To the End of the World, to Prekmurje

We were brought to Murska Sobota by work, and since this city is a two-hour drive from Ljubljana, we decided to stay there for another day and see the surroundings – so that we did not drive so far for nothing. And we were enchanted by what we saw and experienced in Prekmurje.

Beautiful landscape, plains, hills, forests, lakes, interesting architecture, good food, developing tourist offer … Wild! Here we present you the most beautiful parts of Prekmurje.

Odranci

The church in Odranci is the work of Janez Valentičič, an assistant of the Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik, and has a very diverse history, since they tried to build it during the communist regime, which, of course, was not in favour of building new sacral buildings. They were repeatedly banned, prevented from building, had materials confiscated... when they were finally allowed to start work, a major accident occurred, burying eight workers underneath them. About ten years ago, the church was completed. Now it boasts exquisite frescoes by the famous Slovenian painter Stane Kregar and interesting architecture.

Lendava

Lendava has an architecturally interesting Institute for Culture and Promotion, which is the work of a Hungarian architect known for the so-called organic architecture. He tried to make the building in such a way that it would be artistically compatible with the environment. The shape of the roof is supposed to be reminiscent of Lendava hills, but at the same time he added a few elements from mythology to the outer pillars and thus made the building a facade that tells a story.

Those who like beautiful views will surely also climb the Vinarium, a viewing tower in Lendavske Gorice, which offers a view of the hilly landscape below. In our humble opinion, the price for entering this tower is quite steep, so we looked at the view from below, and this one does not disappoint either.

Bogojina

Prekmurje can also boast a real Plečnik church. It is located in the village Bogojina and is visible from a distance. The white bell tower with the typical Plečnik's pillars invites the visitor to stop and have a closer look at it. Above all, there is an interesting ceiling in the interior, which is wooden and decorated with local handicraft products – pottery plates.

The Mill on the Mura River

The mill on the Mura River near the village of Ižakovci is no longer in operation, but it is still worth stopping there, as this is one of the floating mills that used to be huge on the Mura River. Why is the mill floating, you ask? Because the Mura River likes to flood, and if the mill was fixed, the rising water would quickly destroy it. The floating mill rises along with the water level and then drops as the river falls. And during this time the mill can work normally. Those Prekmurje millers were quite clever, weren't they?

The main attraction today is probably a wooden boat, which still transports cars and pedestrians across the river for a symbolic sum of money.

Veržej, Prlekija

A similar but still functioning mill is located in the nearby village of Veržej - but beware! Veržej lies on the other side of the Mura River, so it no longer belongs to Prekmurje, but to Prlekija. The people there are very sensitive to this division. In Veržej, a person can enter the mill and immediately smell the aroma of freshly ground flour. When the eyes get used to the darkness, all the mill wheels, belts, bags of flour slowly appear… we could not resist buying a kilo of buckwheat flour.

Pertoča

For all art lovers, there is another church in Prekmurje, which hides one of the most beautiful mosaics of modern times – the work of the Slovenian artist Ivan Rupnik. A must stop if you are in these places.

Bukovnica Lake

To finish the day, we drove to Lake Bukovnica in Goričko, which offers idyllic walking trails around the area, peace, beautiful nature and energy points. These are places where there is supposed to be a special healing energy. A person who has a problem should put himself at the intended point, stand there for about fifteen minutes, and let the good energy do its thing. If you don't believe it, at least enjoy the beautiful views and the birds singing.

Prekmurje offers a truly diverse range of attractions: from diverse architecture, beautiful nature, good food to thermal springs in many spas.

We are fascinated by Prekmurje, and we will definitely come back again – we will most likely come to the ''bograč-fest'', which will be held in Lendava at the end of August.