Kurentovanje of Ptuj

The festival

What is Kurentovanje of Ptuj

Kurentovanje is the carnival of Ptuj, the oldest town in Slovenia, on the banks of the Drava River. In the days before Lent, the old town hosts parades, concerts and gatherings of masked groups, and the central character is the kurent, the best-known figure of the Slovenian carnival.

The kurent wears a sheepskin that covers the whole body, a leather mask with round eyes, a long red tongue and horns or feathers, and carries large metal bells at the waist that ring with every step. In the hand, they carry a wooden staff with hedgehog skin. According to tradition, the noise of the bells drives away winter and calls for spring. The house-to-house rounds of the kurenti, held from Candlemas on February 2 until Ash Wednesday in the villages around Ptuj, have been listed as UNESCO intangible cultural heritage since 2017.

The city festival began in 1960, initiated by historian Drago Hasl, who brought together the traditional figures from the region’s villages. Since then, Kurentovanje has joined the kurenti with other carnival characters from Styria and Haloze, such as the orači, who pull a symbolic plow, the pokači, who crack whips, and the kopjaši, who carry decorated lances.

The highlight is the weekend before Shrove Tuesday, with the large parade of traditional masks and floats through the town center, which also features groups from other parts of Slovenia and neighboring countries. There is also the day of the kurent groups, when hundreds gather in the town, evening concerts and square parties.

The festival is worth the trip to see up close a living Central European tradition, set among medieval streets dominated by Ptuj Castle, and to hear the sound of the bells echoing between the old houses of the town center.