Ptuj, town in northeastern Slovenia, on the Drava (Drau) River. Ptuj is located just north of Slovenia's principal wine-growing region. It serves as the market and processing center for the area's agricultural products and is the site of Slovenia's first sugar refinery. Ptuj is the halfway point on a road from Vienna, Austria, to Trieste, Italy, and a nearby train station has connections to the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, 155 km (95 mi) to the southwest. Ptuj has some of the most significant historical landmarks and museum collections in Slovenia. Ptuj Castle—built in sections between the 11th and 18th centuries—houses the regional history museum, and a 13th-century Dominican monastery contains a collection of Roman mosaics and tombstones from a nearby archaeological site. The monastery church retains a number of historical manuscripts, including the original copy of the New Testament as translated in the 16th century by Primroz Trubar, creator of the Slovenian literary language during the Protestant Reformation. Ancient Roman shrines dedicated to the Persian god Mithra are located near Ptuj. A church in the village of Ptujska Gora, 15 km (10 mi) to the southwest, contains an ornate, carved wood relief from the 15th century that is considered one of Slovenia's most-treasured objects.
Ptuj is the oldest-known settlement in Slovenia. Founded in ancient times as a military outpost of Rome, it developed by the name of Poetovio as a transportation center between the Roman provinces of Pannonia and Noricum. Ptuj has withstood numerous invasions throughout its history, including attacks by Goths in the 5th century. From the 8th century, along with the rest of Slovenia, it was held in succession by several major powers, most notably the Austro-Hungarian Empire from the 14th century to the end of World War I in 1918, when it was transferred to the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia). It became part of the independent country of Slovenia when the republic broke away from Yugoslavia in 1991. Population (1991) 11,269.
