The Drava river, formed by a glacier, deposited large quantities of gravel, which in turn formed a characteristic Mariborian landscape of terraces. To the north, Maribor is ringed by the surroundings hills that are are enhanced by vineyards that occupy acreage extending into Maribor itself, thus lending the city a special charm.
To the southwest, Maribor is protected by the eastern slope of the Pohorje mountain chain. At the Pohorje foothills, a separate "little mountain" (the tonalite Pekrska Gorca, 352 m) with its famous vineyards, is situated.
Maribor is located at the junction of two natural routes. The first is the Drava river, which divides the city north and south. In former times, the Drava river was mainly used for the transportation of assorted cargo on covered barges and rafts. Parallel to the Drava river was a service road and a railway line. The second, from a meridian-wise direction, is the route across the Drava river from the Gradec Basin towards the Celje Basin. The highway and the railway through Maribor connect Central and southeastern Europe.
Maribor's geographical location determined the city's development. The old core of the city is found between gently sloping Drava river - formed terraces and the vineyard hills to the north. Maribor's layout suggests a rectangular network of rows of buildings and traffic systems in northsouth and east-west directions. In the nineteenth century the city started to spread towards Meljski hrib (Melje Hill). In this century, it has centered below the Pohorje Mountain in two elongated ribbons on both sides of the Strazunski gozd (Strazun forest) to the southeast. Unfortunately, this growth has been too haphazard and thus has not been accompained by adequately planned urbanization. This is why even to this day almost all crucial urban components of the city are still located on the left bank of the Drava river, in the old city nucleus, or adjacent to it.