Ptuj is a town in northeastern Slovenia that is the seat of the Municipality of Ptuj. Ptuj, the oldest recorded city in Slovenia, has been inhabited since the late Stone Age and developed from a Roman military fort. Ptuj was located at a strategically important crossing of the Drava River, along a prehistoric trade route between the Baltic Sea and the Adriatic. Traditionally the area was part of the Styria region and became part of the Austria-Hungarian Empire. In the early 20th century the majority of the residents were ethnic Germans, but today the population is largely Slovene. Residents of Ptuj are known as Ptujčani in Slovene.

Country	Slovenia
Government
• Mayor	Nuška Gajšek
Area
• Total	67 km (26 sq mi)
Population (July 1, 2018)
• Total	23,214
• Density	350/km  (900/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02 (CEST)

Culture

The Kurent or Korant Carnival

Ptuj is the center place of a ten-day-long carnival in the spring, an ancient Slavic pagan rite of spring and fertility, called Kurentovanje or Korantovanje. Kurent is believed to be the name of an ancient god of hedonism – the Slavic counterpart of the Greek god Priapos, although there are no written record.

Kurent or Korant is a figure dressed in sheep skin who go about the town wearing masks, a long red tongue, cow bells, and multi-colored ribbons on the head. The Kurent(s) from Ptuj and the adjoining villages also wear feathers, while those from the Haloze and Lancova Vas wear horns. Organized in groups, Kurents go through town, from house to house, making noise with their bells and wooden sticks, to symbolically scare off evil spirits and the winter.

Landmarks

The parish church in the settlement is dedicated to Saint George and belongs to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Maribor. It is a three-naved Gothic building from the 13th and early 14th century, but the structure incorporates parts of a much earlier structure, dating to the mid-9th century.

Ptuj Castle

Ptuj Castle is a castle in Ptuj, Slovenia. It stands on a hill alongside the Drava River overlooking the town, and it is a prominent landmark.

The castle was built in the mid-12th century, when it was constructed to defend against the Hungarians. When the castle was built, the town of Ptuj was part of the Archdiocese of Salzburg.

It was owned by the Jesuits of Zagreb for some time. In 1656, due to financial hardship, the Jesuits sold the castle to the Holy Roman Field Marshal Walter Leslie, a Scot by birth. The castle was thoroughly rebuilt during the Baroque period. Due to the end of the Turkish invasions the castle lost its defensive character. General Walter Leslie turned it into a rural residence and the seat of a landed estate. His descendants owned it until 1802. After their extinction the estate was inherited by their relatives, the Dietrichsteins, but they became extinct in 1864 as well.

Other Landmarks worth to visit:

St. George’s Church, Little Castle , Ptuj Town Hall
Ptuj Town Theatre, Town Tower, Dominican monastery
Orpheus Monument, Franciscan monastery, Upper Mansion
St. Oswald’s Church, Town quarters.

Ouroboros in Ptuj castle
Center
Breg–Turnišče
Ljudski Vrt
Jezero
Panorama
Rogoznica
Grajena
Spuhlja

Contacts

Županja Mestne občine Ptuj
Nuška GAJŠEK
telefon: 02 / 748 29 10
e-pošta: nuska.gajsek@ptuj.sitajništvo županje
Janja ZORKO
telefon: 02 / 748 29 13
e-pošta: janja.zorko@ptuj.si

direktor občinske uprave
Alen JEVTOVIĆ
telefon: 02 / 748 29 11
e-pošta: alen.jevtovic@ptuj.sitajništvo direktorja
Sabina STEINER
telefon: 02 / 748 29 12
e-pošta: sabina.steiner@ptuj.si

Kabinet županje
višji svetovalec za pomoč pri vodenju kabineta
Martin KUKOVIČ
telefon: 748 29 82
e-pošta: martin.kukovic@ptuj.si
Tina BAŠTEVC
telefon: 748 29 15
e-pošta: tina.bastevc@ptuj.si
Barbara FERČIČ
telefon: 748 29 20
e-pošta: barbara.fercic@ptuj.si

Urša SIMONIČ
telefon: 748 29 17
e-pošta: ursa.simonic@ptuj.si
Kornelija F. ORLAČ
telefon: 748 29 18
e-pošta: kornelija.orlac@ptuj.si
Anica PAJ
telefon: 748 29 19
e-pošta: ana.paj@ptuj.si
mednarodni odnosi, protokol
Matic MERC
telefon: 748 29 76
e-pošta: matic.merc@ptuj.sipredstavnica za odnose z javnostmi
Stanka KRAJNC LETONJA
telefon: 02 748 29 47
e-pošta: stanka.krajnc-letonja@ptuj.si
Jasmina KRAJNC
telefon: 748 29 59
e-pošta: jasmina.krajnc@ptuj.si