Prekmurje

Prekmurje is the land “beyond the Mura,” in the far northeast of Slovenia, between the river and the borders with Austria and Hungary. For many centuries it was part of the Kingdom of Hungary, and that shaped the landscape, the architecture of the villages and the cuisine. Hungarian has official status in some municipalities near the border, and the region also has a Protestant tradition, with evangelical churches alongside Catholic ones.

The south is a plain of cultivated fields, woods along the Mura and villages of long houses. Near Ižakovci, an island on the Mura called the Island of Love preserves a floating mill and a cable ferry, reminders of a time when dozens of mills worked on the river. To the north, the hills of Goričko form a natural park, with vineyards, forests, villages where storks nest and Grad Castle, the largest castle in the country by area.

Murska Sobota, the main town, has a Renaissance castle housing the regional museum. Nearby are gems of religious architecture: the church of Martjanci, with 14th-century frescoes, the Romanesque rotunda of Selo and the church in Bogojina, redesigned by the architect Jože Plečnik. Moravske Toplice and other villages have warm thermal waters that attract visitors year-round.

The flat terrain favors cycling, and the local cuisine, with dishes of Hungarian influence and gibanica, a layered cake, is part of the experience.

This destination brings together 2 cities: Murska Sobota, Moravske Toplice.