The motto of the Šentjur Tour route is: "A healthy mind in a healthy body." The result of the 42 kilometers traveled is full transformation - internal and external. We ride through places where people of broad minds have left their mark in time and space, such as: Anton Martin Slomšek, Blaž Kocen, Dr. Stanko Buser. Here we feel the beneficial energy of consecrated sanctuaries - churches, especially the Church of St. Martin on Ponikvi, the former Žiče Carthusian monastery, natural well-being
spots and we encounter the hospitality of the inhabitants.
Summary of the cycling route
- Circular cycling route length: 42 km (asphalt and macadam)
- Duration: with stops suitable for a full-day tour, without stops 4 hours
- Difficulty: medium
- Starting point of the route: Dramlje (free parking at the bus station), alternative starting point Ponikva railway station
- Total ascent: 1255 m
- Highest point: 525 m
- Lowest point: 272 m
- The birthplace of Anton Martin Slomšek is open on Saturdays and Sundays between March and November, otherwise prior notice is required
- There are shops in Dramlje and Ponikva, snack bars are in Dramlje and at Žiče Carthusian monastery, bars are in Trnovec at the gas station, in Hotunje and in Ponikva
Bilingual map of the route
Description of the Šentjur Tour cycling route
The route is circular and has varied terrain. It has two longer climbs of 200 m - 250 m difference in altitude. The right direction of cycling is recommended. We start the cycling trip in the centre of Dramlje, free parking at the bus stop at the Dramlje Primary School, and continue our journey towards Šentjur. Before the Dramlje motorway junction, we turn left towards the settlement of Razbor. The route takes us through agricultural landscape, through forests and the sprawling settlement of Razbor to the larger settlement of Hotunje. We also suggest a short break for a snack at the Masten's ponds.
After refreshment, we continue our journey to the Ponikva railway station, which can be an excellent alternative starting point for the route if we arrive by train. After crossing the railway, we turn right towards Uniše. At the railway crossing be sure to take a short break to admire the view of the chestnut tree avenue. We pass the birthplace of the blessed Anton Martin Slomšek, a catholich priest, writer, poet, teacher and national revivalist. After visiting the birth house museum or just a short stop, we continue our journey amidst apple orchards to the church of St. Ožbalt, which stands on a hill above Ponikva, where we have a view of the center of Ponikva, Konjiška gora and the beautiful surrounding landscape. We descend into Ponikva past the Blaž Kocen Primary School. At school is a starting point for local thematic and educational hiking trails. Look for the signboard. Our route partially overlaps with one of these trails.
We continue our descent into the valley, pass a plant sewage treatment plant and then turn left for Boletina. Here is the endemic European Pasqueflower growing site. The best time to visit the site is early spring (February, March or April), when the flower blooms in a beautiful purple color. After the stop, we continue with a gentle climb past the sign for the Šmid winery and the Buser farm - pottery to Okrog, past the Zdolšek Traditional House, where everyone is warmly welcomed. Here the Ponikva karst landscape ends and we drive through the valley between meadows and fields to Srževica, drive straight (or keep to the right) all the way to the forest, where we turn left and follow the forest path down into a beautiful undulating valley all the way to the main road, where we drive for about 50 meters and turn left and climb into the wine-growing area of Polžanska Gorca and Dolga Gora. Just before the summit, at the crossroads, we turn towards the settlement of Dolga Gora. We continue towards the settlement of Dolga Gora, where at the crossroads we turn left towards Dolga Gora, past the fire station. We drive straight, at a larger crossroads we turn left towards Ponikva. After about 2 km we drive to the sign for the settlement of Slatina pri Ponikva, where we turn right. We drive straight on the main road and, with several small climbs and descents, we reach the crossroads in the village of Lutrje, where we turn far right uphill and after about 2 km we turn right again past the Ponikva hunting lodge and the Zdolšek organic farm, where we turn left onto a gravel road and drive through the forest to Kraberk. This is followed by a right turn onto an asphalt surface and a descent past vineyards, the Krošlov tourist farm to the crossroads, where we turn left towards Škedenj, cross a small bridge and turn left onto the main road towards the Žiče Carthusian Monastery, which was declared a monument of national importance in 2015, on its 850th anniversary. In the shade of the monastery walls and a well-deserved snack in the oldest inn in Slovenia, Gastuž, we climb left to Straža na Gori. At the top of the slope, we descend towards the valley and Dramlje with beautiful views of Bohor, the Celje Basin, and Boč. We suggest a stop at the Jager tourist farm, where there is room for a larger group of cyclists. At the farm, we turn right onto a gravel road, less busy, that leads us through the wine-growing landscape of Bela Gora to Zalog pod Uršulo, where we descend to Dramlje.
