This is an unexpected treat: superbly varied art in a magnificent setting, surrounded by a garden full of sculptures. The museum's galleries showcase the works of Slovenian artists.
About 1.5km southwest of town, this former Cistercian monastery was a very wealthy institution in the Middle Ages, but abandoned in 1786 when monastic orders were dissolved. The beautifully painted main entrance through two squat, candy-striped towers leads to an enormous courtyard enclosed by a cloister with 230 arcades across three floors.
To the west stands the disused Church of the Virgin Mary containing elements from the 13th to 18th centuries; it is now used to great effect as an exhibition space. Upstairs is an exhibition on the monastery's history and its masterful restoration.
The galleries of the museum itself exhibit the works of eight Slovenian artists, encompassing paintings, drawings, graphic art and sculpture. Chief among the artists is the expressionist Božidar Jakac (1899–1989) and brothers France (1895–1960) and Tone Kralj (1900–75), who painted expressionist and surrealist-cum-socialist-realism canvases respectively. France Kralj was particularly prolific and his sculptures are captivating. There's also a permanent collection of old masters from the Carthusian monastery at Pleterje.
The grounds of the Božidar Jakac Art Museum are home to more than 100 large wooden sculptures from Forma Viva, sculptural symposia that were held in several places in Slovenia from 1961 to 1988 and have been revived in recent years. At these symposia, sculptors work with materials associated with the area. Here it was oak, in Portorož stone, iron at Ravne in Koroška and concrete in Maribor.