Kamnik

Kamnik sits where the plain runs into the Kamnik-Savinja Alps, and it was a significant trading town before Ljubljana overtook it. The old town is a long curved street of painted houses with two castle rocks standing over it: Mali grad, whose ruined walls hold a two-storey Romanesque chapel of the twelfth century, one of the best pieces of Romanesque architecture in the country, and Stari grad on the hill behind. The Volčji Potok arboretum and the mountains are both close.

History

The name Kamnik is first recorded in the 11th century and the town in 1229, as an important trading post on the road between Ljubljana and Celje, which makes it one of the oldest towns in Slovenia. In the Middle Ages it had its own mint and was among the main centres of power of the Bavarian counts of Andechs (Wikipedia, Kamnik).

What's there

• The Mali grad chapel - a two-storey Romanesque chapel on the rock above the street.
• The old town street - a curved run of painted burgher houses.
• Stari grad - the ruined upper castle on the hill behind the town.
• The alpine backdrop - the Kamnik-Savinja wall rising straight from the town's edge.

When to go

Year round; the chapel is open in season and by arrangement otherwise. The National Costumes Days festival is in September. Winter closes some of the museums.

What to expect

The chapel is often locked outside summer and access needs checking. The old town is small and quickly walked. The modern town around it is unremarkable.

Nearby

Volcji Potok is south, and Velika Planina is north.

Key facts