Zgornja Kungota: Hotels amid cycling routes, wine and Baroque culture

Zgornja Kungota combines several cycling routes with the Church of St Kunigunde and numerous wine and cultural experiences. This means that different ways of exploring the area can be found side by side: routes with numerous climbs and descents, paths through the surrounding area, tastings by prior arrangement and events held on fixed dates.

Culture and history

The Church of St Kunigunde was first mentioned in 1391 and stands on a hill above Zgornja Kungota. Its interior has vaulted ceilings and rich Baroque furnishings; three Baroque altars are particularly noteworthy. This gives the site both a specific historical date and a distinctly Baroque character.

Cycling

Several of the described tours start and end in Zgornja Kungota. The Kungoška kolesarska pot brez meja starts and ends here and is more challenging because of its numerous climbs and descents. The Kungoška razgledna kolesarska pot runs from Zgornja Kungota via Svečina, Huda luknja and the Jurij border crossing back to Zgornja Kungota.

The Kolesarska pot kungoških vinorodnih gričev also starts and ends in Zgornja Kungota. It runs mostly along paved local roads and well-maintained gravel paths. Thus, the cycling tours mentioned differ both in their routes and in the type of path described.

Nature and paths

The Sprehajalna pot na Čajžič walking trail offers views of Zgornja Kungota and Plintovec. In the area around Zgornja Kungota, Plački stolp on Plački vrh can also be reached by car, bicycle or on foot. Every year on 1 May, hikes to Plački stolp take place in this area from the directions of Jurij, Svečina, Zgornja Kungota, Spodnja Kungota and Šentilj.

Wine and regional experiences

Martinova tržnica includes wine tastings, a St Martin's festival, the baptism of the young wine and live music. Several establishments complement this programme of events with tastings and food. Vinogradništvo Hlupič offers wine tastings and tastings of bottled wines by prior registration. Izletniška kmetija Elšnik offers tastings of its own wines and bottled wines. It also serves cold cuts or open sandwiches, homemade pastries, gibanica and štruklji.

Vinogradniško izletniška kmetija Leber offers hot and cold dishes with wine from its own production and prepares wine tastings in its cellar on request. Vino Valdhuber offers wine tastings by prior arrangement. At Vino Gaube, Špičnik 17, 2201 Zgornja Kungota, Slovenia, group tastings for up to 24 people are available by prior arrangement. By prior arrangement, they also offer three-, four- and five-course menus, cold cuts with side dishes and high-quality desserts.

Opok offers guided wine tastings only by prior registration; its address is Jedlovnik 28, 2201 Zgornja Kungota, Slovenia. Vinogradništvo Ivan Dreisiebner offers wine tastings by arrangement in a vaulted cellar believed to be more than 300 years old.

Another fixed-date event is the cvetje pecivo festival, held in June. The programme includes tournaments, workshops, lectures, exhibitions of flowers and pastries, a cultural programme and a firefighters' parade, among other activities.

Other places

For further options in the same destination area, also see Svečina, Jareninski Dol, Pesnica, Dolnja Počehova, Pesnica pri Mariboru and Selnica ob Muri.

Back to the higher-level travel overview: Pesnica.