Metlika, the wine town of Bela krajina

Things to do in Metlika: old town and castle

Mestni trg keeps its medieval feel, with St Nicholas’s Church, the commandery and the provost’s house, along with the birthplace of the sculptor Alojz Gangl and the writer Engelbert Gangl. The first national reading society in Dolenjska was founded here in 1865. At the Bela krajina House of Local Delights you can buy wines, cheese, cured meats and handmade chopping boards.

The square narrows and opens into Trg svobode, the largest, crowned by Metlika Castle, recorded in 1338. Its arcaded courtyard brings together the Šturm winery and the Bela krajina Museum, with the area’s folk life, painted Easter eggs, costumes, towels and a piece of pottery 7,000 years old.

The Slovenian Firefighters’ Museum

Because Slovenia’s first fire brigade was founded here on 18 September 1869. The Dr Branko Božič Slovenian Firefighters’ Museum tells that story. It strikes me as a lovely quirk for such a small town.

Vinska vigred and other wine festivals

On Easter Monday a dance group performs the Zaviranje kola wheel dance on the square. May brings Vinska vigred and October Mlada Portugalka, devoted to the area’s young wine. Between June and August the castle stages an international cultural programme. If you’re into wine, see my guide to Slovenian wine.

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

Around Metlika: Tri fare, the Kolpa and the birches

In Rosalnice, just outside town, Tri fare is a group of three Gothic churches from the early 15th century enclosed by a single wall, a pilgrimage site for the area. To the east, the village of Božakovo looks down on the Kolpa from the Magdalena Wall, and at Otok a DC-3 aircraft recalls the wartime Partisan airfield. Nearby Kučar hill is an archaeological site with views over the Kolpa river.

Towards Drašiči you’ll find the birch woodland with bracken underneath, Bela krajina’s signature landscape, which villagers still cut for animal bedding.

A walled town against the Ottomans

Today it’s a town in Bela krajina of 3,246, heading a municipality of 8,552 on the latest SURS count, which logged 14,644 visitor arrivals in 2025. In the 14th century the town was still called Novi trg and gained its urban privileges before 1335, including the rights to self-government, fortifications and a market.

In 1408 the Ottomans stormed it, looted it and set it on fire, and over the next 170 years they returned fifteen times. That era produced the legend behind the coat of arms. A cruel countess at Pungart Castle, finding that two sleeping guards had let the Ottomans in, cursed them and turned them into ravens. Which is why Metlika’s arms show two ravens perched on a tower.

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

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