Olimje Monastery

Olimje began as a Renaissance manor and became a Pauline monastery in the seventeenth century, later Minorite, and the room people come for is the pharmacy: a vaulted apothecary of about 1780 with its painted walls and ceiling intact, saints and physicians above shelves of labelled jars. It is described locally as one of the oldest surviving pharmacies in Europe. A herb garden is laid out behind the monastery and the church holds a large gilded Baroque altar.

What you actually see

• The painted pharmacy - a vaulted apothecary of about 1780 with frescoes and jars.
• The herb garden - beds of medicinal plants worked by the community.
• The Baroque altar - the large gilded high altar in the monastery church.
• The Renaissance core - the manor with corner towers underneath the monastery.

When to go

April to October is the main season; winter hours are shorter. Weekends and the nearby spa traffic make afternoons busy. The herb garden is at its best in early summer.

Honest expectations

The pharmacy is a single small room and the visit is short. The complex sits beside a tourist strip with a chocolate shop and coach parking. Interpretation in English is limited.

Nearby

Podcetrtek is east, and Podsreda is south.