Grad and its castle in the Goričko hills

Grad, a village in the north-east corner

SURS gives Grad 586 residents and its municipality 1,953 on 1 January 2026. It lies at the north-eastern edge of Pomurje, close to Austria and Hungary, in an area the Goričko park describes as low hills, streams and scattered villages where people have always lived off the land. Goričko has no large town of its own, so Murska Sobota, down on the plain, plays that role.

Grad Castle, 800 years of building

The tourist board calls it Slovenia’s largest castle complex and says that, by tradition, the Knights Templar began it. Over some 800 years each generation of owners left its mark, so today it blends Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque. The Goričko park describes it as the country’s largest Baroque castle, and RTV Slovenia mentions a triangular castle beside the village. The Nature Parks of Slovenia network adds a geological detail, since it stands on solid rock formed from volcanic ash.

Inside the castle

The restored rooms present the area’s natural, cultural, historical and ethnological heritage, and there are art galleries, wedding rooms and accommodation. The park highlights the arcaded corridors and the architectural and craft treasures you come across on the way round, and the tourist board suggests the castle as the starting point for exploring Goričko. The park adds that the area’s remoteness, long a brake on its economy, is what preserved its rich natural and cultural surroundings. The castle is part of the Castle Road, which links 36 castles and manors in Slovenia and Austria. The tourist board even offers the chance to be lord of the castle for a day.

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The Goričko park around it

The castle houses the public institute that manages the Goričko nature park, protected in 2003 and covering 462 km². The visitor centre provides information on the nature and culture of Goričko and Pomurje, and there’s a shop with local products. Routes set off from here through a landscape of meadows, orchards, vineyards and woods shared by Slovenia, Austria and Hungary, within a three-country park. In the same area, the tourist board lists an underground experience about the volcano that erupted three million years ago.

How long to stay

I’d give Grad at least a full day for the castle and the hills, and stay locally or in Moravske Toplice, in the same region. To understand the area properly, carry on with the guide to the Goričko nature park.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Grad, Slovenia and pick one that fits your day.

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