Velika Nedelja

On a hillock, left of the main road from Ptuj to Ormož, there are interesting several-centuries-old buildings dominating over the area.  This is the village of Velika Nedelja.

The mighty castle with four round towers and a beautiful Roman church can be seen from miles away. If the weather is fine and sunny, you will be spoiled by the ancient beautifully renovated village centre with splendid views in all directions – all the way to Ptuj Castle, Boč, Donačka gora and nearby Croatia. In the village, just next to the castle and the church, there is also a newly arranged summer theatre where local performers will baffle you with their Prlekija dialect.

The panorama of the village was greatly influenced by the German knightly order which has been present in our area for more than 750 years!  According to the legend (what would our area be without legends?!), the village was supposedly named after the battle that took place on Easter Sunday.

At the request of Friderik II of Ptuj, the German knightly order arrived in the uninhabited area of Velika Nedelja in 1199 and seized it from the pillaging Hungarians. The first victory over them supposedly came on a hillock next to the confluence of the river Pesnica into the River Drava. The legend says that after the battle was over Friderik II of Ptuj stuck the flag of the German knightly order into the blood-soaked ground saying: “This place was conquered on Easter Sunday. It shall be named Velika Nedelja and the German knights shall protect and defend it from now on.”

There are also many other treasures in Velika Nedelja. Did you know that the apse of the local Church of the Holy Trinity contains the oldest baptismal font in the present territory of the Republic of Slovenia?!

The castle which is located next to the church has always been the centre of the vast command post of the Teutonic Knights of the Cross. The Castle Chapel behind the walls contains three Gothic statues of St Barbara, St Catherine and Pieta from the first part of the 15^th century which were made in the Ptujska gora sculpture workshop.