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Žalec is the capital of Slovenia’s so-called Valley of Green Gold
Žalec is the largest town in the Spodnja Savinjska valley
west of Celje. It made its first appearance in the annals
of history sometimes in the late 12th century, receiving
full market town rights around a century later. The period
of the Renaissance was a difficult one for the town, as it
was frequently the target of Turkish invasions, but by the
late 17th century had settled into its role as a hardworking
farming community and one of many places to stop
on the road from Vienna to Trieste. However, its fate was
forever changed in the waning years of the 19th century.
The story of Žalec is a classic example of the most
popular proverb amongst contemporary MBAs, namely
that there’s no such thing as a problem, only an opportunity.
After some kind of disease wiped out much of the
region’s crops in the mid-1870s, Janez Hausenbichler, a
local nobleman and resident of the mansion in Novo Celje,
proposed that instead of replanting the same low-yielding
crops they had grown before, the local farmers should try
to sow the famed Württemberg hop seedlings that he had
serendipitously smuggled back home after a recent trip
to Germany. The farmers agreed, and it turned out that
the climate of the valley was perfect for hops. The rest
they say is history.
What to See
Bio Park nIVO Ulica Savinjske čete 17, tel. (+386) 41
599 959, janez.stusej@nivo.si, www.nivo.si. When Nivo
PLC, a construction and water company based in Celje, undertook
a project to rehabilitate a plot of degraded land south
of Žalec near Vrbje in 2003 something strange happened.
Workers on the site began experience strange energetic
sensations radiating from the land, which seemed to have
beneficial effects on their physical health and psyche. Experts
from the field of bioenergetics were called in to take measure-
dezelaceljska.inyourpocket.com
Žalec 59
ments with specialised equipments, and it was concluded
that the area possessed a special natural energy field that
could be harnessed in advantageous ways. Nivo decided to
build a park on the site, and open it to the public (for a small
admission fee). There are now two artificial lakes and a long
walking path circulating around the property. Colour-coded
rocks have been set at various points of especially strong
energy, each corresponding to a different organ or part of the
body. If you visit, keep an eye out for one of the white swans
who seems to be at least slightly evil, and will aggressively
follow you around the pond (or perhaps he just didn’t like us!).
Q Open Sat, Sun, Holiday 11:00-18:00. Announced groups
with previous agreement
Church of St nicholas A virtually brand new church by
Slovene standards, the massive yellow Church of St Nicholas
only dates back to 1903, when the town’s increasing wealth
from the hops trade necessitated the construction of the new
more commensurate place of worship. However, aficionados
of Renaissance period religious architecture and art will be
happy to find that many elements from the Žalec’s previous
incarnations of St Nicholas have been preserved here, including
the portal of the bell tower, many valuable monuments
and several impressive oil paintings. Outside of official church
services (which aren’t really appropriate times for tourists to
visit anyway) the interior of the church can only be seen by
prior arrangement.
Defensive Tower & Keuder Wine Cellar The squat
round tower immediately to the south of St Nicholas’ Church
is all that remains of the once vast city walls that encircled
the old town as protection against the Ottomans during the
16th century. In 2002 it was completely restored, and as
Turks are no longer seen as a major threat, the premises have
been put to non-military functions. On the top floor is a small
ethnographical exhibition, with displays of tools used for grape
Dežela Celjska In Your Pocket