Maribor Stories: Contactless Against the Plague recalls a devastating chapter in the city's past. In 1680, a plague epidemic killed 483 of Maribor's approximately 1,400 townspeople by the end of the year. Residents shut themselves indoors or fled the city, while the dead were carried away at night and buried in mass plague pits without customary funeral ceremonies.
The story centres on a house at Koroška cesta 24, home to a baker named Murmann. According to local lore, no one in his household fell ill. His wife reportedly passed bread to customers through a window using a long-handled iron shovel, while payments were placed in a bowl of vinegar. This allowed transactions without direct contact.
Part of the Maribor Stories collection, the account combines historical events with local tradition to illuminate lesser-known aspects of the city. The baker's resourcefulness offers a glimpse of how people tried to protect themselves and continue daily life during the epidemic.