Easy hikes and walks around Lake Žovnek

beautiful view

The Roman necropolis in the now Slovenian town of Sempeter, which was once called St. Peter am Draufeld in the old Lower Styria, is today one of the most interesting archaeological sites of ancient grave architecture in Central Europe. Here it was not man who destroyed this unique cemetery of important Roman settlers. A huge flood of the Savinja River in the 3rd century AD must have torn even the largest tombs from their foundations and overturned them, so that the families of these dead probably no longer had the strength or time to restore everything to its previous state in honor of the deceased. They had enough to do with saving and restoring their villas and estates. The graves near the rising river collapsed because the foundations had been washed away, fell into the Savinja and were soon covered with sediment, disappeared and were only discovered again by chance almost two thousand years later during excavation work. The monuments further away from the river also collapsed, but were not covered by the river. Their marble components were later reused as welcome building material or were burned to make mortar lime and thus disappeared. It was not until the 20th century that the buried grave monuments saw the light of day again. In 1952, the first debris was discovered by chance and archaeology was called in, which was already exemplary in Slovenia at that time. These excavations lasted until 1956. Even then, there were plans for permanent preservation and public presentation on site. The reconstruction plans were ready in 1959. The findings so far have shown that at least this part of the cemetery must have been created in the 1st to 2nd centuries AD.

A good bakery opposite the Necropolis, across the main road. Bakery just across the main road with the best donuts and semelj.

Incredible. Here too the Romans two thousand years ago left their traces.

Old Castle ruins, first mentioned 1130; Counts of Celje

Roman history to attack!

Hard climb in last 100-200m. Super view on lake Žovnek.

or nearly 2000 years led through Šempeter the important Roman road Aquileia - Emona - Celeia, Poetovio (Oglej - Ljubljana - Celje - Ptuj). Many Roman empires lived in the vicinity and some of them were also buried in the tombs in the Roman necropolis in Šempeter. The necropolis was accidentally discovered when, in 1952, while working in the orchard, one unexpectedly came upon the statue of the seated woman. A few years after the excavations, the Roman necropolis (Rimska nekropola) archaeological park was opened in Šempeter, which is still one of the most important and best-preserved monuments of Roman times in Slovenia and Central Europe. Since the discovery of the Roman necropolis in Šempeter, more than 100 family crypts have been excavated. The most beautifully preserved are the large tombs made of Pohorje marble, which are adorned with the relief-like statues of the families buried here. The crypt of the Spectati family stands out from the others with the reliefs of the four distinct seasons, the crypt of the Enni family represents a mythical scene of the abduction of Europe. Each crypt tells its own 2000-year-old story, describes ancient mythology and talks about the life of the ancient Romans.