At Dusk

... Italy on the horizon ... 

The Church of. St. George

City Lights

Piran #1

Piran ... a very special and romantic city.

Mermaid

Lock(ed)

Broken Sight

The Legend Says ...

The beginnings of Ptujska Gora are wrapped in a mystery, since the church isn't directly mentioned in any of the historical documents. The indirect written sources, however, are consistent with the legend of its origin, which has been preserved in oral tradition to the present day. The legend says that a Lord at the Wurenberg (Vurberk) castle had an only child, a blind daughter. One day, when praying to the Mary, the blind girl saw a light in the distance – on a hill near Ptuj – and she miraculously healed. She asked her parents to take her to the place where she saw the light. The grateful father took her there and decided to build a church in honour of the Virgin Mary. One of the sources, confirming that the church was built by the order of the Lord of Ptuj, is a travel diary of Paolo Santonino (1487). 

In 2010, Ptujska Gora celebrated 600 years of the founding of the church. As a memory of the legend, Marta Mikolič designed a statue of the blind girl looking toward the hill.

The most important data on the founding of the church have been obtained from inventory registers of the archive of the Lords of Stubenberg at the Vurberk castle dating from the years 1467, 1498 and 1543 in which the documents are registered merely in the form of short regests (registers). The inventory includes the regest of the document by which pope Boniface granted Ulrik Walsee permission to build a church on Ptujska Gora. Considering the pontificate of pope Boniface IX (1389-1404) and the time of death of Ulrik IV Walsee in 1400 it can be dated between the years 1389 and 1400. Between 1390 and 1397/98, Ulrik IV Walsee was a guardian to his under-age cousin Bernard, Lord of Ptuj, who was considered the founder of the church on Ptujska Gora. The most significant for the dating of the completion of the church and the founding of the main benefice proved to be the regest of the deed with which Otto, priest at St. Laurence, permitted Bernard, Lord of Ptuj, to post his own curate at Ptujska Gora.

I still haven't bought a tripod, but it's about time I do. :/

Lines And Shadows

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Have You Ever Been to Maribor?

Have you ever been to Maribor? Don’t worry, you will soon want to. In 2012, Maribor will be the European Capital of Culture. 

Stari most, 2011 © Suzie Blue Photography

In 2012, the Slovenian city of Maribor – which is home to the oldest vine in the world – is proud to play host to a year of outstanding and exciting cultural performances to which all of Europe is invited. This is a challenge for Maribor, but one that faces many other regional towns and cities throughout Slovenia and, indeed throughout Europe at this difficult time for us all. Maribor will share the ECOC 2012 title with its Slovenian partner towns Murska Sobota, Novo Mesto, Ptuj, Slovenj Gradec and Velenje. Altogether, the ECOC will extend to cover more than half of the total area of Slovenia. In 2012, this unique region between Austria, Italy and Hungary which has had a history to rival any part of Europe since Roman times will once again become an international crossroad.

Maribor is thoroughly preparing for the ECOC. More than 400 architecture organisations from all over the world participated in the International Architectural Competition “River Drava 2012”, which combined three central projects for the revitalising regeneration of the river embankment in the city. This area around the river will be one of the principal settings of the European Capital of Culture and a key element to the town’s development in the next 20 years. As a result of the competition, the new art gallery will be designed by a Hungarian firm, the river bank between the Water Tower and the Judgement Tower by one from Italy and the new footbridge across the river Drava by Spanish architects. Europe truly is coming to the heart of Maribor!

With the generous support of the European Regional Development Fund, Maribor has already renovated a historic 13th century building in the city centre which will play host to the headquarters of the European Capital of Culture. Also new is the Maribor Puppet Theatre – located in a former Minorite monastery the theatre is arguably the most beautiful of its type in Europe. Shortly the former monastery’s church will be transformed into a music venue and by 2012, all the city centre’s main squares will have been redeveloped to accommodate and welcome our visitors. The smallest of these, Rotovž Square, will become the new central library. Through realising the vision of world-renowned theatre director Tomaž Pandur, whose artistic endeavours span from Madrid and Berlin to his hometown of Maribor, the city will gain a new Centre of Performing Arts Maribor (CPAM) on the right bank of the Drava River. Offering excellent views across Maribor, CPAM will undoubtedly provide many cultural highlights and become a key visitor attraction during our European Capital of Culture year.

All of this makes the ECOC the biggest cultural project in the history of Slovenia – a country which, coincidentally but perhaps appropriately, will celebrate its 21st birthday as an independent nation in 2012 does so with the opportunity to come of age on the global stage.

The question is not therefore “Have you ever been to Maribor?” but rather “When do you arrive?”.

See you all in 2012….

(http://www.global-travels.net/slovenia/maribor-culture-2012)

On the photo:

Today’s Old Bridge or Stari most was built between the years 1906 and 1912. It was one of the most beautiful bridges in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Prior to the steel construction, there used to be a wooden bridge, that connected the central part with the other side, called Tabor. The bridge was partly destroyed during WWII, rebuilt after the war and renovated in 1990 and 1998. It's 166m long. 

(http://mykafkaesquelife.blogspot.com/2010/11/maribor-my-hometown.html)