Slovenian tourist gem – Olimje

Olimje is a nice village in Slovenia, a part of a young municipality of Podčetrtek. It’s located at the base of Rudnice mountain on the border with Croatia (just 70km away from Zagreb). The spa Olimje is a true magnet for tourists, but once there, you cannot leave without visiting the vineyards and try the local cuisine. The main line connecting it all is always the unspoiled nature, making this place a true pearl in the touristic sense.

Although the day of our visit way rainy, there was no possibility for us not to enjoy Olimje. the main attraction is the leveled offer of the place, so there’s really nothing that would stand out, for all was excellent.

The renewed monastery in the castle complex with the church decorated by baroque golden-black altars has been standing here since the 11th century. In 1990 the order of minors got the castle back for their use and take pride in showing the visitors the artistic and sacred riches of the church as well as the old apothecary. It is one of the oldest still preserved apothecaries in Europe and rich with wall frescos. In front of the monastery is the herbal garden, with over 160 different healing herbs, from which they prepare teas, remedies and other helpful plant based products. I was especially surprised at how many young visitors seemed interested in healing herbs, for I never expected to see a group of all ages from children to elderly people, to be listening to gardening lectures.

And then the footpath lead us to the famous chocolate house of Olimje. we got a sweet welcome with many free samples of chocolate to try. the goodness stalked on their shelves does not, however, consist only of chocolate, but also from various delicious combinations such as dried strawberries dipped in chocolate or Turkish delights with chocolate coating. The variety seemed endless. Unfortunately I cannot describe the tastes with words, but you can rest assure, the products were much tastier than industry produced sweets you find in stores.

While the children enjoy the sweets, the parents can visit the home beer brewery, where they accept larger organized groups, or individual who simply wish to have a beer tasting experience.

Another interesting spot for children is also the ostrich farm and a mini zoo of decorative animals, where you’ll hear interesting stories and curiosities about decorative animals.

But if you wish to go up the mountain, just under the peak of mount Olimje, you’ll find the farm of deer and mouflons. You can see the tame deer or enjoy delicious home meals, with game being their specialty. Additionally they offer flights with hot air balloons and fields for sporting activities as well as a place for picnic. They’ve even got a laser engraving machine so you can make your own souvenir there, engraved either in wood, glass or granite.

The Olimijans are really incredible. To me, as an engineer of viticulture the selection of high quality wines was just amazing. they have a variety of choice and all of high quality. Yet I’d have to mention especially the: Modra Frankinja (among red wines) and Virštajnčan (among white wines). Virštajnčan is a local specialty, a mixture of wines from: Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Italian Riesling, Riesling and the native Rizmanec.

The size of the municipality makes it possible to explore it all on foot or by bike, with many cycling paths for road and mountain cycling leading you to the highlights of the area. Also, the European path E7 that links the shores of the Atlantic with the shores of the Black Sea and is meant for hikers, leads through this piece of Slovenia.

You can also try yourself on the golf course, horse ranch or in one of the many sport parks.

You needn’t worry about the cuisine. Just stop at any home restaurant and you can’t go wrong. The food will be home made and high class. From the soup right down to the salad everything will be locally produced and delicious. In friendly atmosphere, tasty food and quality service you’ll see a visitor is being taken care off from the moment they arrive.

But I still have to say a little something about the spa Olimje. They offer everything from wellness, spa & beauty center, to the aqualuna waterslides. They also offer surprises for children (especially in the summer time).

If you still can’t decide, what to see from the many things I’ve mentioned, you can simply take the tourist ride around the municipality, which also takes you to the neighboring Rogaška Slatina or on a tour of the local wine roads.

The tourist sector in Slovenia really is on a high level and Olimje is a testament to it. So if you plan for a different type of holiday just go to the nearest info point that includes the promotion of Podčetrtek and enjoy the rest of the experience!