The New Years Day concert from Vienna was magnificent - now listening a third time on the i-Player
The New Years Day concert from Vienna was magnificent - now listening a third time on the i-Player
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Betnava Dvorec is a Baroque mansion situated to the south of Maribor, near the small village of Razvanje. I am ashamed to say that it took us over a year to learn of its existence even though our flat is only ten minutes walk from it. We recently took my parents there, mainly to see the beautiful grounds, but while we were there we learned that there is a museum inside the house and decided to go inside.
The candy pink house is now only three quarters of its former self. The back section no longer exists and over the last few years, there have been archaeological excavations of the area this stood on. Photographs and drawings inside the house show what it once looked like, four identical wings around a courtyard. We first discovered the mansion while out walking and went to get a closer look. It was a Saturday afternoon and a wedding party was leaving the grounds with much tooting of car horns. We walked over to the house but couldn’t see any signs giving information so we contented ourselves with strolling around the grounds.
From the old images I saw inside the castle I know the grounds were once formally laid out but now they are quite natural today. In front of the house there is a large lawn and a wooden bridge that crosses a shallow ring of water that creates an island of trees. There are lots of ducks and, if you look closely, lots of
fish too. Rather than cross the bridge, if you walk round the side of the water to the other side of the island, you’ll find lots of wooden benches. Beyond this is a car parking area and there are always quite a few vehicles parked there because lots of people drive out from town to stroll around the gardens.
Now, if you go right to the door of the house you will see a small notice inviting you to ring the bell in order to view the interior of the house. A young man who spoke excellent English asked us to wait and soon came down to open the door. He explained that we could view the rooms on the ground floor and three rooms on the first floor. He also explained that the house belongs to the Archdiocese and that the displays relate to the history of the church in this region over the centuries. I was disappointed as this isn’t of special interest to me and I had imagined perhaps something more general, displays of furniture, art or costumes perhaps and information about the history of the house. At this point, though, we had paid our €2 each and started the tour as the young man had indicated.
Although most of the exhibits were captioned in Slovene, English and German, it was still quite difficult to get much out of them because the material was quite specialised. In the first rooms there were displays that explained how the organization of the archbishoprics in the region had changed over the centuries. There were also pieces of ceremonial silverware, decorative bibles and a number of ancient documents. Moving on there were portraits of various bishops – most of whom looked like the sort of people you’d cross the road to avoid and some rather colourful examples of ceremonial wear with embroidery so fine that you can be sure some poor person or two went blind as a result of the work.
The most interesting part of the exhibition (to me) was the section that dealt with the fate of the clergy during the Second World War that included some documents in German that I was able to read (most of), stating that a priest had been sent to Dachau (for an alleged misdemeanour I was unable to translate).
Finally we came to a room that contained an exhibition on Anton Martin Slomšek, the nineteenth century bishop of Maribor who was beatified by John Paul II at Betnava Dvorec itself. The very modern papal throne that was designed for the visit is on display here along with portraits of Slomšek. You’ll find statues of Slomšek, and things named after him all over the city so I found it quite interesting to learn more about him.
Upstairs there are no exhibits but you can see three once grand rooms that are slowly being restored to their former glory. In the centre is the Knights Hall, now used for wedding ceremonies which has a large balcony overlooking the garden. The painted ceiling has seen better days but it’s easy to see why lots of couples marry here. One either side, adjoining rooms in much worse condition can be viewed but only here and there can you see fragments of the old paintings.
There was originally a house here during the Renaissance period which, I am told, was almost entirely destroyed by a fire and hence, rebuilt in the Baroque style. The exterior is pretty enough and the interior is worth seeing for the Knights Hall frescoes and the extravagant main staircase made of marble but I wouldn’t recommend a visit to see the museum particularly. I read after our latest visit that the mansion has been described as the “Versailles of Maribor” – but I suppose a building doesn’t have to be that grand in Maribor to gain that particular epithet.
There are no places in the grounds to get refreshments but the nearby village of Razvanje has several places to get a drink. There is a bee keeping centre in the grounds of Betnava Dvorec - treat yourself to a jar of locally made honey - it is delicious!
I would recommend a trip out of town to see the exterior and the grounds but I would say that viewing the interior is one for those people really interested in the subject matter.
If travelling by public transport, take the number two bus from Maribor town centre. The bus stops at the end of the drive way.
Streliška 150 Maribor
More photos to follow when the gremlins go to bed
Pictures of Betnava Mansion, Maribor
Be honest - does it look like the Versailles of ANYWHERE?
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