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Calendar / Witness / Attend in Ptuj

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Witness / Attend in Ptuj

Slovenia · Southern Europe

Feb 3–9, 2027Confirmed

Anchored by an institution

No overall organizer. Public Institute Ptuj anchors the event; the rest belongs to the streets.

Dates & details verified against: Official event site

Why go

Kurentovanje is Slovenia's largest carnival, staged in its oldest town since 1960 around a figure far older: the Kurent, a sheepskin-clad, cowbell-belted demon who goes door to door driving out winter, a rite inscribed on UNESCO's intangible heritage list in 2017. For ten days around Shrovetide the town fills with Kurent groups from across the region, ethnographic parades, and the international carnival procession that draws tens of thousands, all under a castle above the Drava. The 2027 edition runs February 3-9; between editions, Ptuj's Roman stones and wine cellars carry the rest of the year.

When it runs

Annual around Shrovetide.

  • Feb 3–9, 2027Confirmed

Dates read confirmed where the organizer has published them, and expected where we've projected the recurrence. Always verify with the organizer before booking.

What to expect

Annual around Shrovetide: the 2027 edition runs February 3-9. The big international parade lands on the final weekend. February in the Drava valley is cold; the Kurenti are louder than you expect.

Getting there & around

Ptuj is thirty minutes from Maribor and ninety from Ljubljana by road or rail. Book beds early for the final carnival weekend; Maribor works as an overflow base.

Where it happens

Ptuj, Slovenia.

Want to go? The full Ptuj guide: conditions, logistics, providers →