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Kozje
A massive 89 per cent of the municipality of Kozje lies within the Kozjansko Regional Park, so it’s almost impossible to talk about Kozje without also talking about the park. It’s why most visitors seek out this rural enclave of land lying to the south of Styria, not far from the border with Croatia. But the town itself has a fascinating history - it was first written about in 1016, when it was a manor house with 30 farms. Never fortified, it suffered badly during the Turkish invasions and again during plague years, which wiped out a lot of its inhabitants. It witnessed a renaissance in the mid-19th century and became a bustling market town, with a thriving industry built around craft and inn-keeping. Today, the old town boasts a central market place and several buildings of architectural interest. Worth seeing is the Parish Church of St. Mary’s Assumption - its nave dates back to 1249. The Kroflnov mill in Kozje stands at the end of the Bistri graben stream and is one of two buildings, a house with the former mill and a farm building. Once it was the home of the miller, tinsmith and joiner from the nearby factory. Another triumph of renovation within the area of the Regional park, it now houses a permanent museum exhibition within the former house. Kozje, with its approximately 750 inhabitants (according to 2002 data) is the largest settlement within the area of the park - there are 78 settlements in all, to give you an idea of the scale of the area, although the smallest settlement is only home to around 25 people. But there really are people in amongst all those trees. Yes really.
What to See Kozjansko Regional Park From forests to meadow orchards; endangered birds to castles and old mills; from vineyard trails to concerts - to say that Kozjansko Park (or Kozjanski Park in Slovene) offers an abundance of attractions, both natural and manmade, would be to seriously undersell it. Covering an area of 206 sq. km. It’s a regional park, but not just any old regional park - it’s the largest regional park in Slovenia. As such it offers more than just the usual flora and fauna you find in other, lesser, parks you might pass through on your way to somewhere else. Whether you’re a cyclist or an art lover, a hiker or a photographer, you’ll find something to appeal to your interests. This is a multi-faceted tourist destination in its own right and dominates the region. With its different eco-systems, Obsotelje & Kozjansko
expect to find everything from sub-Alpine rolling hills to fecund vineyards and flat plains. Interspersed within the landscape are churches, chapels, castles, houses and commercial buildings. The park is also rightly famous for its mountain orchards with their numerous different types of old apples. An apple is not just an apple, and across the world various varieties of apple are dying out as supermarkets demand conformity, so the grassland orchards of old apple here are an important part of the eco-system of Kozjansko. As well as providing a vital habitat, the orchards also offer the opportunity to get back to basics somewhat, promoting modern, sustainable and ecological farming with a foundation in tradition. The aim is to keep the landscape in its traditional form and preserve the orchards, protecting the diversity of different varieties of apple and to help producers market their fruit. Traditionally, the Kozjanko Apple Festival takes place on the second weekend of October and of course, all those apples come in handy when it comes to local cuisine, in apple juices,apple pie, vinegar and traditional dried apples - well worth a taste. Twitchers (or birdwatchers as they’re known to non-twitching folk) love the orchards of Kozjansko for providing a habitat for rare and endangered birds. Get your camera ready and prepare to watch and listen for any of the 120 bird species found here, including corncrakes. There are also 40 species of orchids to be seen in the park. The Park was established in 1981 but its boundaries aren’t exactly defined. In general, the area south of the Voglajna river, west of the Sotla river, east of the Savinja river and north of the eastern part of the Posavje hills is known as the Kozjansko region and the park is bounded to the north by the Rudnica mountain, to the east by the Sotla river and to the south the boundary runs over Vetrnik and Orlica to the Senovsko and Bizeljsko hills. But why here? Why a regional park? Aside from the natural beauty and ecological importance of the area, it was deemed fitting to celebrate the historical heritage of the area, including its status as the birthplace (near Podsreda) of Marija Javeršek, the mother of former Yugoslavian president Josip Broz Tito. Tito was born in nearby Kumrovec and spent a part of his childhood in Podsreda. Originally called Trebče Memorial Park, it was renamed Kozjansko Park in 1996. As well as all that natural beauty - including one of the largest oak tree in Slovenia in the village of Gregovce - there are