Trg 1 Maja

Trg 1 Maja is the older heart of Piran, the medieval main square before Tartini Square was opened up by filling in the inner harbour. It sits at a slightly higher level than the rest of the town, hemmed in by tall houses with narrow alleys leading off in every direction, and feels noticeably more lived-in than the polished Tartini below.

The centrepiece is an eighteenth-century covered cistern surrounded by carved stone figures. The cafes around the edge of the square serve tourists, but Trg 1 Maja still belongs primarily to its residents — laundry strung between the windows, cats sleeping in shaded doorways. Worth ten minutes' detour from any walk through the upper town.

things to do sight square
A story
Until the late eighteenth century, the square's eighteenth-century cistern — a covered reservoir of rainwater collected from the surrounding rooftops — was Piran's principal source of drinking water in dry months. The stone figures around it represent Justice and Law; the wellheads carry the date 1776.

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