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Beer Fountain of Green Gold
The first beer fountain in the world is a unique tourist attraction where visitors can taste different kinds of beer and learn a story rich in hop heritage. The fountain is symbolically designed as a hop umbel, expressed in two semicircles: a beer fountain and a water fountain. The town of Žalec has a slogan: “In the embrace of green gold”. For ages, hops have been considered green gold by the inhabitants of the Savinja Valley. Both fountains symbolically embrace each other. The visitor buys a special beer mug with a chip on the bottom, which can be filled six times with one decilitre of beer. The special beer mug was designed by the world-renowned designer Oskar Kogoj, an honorary citizen of Žalec, and can be taken home as a souvenir. The beers offered at the beer fountain are brewed with quality Slovenian hops. The originality of the idea lies in the fact that the fountain connects hop heritage, which is deeply rooted in the Savinja Valley, with the present time, and preserves it for the future. The uniqueness of the idea connected to the tradition of hops, modern architecture, an interesting story and the technological perfection of beer dispensing are what attracts visitors.

Connection to the hop heritage
The Green Gold Beer Fountain is positioned in the town park in Žalec, Slovenia. The town of Žalec is the administrative, economic and political centre of the Lower Savinja Valley, where tourism is an important and prolific industry. There are many tourist attractions in the Valley, but the Green Gold Beer Fountain has truly placed the Valley’s tourism on the global map. The Beer Fountain is exceptional, unique and connected to hops and beer heritage. Slovenia is at the 5th place in the world’s hop production and the vast majority of that hop comes from the Lower Savinja Valley. Hops have deeply marked the Valley and its inhabitants: economically, anthropologically and sociologically. Žalec is home to the Slovenian Institute of Hop research and Brewing, one of only three in the world. Next to the Institute stands The Eco-Museum of Hop-Growing and Brewing Industry in Slovenia, which passes on our rich heritage of hops to future generations. Žalec was also home to the famous brewer Simon Kukec, the father of brewing, after which the municipality named its own brand of beer.

From idea to implementation
The idea of a beer fountain was so outlandish that some residents of Žalec, representatives of the local community and even some media representatives did not believe in its realisation. The development of this innovative tourist attraction was realised by a project team formed especially for this purpose. The team faced numerous difficulties as the idea was being implemented. The biggest promotor of the product’s realisation was the Mayor Janko Kos himself. He believed in the realisation of the beer fountain from the very beginning and supported the team’s decisions all throughout the implementation phase. The construction of the beer fountain with the technical solution was estimated at 350,000 euros. But since the project was not approved by the public, the municipality didn’t want to finance the entire amount from the municipal budget, which is why it turned to entrepreneurs and businesspeople to help raise funds. Entrepreneurs believed in the idea of a beer fountain and saw it as an opportunity for tourism development and economic growth, so they donated some funds. Some residents of the municipality who considered the idea worthy of realisation also donated certain amounts. In the end, more than half of the funds needed for the project realisation were collected through donations. The construction work started in April 2016 and, in accordance with the timetable, the Grand opening of the Green Gold Beer Fountain was on 6th September 2016, on the Municipality day.

The basis for the development of tourism and the events surrounding the fountain
The intention to launch the Green Gold Beer Fountain was concisely described by the largest publisher of travel guides, Lonely Planet, as: “The small town of Žalec in eastern Slovenia is planning to put itself on the map by building Europe’s first beer fountain”. Marketing activities and good public relations ensured that during the first season which lasted only 2 months (the Fountain is closed in winter), 36,136 mugs were sold. The plan to sell about 6.000 mugs in one year was enormously exceeded. The Green Gold Beer Fountain has become the basis of a broad and innovative tourist offer of the Municipality of Žalec and the basis for economic growth and prosperity of its citizens. It has become an inspiration for everybody who is looking for a business opportunity in realizing innovative ideas. By implementing the beer fountain, Žalec has proved that even the most unusual idea can be realised, only if you are brave, persistent and if you trust in your knowledge and intuition. The beer fountain operates from April to October. Next to the fountain there is a rural market where many interesting things happen. Tourists and passers-by can listen to musical performances and enjoy other events or simply experience the hustle and bustle of a rural market which is busiest on Saturday mornings when local suppliers bring home-made products for sale. At the so-called Green Gold Shop (Zeleno zlato) you will find products from the farms of the Lower Savinja Valley. It is open all year round.

Prizes:
The Snovalec (Creator) Award 2016: awarded by the Slovenian Tourist Board for the idea of beer fountain as an innovative new product in tourism. Explanation of the committee: for “a successful combination of authentic local stories from the past and present, for an innovative way to carry out promotion of Žalec, Savinja Valley, hops and Slovenia, and also for successfully combining of the interests of the diverse public and private partners in a joint project." The Sejalec (Sower) Award 2017: awarded by the Slovenian Tourist Board, is an award given for creative and innovative achievements in Slovenian tourism. It rewards innovations that have already been implemented and successfully contribute to increasing the visibility of Slovenia's tourist offer.

More information:

 * Green Gold Beer Fountain web page:
 * The Eco-Museum of Hop-Growing and Brewing Industry in Slovenia:
 * Facebook - beer fountain
 * Instagram - beer fountain