorice wine growing region to the north and east. The broad Drava River flows through the city and it was on the northern shore that the city began to emerge.

Maribor’s history began in the 12th century when it was known as Markburg having been established after a fort had been built on the nearby Piramida Hill in 1164. Markburg was given market rights in 1209 and was first mentioned as a town in 1254. Just a year later the townspeople began to build a two-kilometre long city wall, which set the boundary of the old town core. The wall was fortified with four defence towers. The Justice tower, Tscheligi tower, Jewish tower and the Water tower all helped to protect the town from Turkish invasions. It was during this period that the Jewish community started and a large synagogue was built.

The town grew during the Middle Ages but a fire in 1513 reduced almost the whole town to ashes. It was after the fire that the Town Hall was built in 1515 and the town quickly grew back but it’s fortunes gradually declined with other fires and the plague until the railway was built in 1846 connecting the town to Vienna and Trieste – the first town in Slovenia to be connected by rail. Because of the train, the town quickly grew and industrialise. However, two-thirds of the city lay in ruin after bombing raids during WWII.