Maribor Stories: Monte Bello reveals a darker chapter in the history of the area beside Koroška Road, opposite today's Fontana Medical and Wellness Centre. Known locally as Na gavgah, meaning the gallows, the site served as Maribor's public execution ground until the 18th century. People sentenced to death were executed and buried here.
The gallows stood on elevated ground beside the main road, clearly visible to travellers approaching the city. Their prominent position served as a public warning about the consequences of breaking the law. After executions, bodies were sometimes left hanging for several days. The site appears in the 1824 Franciscean cadastral map under the German name Galgenfeld, meaning gallows field.
The memory of the execution ground survived long after it ceased operating. Even after the Second World War, a wooden cross and two cypress trees marked the location. In later decades, the site was occupied by a garden centre belonging to the company Florina. Today, the story of Monte Bello offers an insight into historical punishment and the public exercise of judicial authority in Maribor.
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Koroška cesta 171-172
2000 Maribor