Brezice

Brežice grew as a border town where the Krka joins the Sava, and its castle, rebuilt in the sixteenth century as a Renaissance fortress against the Ottomans, holds the room the town is known for: the Knights' Hall, painted in the 1700s with illusionistic architecture, mythological scenes and figures covering the walls and ceiling completely, so the flat surfaces appear to open into depth. The castle also houses the Posavje Museum. A very long wooden water tower stands in the town.

Background

Brežice, Rann in German, lies in the middle of the Brežice Plain, part of the larger Krka Flat, in the Lower Sava Valley. Traditionally the Sava split the area, with Lower Styria on the left bank and Lower Carniola on the right. Celtic burials of the 2nd century BC have turned up here, and people have lived on the site since prehistoric times. The castle is first recorded in 1249, and the present building dates to 1529. Franciscan friars opened the first school in 1668, and a hospital followed in 1872. A flood in 1781 damaged Saint Lawrence's Church and shifted the river, so a new church was built in the town centre in 1782.

Source: Wikipedia, "Brežice"

What you'll find

• The Knights' Hall - an eighteenth-century hall painted floor to ceiling in illusionistic scenes.
• The Posavje Museum - archaeology, ethnography and regional history in the castle.
• The Renaissance fortress - bastioned walls and corner towers built against Ottoman raids.
• The water tower - the tall brick tower standing over the town centre.

When to go

Year round; the museum closes on Mondays. The Seviqc Brezice early music festival runs in summer and uses the hall. Winter hours are shorter.

Before you go

The town itself is plain and the castle is the reason to come. The Knights' Hall is used for concerts and events and can be closed to visitors. Summer heat in this corner is heavy.

Nearby

Kostanjevica na Krki is west, and Bizeljsko is north.