Maribor ( pronunciation (help·info) German: Marburg an der Drau, Italian: Marburgo) is the second largest city in Slovenia with 95,200 inhabitants as of 2011^[update]. Maribor is also the largest city of the traditional region of Lower Styria and the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor.

Maribor is, jointly with Guimarães in Portugal, the 2012 European Capital of Culture. In November 2010, The European Youth Forum announced that Maribor will be the 2013 European Youth Capital.

In 1164, a castle known as the Marchburch (Middle High German for "March Castle") was documented in Styria. It was first built on Piramida Hill, which is located just above the city. Maribor was first mentioned as a market near the castle in 1204, and received town privileges in 1254. It began to grow rapidly after the victory of Rudolf I of Habsburg over Otakar II of Bohemia in 1278. Maribor withstood sieges by Matthias Corvinus in 1480 and 1481 and by the Ottoman Empire in 1532 and 1683, and the city remained under the control of the Habsburg Monarchy until 1918.