Vinica - Arboretum "Opeka"

On Thursday (23rd) after school my friend Iva picked me up. On our way out of town Andrijana and Tena joined us. We drove for thirty minutes to the town of Vinica where we visited the Arboretum "Opeka."

The Opeka castle was built in the 18th century by the Draskovic family on lands that they had owned for centuries. When Count Marko Bombelles came into possession of the castle in 1852 he brought many plants from all parts of the world and formed an arboretum in the large park surrounding the castle.

The most precious trees in the park come from Tibet, China, Japan, Caucasus, North America, and Europe. There are about 14000 specimens of about 200 plant varieties in the arboretum.

We walked throughout the park and visited the Castle.

The front of the Baroque style castle. There has been no upkeep to the castle so it is in ruins today.

The front corner of the Castle.

Inside the main courtyard. Even though the place wasn't in good condition it was still interesting to look around.

An old well in the center of the courtyard.

Iva and her dog Armon leading the way.

Overgrown courtyard walls.

The side of the castle

Ivy covered archways.

Looking back at the castle

Grave stone for Bombelles' horse Spitz.

The old bridge across the pond

The old swimming pool. You can see the variety of trees in the background.

Me, Iva, Tena and Iva's dog Armon.

Large grouping of trees

Inside the large grouping of trees.

There were old benches located throughout the property.

After leaving Vinica we drove on some back roads to this river. The right bank is Croatian land and the left bank is Slovenian land.

Left is Croatia, right is Slovenia

Looking down the river.