Šoštanj, the town that tanned leather for Europe's royal courts

The leather town

The leather industry shaped the town, above all the Woschnagg, or Vošnjak, family. Their tannery, Franc Woschnagg and Sons, ranked, by the tourist board’s account, among the largest and most modern in Europe, and it made first-class carriage leather that turned it into an exclusive supplier to royal courts. In 1931 the Czech shoe manufacturer Tomáš Bata flew in by private plane at Herbert Woschnagg’s invitation. Šoštanj was also among the first places in Slovenia with electricity, generated for the factory and the town, hence its proud nickname, the town of light.

The leather industry museum tells the story of the tanners’ lives, and a luxury experience recreates Bata’s visit, with a gala lunch, a vintage car and a flight over the valley, from €290 per person. It includes a welcome at Villa Mayer, a digital tour of the former factory, a meeting with a leather craftsman, a vintage car ride to a nearby manor house and a panoramic flight from Lajše airfield. It only runs a few times a year by arrangement.

Villa Mayer

It’s a late historicist villa built around the turn of the 20th century by lawyer Fran Mayer, mayor between the wars. The municipality bought it in 2002, restored it in 2009, and since 2006 it has been a cultural monument of local significance. Inside are the carvings of sculptor Ivan Napotnik, regarded by the tourist board as one of Slovenia’s leading 20th-century sculptors, an ethnographic collection, a horticultural one, a Mayer family memorial room and the Napotnik Gallery.

Topolšica and Zavodnje

At Zavodnje, above the town, the Kavčnik homestead is a farmhouse with a smokehouse that valley tourism presents as a precious example of Slovene rural dwelling. Close by are Topolšica, with its spa, and Velenje, with the Coal Mining Museum and the lake.

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Half a day from Velenje

I’d see it comfortably in half a day from Velenje or Topolšica, ideally on a weekday, when the town is livelier. If the valley’s industrial history interests you, Šoštanj and the Coal Mining Museum complement each other very well.

Šoštanj in the Šalek valley

According to SURS, Šoštanj has 3,078 residents and its municipality 9,007 on 1 January 2026, in 11 settlements. During 2025 the municipality logged 29,793 arrivals, many of them thanks to the Topolšica spa. The tourist board groups Šoštanj with Velenje and Topolšica into a destination with platinum green certification, within Savinjska.

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

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Šoštanj on Booking.com and filter by area before price.