On the International Museum Day, we invite you to a lecture by Boris Hajdinjak on the Jews of medieval Ptuj. The lecture will take place on Monday, 18 May 2026, at 6:00 pm at Ptuj Castle.
From the late 13th to the mid-15th century, Jews were among the inhabitants of medieval Ptuj. Their presence is confirmed by five articles of the Ptuj City Charter from 1376. There used to be a street called the Jewich Street (Židovska ulica) in the town, on which stood a synagogue. Seven medieval Jewish tombstones that have been discovered so far, which is a significant number even within the broader regional context, prove the existence of a Jewish cemetery. Two of the gravestones were discovered only recently during archaeological excavations in the old town center of Ptuj: in 2019 and 2020. In 1404, Ptuj was the site of the only known medieval pogrom in what is now Slovenia. Nevertheless, between 1432 and 1446, a Jew named Mair from Bernkastel in the Rhineland took refuge here. It is only with him that the medieval Jewish history of Ptuj comes to an end.
The lecture will be organised by the Ptuj Ormož Regional Museum.
