SLOVENIA - Piran Township

 

Church of St George and Bell Tower, Piran

Piran - historical area

These pix were taken on July 29 to 31, 2016. 

My stay was as the guest of my Australian friend, who has a summer 3rd floor apartment in the historical district. 

Piran is a town in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the three major towns of Slovenian Istria. The town has much medieval architecture, with narrow streets and compact houses.

Piran is the administrative centre of the local area and one of Slovenia's major tourist attractions. Until the mid-20th century, Italian was the dominant language, but was replaced by Slovene as demographics shifted.

Piran, Bell Tower

The historical area of Piran is built on the west side of the hills, facing the Adriatic, with the Italian city of Trieste on the horizon. The main residential location is behind the large Tartini Square. There is no vehicle access, but motor scooters make their way along the narrow cobblestoned laneways between the buildings.

The modest apartments in the historical area are generally modern, reached by wooden stairways from ground level, extending up three levels or more. Construction is stone, with walls up to one metre thick, with large wooden supporting beams. Some buildings have been modernized. 

Most of the buildings are built from stone, some dating to the 16th century or earlier. The bus terminal is on the harbour. Many dwellings are owned for vacational purposes.  

Piran, Town Wall at top

The town is serviced by 240V AC power, reticulated water/sewerage, and a modern broadband telecommunucations network carrying fast internet, TV, and streaming video. Waste collection is daily, via small mechanized vehicles. leaving little or no room for pedestrians to pass!

The town has many attractions, including  a strip of seaside restaurants, the marina, walking paths, the Town Wall, and the prominent Bell Tower and Church of St. George. 

The Bell in the Tower chimes every hour, with secondary chimes on the quarter hours.