Museums
You will not only find unique museum collections, old homesteads and memorials to important events in our Valley, but also heritage we create for the future generations!
The Coal Mining Museum of Slovenia
The completely renovated underground Museum of Coal-mining in Slovenia provides its visitors with a unique experience of coalminers.
The Velenje Museum
The Velenje Museum is housed in the Velenje Castle, which is known as one of the most beautifully preserved Slovenian castles.
Pattern City
If you are looking for knowledge that you believe you have, this is often the most you will ever find.
The Kavčnik's Homestead
The family Kavčnik home, set in the small hamlet of Zavodnje nad Šoštanjem, is a precious monument to the Slovene rustic residential culture and an example of a smokehouse located in the Europe.
Gril's Homestead
It is believed that the cottage was constructed in the mid 19th century as a small vinedresser’s house on a viniferous slope of Lipje and Vinska Gora.
The House of minerals
The House of Minerals which is operating under the auspice of the Velenje Museum, exhibits over 2,000 samples of minerals collected from all over the world.
The Museum of Leather industry, Šoštanj
In Slovenia, for a number of centuries, the leather industry was an important craft.
Memorial Centre 1991
The 1991 Memorial Centre, with its permanent exhibition, events, and educational programs, represents the Šaleška and Zgornja Savinjska valleys in Slovenia’s independence process.
Villa Mayer
Villa Mayer, a building of the Municipality of Šoštanj, is a typical example of the bourgeois architecture of late historicism.
Topolšica, 9. maj 1945 – Spominska soba podpisa delne nemške kapitulacije (en translation)
The memorial room in Topolšica is dedicated to the signing of one of the German army’s four partial surrenders. For Slovenes, this marked the end of the Second World War.
Villas and castles
At the heart of Šaleška Valley lies Velenje, which may be young for a town but nevertheless has surprises in store that stem from the days of old, such as feudal-era and bourgeois sites.
The Velenje Castle
If you close your eyes and try to imagine a fairytale castle, your image would probably not be far from the image of the Velenje castle.
The ruins of the Ekenstein castle
The castle ruins are located on the very top of a gentle ridge South-East of Velenje.
The Šalek Castle
The Šalek Castle, located on a steep knoll above the hamlet of Šalek, is probably the oldest manor house in the Šalek valley.
The Turn Castle
The Turn Castle is located on a gentle elevation in the hamlet of Hrastovec near Velenje.
Villa Bianca
For more than 700 years, at the foot of Velenje Castle, has stood today’s Old Velenje or the former Velenje Square, which was built in the middle of the 13th century along with the castle.
Architectural curiosities
You would be hard pressed to find places where it would possible to discover the particularities of rural buildings, socialist-era construction and modern architectural designs over very short distances, but Šaleška Valley has it all.
Gril's Homestead
It is believed that the cottage was constructed in the mid 19th century as a small vinedresser’s house on a viniferous slope of Lipje and Vinska Gora.
Modernist architectural design of Velenje
The concept of the town planning and architecture of Velenje abided by the principles of the modernist style.
The Velenje Promenade
The so-called Promenade is located in the very centre of the town of Velenje.
Cultural Centre/Dom kulture
Kulturni dom Velenje is the town’s cultural centre intended to hold cultural events, cinema, seminars, conventions, etc.
Natural heritage
In addition to the lakes that each tell a different original story, the exceptional natural heritage of Šaleška Valley also includes a long-extinct volcano, mysterious caves, cliffs and natural bridges.
Lakes in Šalek walley
Wonderful nature is visible and accessible practically everywhere in Velenje.
Lake Velenje
Lake Velenje with its surface area of about 1.4 km2 and with its volume of 30.5m m3 is the largest in the valley and is among the largest in Slovenia.
Lake Družmirje
Lake Družmirje formed the last, and in the middle of the field bearing the same name.
Velunja peč (Vilinja peč)
Along the main road between Velenje and Slovenj Gradec an unusually beautiful natural bridge is concealed.
Huda luknja Gorge
At the northeastern edge of the Šalek valley, Huda luknja Gorge is concealed.
Smrekovec
An andesite mountain range that stretches east-west and the result volcanic activity during the Neocene Epoch.
Cave Pilanca
Little above Huda luknja is Pilanca Cave, which has the most beautiful entrance of all the caves on Tisnik.
Gonžarjeva peč
Test the first learning field of the Alpine Association of Slovenia – the direction of Ferrata.
Art galleries
A core value in Šaleška Valley is creativity. This is attested by numerous art galleries and special exhibition spaces.
Šoštanj City Gallery
The City Gallery’s premises are in the lower part of the residential house, where there was a restaurant or eatery of the Galuf family before WWII.
The Velenje Gallery
The Velenje Gallery, which was built in 1971, put the gallery next to other significant example of architectural heritage.
The Outdoor Gallery
The outdoor gallery is one of results of EU project CityImpulses in Velenje.
Sculptor collection of Ivan Napotnik at Villa Mayer
On the floor of Villa Mayer, since 2011, a permanent collection of sculptural works by academic sculptor Ivan Napotnik has been exhibited.
233 steps to history of Velenje
In 2014 the foothpath to Velenje castle from Villa Bianca was renovated.
Gallery F-bunker
In the underpass near Villa Bianca there is a gallery dedicated to photography and film. Fbunker is a new exhibition centre in the underpass that connects the old and the new Velenje. In cooperation with the City Municipality of Velenje and the Velenje Museum, the new acquisition of the cultural landscape in Velenje was designed and realized by the renowned independent creator of Velenje Črt Valenčak.
Monuments
The creations by renowned sculptors not only depict important personalities but also embody the gaze that Velenje and Šaleška Valley’s direct towards the future.
Sculpture of Marshall Tito, 1997
The artist depicted Marshall Tito in a reflective state as a strategist and revolutionary.
Sculpture of a Miner, 1948 - 1952
Almost life-size figure of a miner going to his daily work was created in the tradition of realism.
A Monument to Nestl Žgank
The architect of the Velenje, was erected on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the opening of the town’s centre.
Churches
Sacral monuments dedicated to various saints invite you to climb to panoramic viewpoints and to learn about the characteristics of different period styles.
The Parish Church of St. Martin, Velenje
The church, which is positioned on a small elevation at the edge of Velenje, was first mentioned in the middle of 13th century.
The Parish Church of St. Marija - Karmelska Mati Božja
The church is positioned on a small elevation at the edge of the old part of Velenje.
The Parish Church of St. Janez Krstnik Vinska Gora
The original Roman baptistery of the Škale parish was elevated to the vicarial church in the 13th century, and was completely remade in the Gothic era.
The succursal church of St. Andrej in Šalek
It was built at the beginning of the 16th century and is a typical example of late Gothic sacral architecture and as such is one of the most significant monuments in the Velenje region.
