Vipavski Križ, the smallest town of the empire

How to visit Vipavski Križ

The village belongs to the municipality of Ajdovščina, a few kilometres away. The local body Zavod Vipavski Križ runs guided tours of the village all year round, with the option of going inside the Capuchin monastery. The village’s finest treasures are only shown by appointment, so book your guide before you go and ask them to tell a few of Janez Svetokriški’s wittier tales along the way.

The Capuchin monastery

In the early 17th century the Attems family bought the castle and brought the Capuchins to the village, building a monastery for them. It’s still active and keeps a precious library of manuscripts, unique books and works of art. The Baroque preacher Janez Svetokriški, born in Križ, lived and wrote here, and his five volumes of sermons are kept in the library; many of his witty stories passed into local lore. The parish church of the Holy Cross has a Baroque interior of carvings, paintings and stucco, and the monastery church holds the Glory of the Holy Trinity, which the tourist board presents as one of the largest and finest canvases in the country. They can only be seen by appointment.

The four-towered castle

The village appears in records in the 13th century, but it owes its glory, unwittingly, to the Ottomans. At the end of the 15th century they took Gorizia and alarmed the local nobility, so the Bishop of Gorizia ordered a four-towered castle to be built on this hill, soon joined to the village by a wall. It was the first line of defence against raids on Gorizia. In the early 16th century it gained market rights, and some twenty years later town privileges from the emperor.

Inside the wall a busy trading centre grew up, with two fairs a year. The narrow alleys have been carefully restored, and although the buildings changed a great deal over the centuries, the village keeps its original layout. The castle ruins recall its former splendour and the importance of what the tourist board calls, with an arguably, the smallest town of the former empire. There are more fortresses in the guide to castles in Slovenia.

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Festivals and the circular trail

June brings the Zelèn wine festival and the fair day, in August the walls host three evenings of music and wine, and at Christmas the village fills with nativity scenes in the streets, windows and churches. For walking, a 7.1 km, almost level circular trail loops around the hill through fields, vineyards, olive groves and orchards, with local producers along the way. The local wines are in the guide to Slovenian wine. It’s one of those places I’d put on any list of the prettiest villages in Slovenia.

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

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