Celje, the third largest town in Slovenia

The town of Celje began to develop on a plain at the entrance to the Savinja River Valley, which runs southward towards the Sava River.

From time immemorial this has been a meeting point of routes from all directions. The Illyrian settlement of Celeia stood on this site more than 3500 year ago. In the Roman period the town was named Claudia Celeia.

It was a strong, fortified, wealthy and even one of the largest Roman towns on Slovene soil. Numerous finds testify to its rich Roman past. The town was destroyed during the migration of nations.

In 1125 its name was again mentioned in written sources. In the 14th and 15th centuries the town was ruled by the Counts of Celje. In this period the town flourished and rose to great prominence. The Counts of Celeia ruled from the mighty castle built on Castle hill, which rises above the west bank of the Savinja and once guarded the entrance to the narrow Savinja River valley. After the death of the last Count of Celeia in the second half of the 15th century, the town fell to the Habsburgs.

The railway line reached the town in 1846 and industrial development soon followed, resulting in the rapid urbanization of neighboring villages, which soon became part of the town. Today, the town is the third largest town in Slovenia, surpassed only by Ljubljana and Maribor.

An impressive collection of the town museum is on display in the 16th century Renaissance palace called Stara grofija. Saint Marys Church, containing the vault of the Counts of Celeia, lies in the town center and its part of the former Minorite monastery from the 13th century.

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From Celje back to the Savinja-Sotla Region