Uršlja gora reaches 1,699 metres and offers views of the Meža, Mislinja, Šaleška and Drava valleys. At its summit stands the Church of St. Ursula, which is considered the highest-altitude church in Slovenia. In the historic centre of Ravne, the medieval plot and street layout has been fully preserved; there is also an open space along the Meža.
The main road and railway connections from Austria and Prevalje towards Dravograd and onward to Maribor run along the Meža. Anyone considering Ravne na Koroškem as a travel destination may wish to rent an apartment here.
Nature and Trails
The easiest hiking trail to Uršlja gora starts at Naravske ledine, takes about two hours and includes 620 metres of moderate ascent on the northern side of the mountain. The Pot po Tolstem vrhu is a challenging route suitable for hikers and cyclists. The Cesta mošta runs entirely along local forest roads and mostly in the shade of the forests; it is particularly suitable for mountain bikers and hikers.
The Vorančeva pot is a hiking trail whose shorter version takes about three hours and begins in the centre of Kotlje. Cestnikov slap is a 26-metre-high waterfall in the Meža Valley near Tolsti Vrh that cascades onto the grounds of the Cesnik homestead. More than 70 species of diurnal butterflies have so far been recorded in the valley of the Črni potok near Kotlje.
Culture and History
Ravne Castle stands on a gravel terrace above the town centre, is about five hundred years old and has a Neo-Baroque appearance following its last renovation in the 19th century. Since 30 November 2016, the museum exhibition room at Ravne Castle has housed a permanent exhibition on the creation of the Ravne Forma Viva collection. The castle chapel also features a permanent exhibition with a lapidarium of Roman stone monuments from the archaeological site at Zagrad near Prevalje, as well as individual stones from the Municipality of Ravne na Koroškem.
The Forma Viva collection in Ravne was created through nine sculptors' symposia involving 37 international artists; a total of 36 sculptures were installed in Ravne and three other towns in the Meža Valley. The permanent exhibition Štorije iz naše doline depicts the everyday life of the rural population in the Meža Valley from the mid-18th to the mid-20th century. Guštanj za jutrno covers the cultural and historical development of the Meža Valley from prehistory to the Counter-Reformation.
The permanent exhibition Sijaj jekla presents the four-hundred-year tradition of steel production in the Meža Valley, as well as metallurgical processes, facilities and steel products. Solzica iz jekla stands as a symbol of steel for the Festival of Solzice, Koroška and its people. Numerous wooden granaries have been preserved in Strojnska Reka; they traditionally served to store grain, flour, meat and must. The Kravperška kašča is a two-storey wooden granary with a basement, dating from the 19th century; in 2010, it was moved to the edge of the farmyard of Prežihova bajta on Preški Vrh.
The Turške šance are the remains of a defence system built around 1476 on a small hill near the road between Ravne and Kotlje. The Kulturni center Ravne na Koroškem offers subscription programmes for theatre, music, puppet theatre, children, the Koroška Theatre and Jazz Ravne.
Activities and Special Places
Reservations are required to visit the Wildlife Park. The experience includes a UTV ride for a maximum of five people to see the animals, observing ibex and chamois in their enclosures, an alpaca experience with the opportunity to feed and photograph them, and observing zebras at close range.
The Poseka ski resort has artificial snowmaking and lighting. Picikl Košta is a circular cycling route for exploring Ravne na Koroškem and its surroundings, while also discovering the distinctive taste of Koroška and traditional dishes made from fresh, high-quality local ingredients.
Other destinations in the region: Ravne na Koroškem, Mežica, Črna na Koroškem.
