Ribnica

The Valley of Ribnica best known cottage industries boast a tradition of several hundred years. To preserve the tradition, the woodenware-making region in 2004 acquired a geographical designation with the name »Woodenware of Ribnica”. Pottery is predominantly made in the south of Ribnica Valley. The best-known pottery product is the “Ribnica whistle”, also humorously described as »the horse whose bottom whistles«. The public institute “Ribnica Handicraft Centre” continuously cares for the overall preservation and development of cultural heritage.
The Ribnica castle houses the exhibition area of the “Museum of Ribnica”. In the city centre stands the “Church of Sv. Stephen”. The “Miklova Hiša Gallery” boasts continuous exhibition-related activities. One of the main cultural attractions of the Ribnica Valley is the “Škrabčeva Homestead” in Hrovača. It is the birthplace of Father Stanislav Škrabec, one of the most important linguists and Slavists of the 19th century. The “Škrabčeva homestead” is now a museum.
The “Ribnica Fair of woodenware and pottery” is held every first Sunday in September. The Ribnica castle is predominantly used as a venue for cultural events - Fridays in in July and August are enriched with “Castle evenings”. Every last Saturday in August the village Hrovača hosts the "Bean Day" when, using old recipes, the housewives prepare dishes from a specific type of bean, called ribnčan.