Ajdovščina, the Roman fort town on the Hubelj

Castra, Ajdovščina’s Roman fort

The story begins with the Romans, who built a road station by the Hubelj and then a large military fort, Castrum ad Fluvium Frigidum, the fortress by the cold river, to guard the eastern border of the empire. Its restored towers, once linked by a rampart, still frame the old town, and the tourist board speaks of the longest preserved Roman wall in the country. In the 3rd and 4th centuries the fort had a permanent garrison and command post, and it is linked to a famous battle between two Roman emperors.

The medieval town later grew inside the walls, with narrow alleys you can still walk, and the centre filled with 19th-century townhouses. On the square of the first Slovenian government, which recalls the first post-war government formed here in 1945, excavations are on display along with a reconstructed Roman tower. The history of Slovenia guide puts all this in context.

Paragliding, Gora and industrial Ajdovščina

In Ajdovščina it’s normal to pass mountain bikers, paragliders and runners in the street. When it isn’t too windy, the Gora plateau fills with paragliders and hang-gliders, and the town hosts the Vipava Valley Rally and the Ultra Trail Vipava Valley. From here you can hike up to the Otlica natural window. The town no longer has heavy industry, but it’s home to Pipistrel, which builds ultralight and electric aircraft, and to other innovative companies.

Galleries and pašareta

The town has three galleries. The best known is the Pilon Gallery, holding much of the work of local painter and photographer Veno Pilon, and there are also the Lokar Gallery and Lična hiša. The church of St John the Baptist was painted by Anton Cebej, born in Šturje, the district across the Hubelj, where the church of St George stands. To drink, there are Vipava wines from native varieties, Fructal juices and pašareta, a soda the Grum family has made to the same recipe for more than 110 years.

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The Hubelj river and the old ironworks

Industrial heritage has its own route too, from the source of the Hubelj to the remains of the old ironworks, and the tourist board recommends doing it in sensible shoes and, ideally, with a local guide who brings the town’s history to life in vivid images. That technical tradition partly explains today’s character, with companies that even build unmanned aerial vehicles and a population of experts from around the world that gives the town a cosmopolitan feel, unusual for a place of its size.

So you do not lose the morning at the ticket office, browse tickets and tours in Ajdovščina on GetYourGuide.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Ajdovščina for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.