On March 15 and 16, 2025, the Executive Board of our Association organized the visit of a small group of members to the household of our friend and exemplary host Miran Trop, known to us as the good Moštek - the bishop's assistant in the baptism of wine, and his virtuous family.
The Trop family is one of today's not so numerous rural families, who live exclusively by growing vines, producing wine and raising pigs. Many beautiful moments were experienced by the 16-member team of Triglav association from Banja Luka in those two days.
The road took us through the border crossing in Gradiška and Croatia to the border crossing Macelj, where we entered beautiful Slovenia. Our first stop was in the oldest city on Slovenian territory - Ptuj, known in Roman times as Petovio, whose very name suggests a continuity of settlement going back thousands of years. Ptuj was founded on a small hill above the Drava River, at the point where the Alps end and Pannonia begins. The city, which was for a long time the northern border of the Roman Empire, had enormous strategic importance in the distant past, so Emperor Hadrian had a stone bridge built on that spot, the remains of which are still visible today. For a long time, it struggled with the vagaries of the river and floods, while today this has been solved by a large artificial lake created downstream of it, which performs the function of a retention basin, but also an accumulation for a hydroelectric power plant. The city of Ptuj itself is known for its preserved and since 1960 renewed colorful tradition of kurentovanje, or spring masquerades, where during the Shrove Tuesday, before the beginning of the Easter fast, men disguised themselves as animals and terrible creatures, or evil forces that need to be appeased to leave us and allow the arrival of the new year. We also visited the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, which belongs to the 750-year-old Minorite monastery. Unfortunately, the church was completely destroyed in the Allied bombing in early 1945, because the German occupation forces turned this Slovenian church in Ptuj into a warehouse. After the war, the communist authorities used the space to build a public building - a post office, and with the independence of Slovenia, the church was renovated, which was restored to its authentic appearance, especially its street facade, so the images of the state of the church after the destruction and its current appearance after the renovation were incredible. While walking around this beautiful city full of history, a city of Roman squares and medieval castles, we were joined by an old friend and journalist at Television Maribor, Dušan Tomažič.
From Ptuj, we continued our journey to our destination, i.e. to the town of Ormož, the capital of the unofficial Prleška Republic. We were welcomed there by Peter Kirič, the good spirit of that small town on the eastern border of Slovenia, near the border on the Drava River. We settled comfortably in a newly equipped hostel building, which is managed by the tourist organization of the town of Ormož. On that cloudy and rainy weekend, the town itself seemed eerily quiet and deserted to us visitors from Banja Luka, who were used to crowds and noise.
We were all impatiently waiting for the arrival in the wine-growing village of Runeč, a few kilometers from Ormož, full of typical steep hills, which the hardworking hands of Prleš peasants turned into native vineyards. Mainly white varieties are grown here: Riesling from the Rhine and Italy, Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Chipon, Pinot Gris and Muscat rosé, from which top quality wines are produced, as well as those intended for spritzer, which is a favorite pub drink in these parts.
After a warm welcome, where we felt the spirit and breath of the wine cellar, we had the opportunity to taste top-quality chardonnay and red muscat, but also to hear the inspired recitation of the verses of the former Ptuj prefect and poet Alojzij Remec, which were conveyed to us in the Prleš dialect by the versatile Peter Kirič.
Then we moved to the Trop family's home, or rather to their guest room, dominated by a wall-mounted stove, which not only heats the home in the winter but also serves to dry or roast meat products. And the Trop family has a lot of these meat products, and you never know which one is tastier and more beautiful, both in appearance and to the palate. Starting with homemade pâté, pork chops, sausages, roast beef, meat from a turkey and who knows what other specialties, all served with homemade warm rye bread, sweetened with kvass, we ate really well, just like in Balašević's poem. Little by little, with pleasant company, the wine and occasional singing, time passed and with heavy hearts we said goodbye to our old mother Tončka, Miran, Helena and their children, but we had to go back to the hostel for some much-needed rest and sleep.
In the morning, our hosts made a good effort and prepared hot sour soup and coffee for us to recover from the previous evening, which invigorated us and prepared us for new trips and meetings.
First, we visited the section of the Provincial Museum of Ptuj - Ormož, located in a renovated building of former brickworks in Ormož. There we were kindly welcomed by the curator - ethnologist Nevenka Korpič, who, by guiding us through the permanent and current exhibition of the museum, introduced us to the past of the entire region and the way of life of the inhabitants of Ormož from prehistoric times to recent times. Then we walked to the city castle, where we visited a successful social enterprise, called the Reuse Center, which deals, as the name suggests, with the new use of objects. Objects that have or would very likely end up in a landfill, if it were not for the innovative employees of the Center, who find new users for these objects or give them a new purpose and extend their lifespan. This reduces the burden on the environment, and some people who have difficulty finding employment with traditional employers are given the opportunity to realize themselves and secure their livelihood. We especially liked the offer of coffee, prepared on hot sand in traditional coffeepots, served from cups that we choose ourselves from their rich collection of abandoned objects, with the option of keeping it. And there were also some interesting items for purchase, since we didn't find any open shops on the weekend, here we satisfied our shopaholic urges.
The next destination was the nearby Središče ob Drava, a small town located slightly northeast of Ormož. And there is one of the largest oil mills in Slovenia, which produces pumpkin oil, i.e. oil from pumpkin seeds, called Jeruzalem SAT. They opened the doors of their tasting center especially for our group on Sunday, where they welcomed us with pumpkin liqueur, and then we watched an 8-minute film about the technology of growing pumpkins and the production of pumpkin oil and not only oil, but about 30 different products in which oil or pumpkin seeds are an ingredient or additive. And not only did we learn about it, but after the movie we also tried all those different products and were delighted by different tastes. Although the hosts claimed that one cannot overdo it with the consumption of this so-called super food, some took it seriously and later felt a little sick.
And when we thought that this was the end of our stay in Prlekija and our time with Peter, he decided that due to the rainy weather we should take a ride and at least get to know the landscape of one of the most recognizable and valuable wine-growing regions not only in Slovenia but also in the world, the Ljutomer-Ormož vineyards, from the bus.
Then came another pleasant surprise and proof that the people of Banja Luka are always and everywhere welcoming and successful people. Our new host, and former resident of Banja Luka, Zlatko Štamberger and his wife, who is also a cousin of our Mira Dojčinović, made sure that we did not accidentally leave the territory of Slovenia hungry and thirsty. So this trip was not only a meeting with the homeland of our ancestors but also a family reunion.
This successful businessman, but also a kind host, welcomed us in his own restaurant, located in the center of Središče ob Drava, where their new home has been since the 1990s. Full, smiling and satisfied, we were able to say goodbye to Zlatko, his wife, and our own Peter Kirič, who made us Triglavians proud and happy to have such friends in Slovenia.
As we promised, until we meet again, until we visit again.
Mladen Lunić