Lendava Castle Museum and Gallery

Lendava Castle stands on a low hill above the town of Lendava, in the far north-east of Slovenia, in the region known as Prekmurje. The town lies close to the borders with Hungary and Croatia, and it is one of the few places in Slovenia where Hungarian is an official language alongside Slovene: street signs, school lessons and cultural events are bilingual. This mix is important to understand the castle, which is today home to the Galerija-Muzej Lendava, an institution that combines a museum and an art gallery under one roof.

The castle has medieval origins and has been rebuilt several times over the centuries, and its walls, courtyard and rooms show the layers of that history. It was a strategic point on the Mura plain, an area that was long part of the Kingdom of Hungary and whose lords controlled trade routes and farmland. Today, the building is used for exhibitions, and its rooms are a pleasant place to see how the region's different communities lived and worked.

The museum collections cover local history and traditional life, including folk costume, textiles and household crafts, and they reflect the Hungarian, Slovene and other communities that have shared the area, including the Jewish community that once lived in Lendava. The gallery section hosts temporary exhibitions of contemporary art, and there is a collection of bronze sculpture and works by artists connected with the region. Rotating shows by Slovene, Hungarian and international artists mean that the programme changes through the year, so visitors who return will often find something new.

The terrace and the surrounding hillside give long views over the flat plain of the Mura and the vineyards of the Lendava hills. In the same part of town, the Vinarium Tower, a modern lookout, offers views across the borders, and the Hungarian Community Centre, the Monumental Theater and the Lendava Cultural Center and St. Catherine's Church provide further sights, especially for visitors with an interest in architecture. Wine cellars in the hills sell the white wines of the region, and the cuisine of Prekmurje, with its pumpkin-seed oil, layered cake called gibanica and Hungarian influences, is also worth sampling. Opening hours vary by season, so check them before visiting.