The mammoth Celje Hall, with its turreted neo-Gothic facade, dominates Krekov trg. It was built in 1907 as the social centre for German-speaking Celjani. In the middle of the square a bronze statue celebrating Alma M Karlin, Celje's renowned traveller, writer and polyglot, takes pride of place. To the south, connected to the Hotel Evropa, is the 16th-century Defence Tower, and about 150m further on, the Water Tower, part of the city wall and ramparts, built between 1451 and 1473.