History of Rogatec

Thanks to its advantageous position between the sub-Alpine belt and the Pannonian plain, the town of Rogatec was awarded market rights as far back as 700 years ago and is therefore one of the oldest market towns in Slovenia.

 The earliest record of settlement dates from Roman times. For most of its history, Rogatec was a town of craftsmen and traders; most recently, because of its natural characteristics, pristine nature and cultural and artistic monuments, the town has been investing in business, tourism and service activities.

Traces of Rogatec’s rich history are embedded in a special way in the architecture of the well-preserved old town with Mary’s pillar in the centre of the square. A vestige from the Roman settlement can be seen in a stone relief of a winged dragon inserted into the facade of a residential building on the square’s southern edge. A singular feature of the town is the old portals and stairways carved in the quarries of Log, which speak of the flourishing local stonecutters’ trade (grindstones) in the 19^th and the first half of the 20^th century. Surrounded by thick fortification walls, the deanery church of St. Bartholomew rises above the square as if protecting the houses below. The church, built in the first half of the 18^th century in the Baroque style, is important because of exceptional interior Baroque illusionist frescoes, altars (by Štefan, Anton and Janez Jurij Mersi and J. Straub) and altarpieces (by Anton Lerchinger and Valentin Metzinger). On the hill above the church, ruins of a late 12^th century castle can be seen.