Podčetrtek

The name, the story goes, comes from "čerček": Thursday. Perhaps the day court sentences were handed down, perhaps market day. Podčetrtek (German: Windisch Landsberg) is in any case a small place carrying a lot: about 580 people on the Sotla river, which forms the border with Croatia, in the Savinja valley of Lower Styria, 35 km east of Celje and 15 km north of the Croatian town of Krapina. Above the village stands Podčetrtek Castle, an early-17th-century structure on a 13th-century base. The municipality bought it in 2020, restored the exterior and reopened it to visitors in 2024, with a café in the partly-restored interior.

The contemporary draw is Terme Olimia, one of the largest thermal spas in Slovenia, just east of the village proper. The complex has multiple hotels, indoor and outdoor pools, saunas and the Aqualuna aqua-park; it is the largest single employer in the municipality and the reason Podčetrtek won the EDEN 2019 award for health and well-being tourism. Just south of the spa, the Olimje Monastery, a Pauline foundation dating to the 16th century, holds one of the oldest functioning pharmacies in Europe (1675), now a museum of medieval herbal medicine.

Podčetrtek is also the centre of a small but distinctive wine-producing area: the Šentjur-Bizeljsko-Sremič hills around the village produce regional reds and whites.

Late April through July, and September into October. The Sotla valley is at its most photographic in May and September, the spa is comfortable, and the regional wine harvest (September-October) is the year's high point. July and August carry the Slovenian and German-Austrian domestic-spa peak; Terme Olimia books out months ahead. Winter (November-March) is cold, but the spa stays open year-round and the heated outdoor pools are actively pleasant in cold weather. The Olimje Monastery and the castle keep reduced winter hours. The annual Pohod prijateljstva (Friendship Walk, cross-border with Croatia) in May and the Olimje pumpkin festival in October are the regional cultural anchors. Easter at the Olimje Monastery is a small religious-tourism moment.

By rail: Slovenian Railways (SŽ) runs Ljubljana-Zagreb trains that stop at Grobelno (about 1h 30m from Ljubljana), from which a regional bus reaches Podčetrtek (45 min). Direct trains do not reach Podčetrtek; the journey requires the train+bus combination. From Maribor or Celje, regional buses connect directly (Celje-Podčetrtek 1 hour). From Zagreb, the road border crossing at the Sotla bridge reaches the village in 1h 15m. The closest commercial airports are Ljubljana (1h 45m), Zagreb (1h 15m), and Maribor (1h 15m). Within the village, Terme Olimia is 1.5 km east, walkable in 20 minutes, or use the regular shuttle between the spa hotels and the village. The Olimje Monastery is 4 km south, reachable on foot or by car. The Šentjur-Bizeljsko wine road requires a car for a full loop.

The destination addresses are at Terme Olimia: the spa resort runs four hotels (Hotel Sotelia, Hotel Breza, Hotel Aqualuna, and the Wellness Orhidelia adults-only resort) plus apartments and chalet villas, all directly connected to the thermal-pool complex (check availability and current operation at terme-olimia.com). In the village proper, the Hotel Atrij and the Vila Olimje carry the small-scale mid-range and make the more atmospheric base. The wine villages of Bizeljsko (15 km southwest) and Pišece have rural-tourism farms with vineyards and wine cellars; the Repnice, traditional cellars dug into the local sandstone, are worth a destination meal. Avoid Krapina (across the Croatian border) unless your trip is principally Croatian, since the Slovenian side has the better slow-tourism infrastructure. For Terme Olimia stays, book directly with the resort rather than through third-party platforms.

The Sotla valley sits at the seam of Slovenian Lower Styria and Croatian Hrvatsko Zagorje, and the regional plate reflects both. Štruklji (rolled-dumpling pastries with sweet or savoury fillings) are the canonical regional starter. Gibanica in its Slovenian Lower-Styrian variant (different from the Međimurje version covered on the platform earlier) is the regional dessert/savoury. The wine: the local Bizeljsko-Sremič appellation produces Bizeljčan rdeči (a regional red blend) and the Bizeljska belica (a regional white), and the unique Bizeljsko Repnice are the traditional sandstone wine cellars dug into the hillside. Restaurant addresses: Gostilna Banovina in the village centre (confirm they're still operating); Restavracija Sotelia at the Terme Olimia hotel for the more formal Slovenian-spa kitchen; the wine-cellar restaurants of the Najger and Štekar Repnice for the regional wine tastings. The Saturday Podčetrtek market sells direct from regional producers.

Visit the Olimje Monastery: the Pauline foundation includes the 17th-century baroque church of the Assumption, the 1675 pharmacy (one of the oldest functioning pharmacies in Europe, now a museum of herbal medicine), the herb garden and the chocolate workshop where the monks make a regional confection. Climb to Podčetrtek Castle for the views and the partly-restored interior with the café (open since 2024). The site goes back to 1209, though most of what stands is the early-17th-century two-storey block with its central courtyard and two southern towers, given a baroque face late in the 18th century and bought and restored by the municipality between 2020 and 2024. In the village below, the parish church of Saint Lawrence has a 14th-century nave and a 17th-century belfry.

Spend half a day at Terme Olimia for the thermal pools and saunas (advance reservation recommended for the Orhidelia adult-only complex); the Aqualuna aqua-park alongside is the version that suits families. Visit the Jelenov greben deer park 4 km north of the village. Drive the Šentjur-Bizeljsko wine road with two or three cellar stops including a repnice tasting, held in the sand caves originally dug as turnip cellars. And in May, walk the cross-border Pohod prijateljstva, the Friendship Walk, a 12 km loop across the Slovenian-Croatian border villages and the year's regional cultural-tourism anchor.

The Sotla valley gives you three good half-days beyond the village. The Rogatec Open-Air Museum, north along the river, reassembles Sotla valley folk architecture of the 18th to 20th centuries around a central Styrian farm of the Subpannonian type, and runs hands-on workshops in bread baking, cornhusk basket weaving and blacksmithing; the 15th-century Strmol manor stands on the hill above the same town. Rogaška Slatina, the older mineral-water resort, is where you drink the magnesium-heavy Donat water and look at the crystal glass the town has made for centuries. To the south, in Kozjansko Park, 13th-century Podsreda Castle reopened after a long restoration completed in 2015, its chapel and defence tower intact. October brings the Olimje pumpkin festival. Winter hours shorten at the castle, the monastery and the museums, so check before you travel.

• Language: Slovenian; Croatian widely understood at the border; German common in the spa-tourism economy
• Currency: euro
• Plug: European type F two-pin
• Money: ATMs in Podčetrtek and at Terme Olimia; cards accepted at the spa, monastery shop and main restaurants; Cash useful at the wine cellars and the smaller bars
• Mobile: Mobile coverage excellent throughout
• Nearest hospital: Celje (35 km)
• Getting there: The Sotla river crossing into Croatia is open 24h for both vehicles and pedestrians; bring passports