Piramida

Piramida is a 386-metre-high hill rising above Maribor. It is most easily accessible from City Park, from where a marked path leads us past grapevines. After approximately half an hour of undemanding walking, a magnificent view over the entire city and its surroundings awaits. Piramida is a popular excursion spot in every season, both for locals and other visitors. Until 1784, the Maribor castle stood on the hill, known as Marchpurg or Marburg. It was built by the Spanheims in the early 12th century and served as a defence against the Hungarians. In 1528 the castle burned down. It was restored in Renaissance style around 1560, and then demolished by 1790. From the remaining material, a stone pyramid was erected, which also gave the hill its name. What remains of the castle are a moat with a steep embankment and a well without a coping. At the top of the embankment stands a Classicist chapel from 1821 with a stone statue of the Virgin Mary. The inscription on the commemorative plaque in the chapel tells us that the original pyramid was struck by lightning in 1821, and Count Heinrich Brandis had the chapel built in memory of the location of the old castle. To this day, pits, holes and other traces can still be seen on Piramida, dug by people from those times.