Medieval City Walls Of Maribor

Maribor was a fortified town in the Middle Ages, and the walls and towers that once encircled it were among the strongest in Lower Styria. The town grew up beside the Drava in the thirteenth century, at a crossing of trade routes between the Alps, the Pannonian plain and the Adriatic, and it received its walls and gates in the following centuries, strengthened in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries when the Ottoman threat made defence a pressing matter. A ring of walls with towers and a moat protected the town, and the castle in the north corner of the circuit, built by the Habsburgs in the late fifteenth century, added a stronghold. The defences were tested several times, and in 1532 the town withstood an Ottoman attack.

As the threat faded and the town grew, most of the walls were pulled down or built over. Houses were built against them, gates were demolished to make room for traffic, and the moat was filled in, a story repeated in many European cities. What remains is partial but still visible if you know where to look. Along the Drava, in the quarter of Lent, three towers of the medieval fortifications survive: the Judgement Tower, the Water Tower and the Jewish Tower, whose position beside the river shows how the defences ran along the bank. Short stretches of wall have been found and preserved in the old town, in courtyards, cellars and the foundations of later buildings, and archaeological work has traced the line of the walls and the moat in several places.

The best way to appreciate the walls is to walk the line of the old fortifications. The Lent promenade, where the towers stand, is the most rewarding part, and from there the walk can continue to the Main Square, which lay inside the walls, and to the castle, whose thick corner bastions and towers still dominate the northern edge of the old town. The shape of the streets, which follow the old circuit in places, gives clues, and information boards at some points explain the history. Cafes along the river offer a place to sit and look at the towers.

The remains are part of the free public space of the town, and there is no admission charge to see them from outside. Some of the towers are used for events and exhibitions, so access to the interiors depends on the programme. Combine the walk with the Regional Museum in the castle, which has collections on the history of the town and its defences, and with the Plague Column on the square.

The walls suit history lovers, photographers and anyone who likes to read a town from its streets. Take a map of the old town and allow an hour or so.