Ptuj is located in the eastern part of Slovenia, in the southern part of the province of Styria. The city is located 30 km southeast of Maribor, the first major city.

Ptuj is an important traffic hub. The city runs the railroad from Pragerski to Ormož and further to Croatia or Murska Sobota, and further into Hungary via Hodoš.

The position of the city is in the valley of the Drava River, the westernmost part of the Pannonian Plain, at the point where this valley is the widest. The beginning, today the historical core of Ptuj is on the bank above the river, from which the surrounding plain was easy to control. The altitude of Ptuj is 232 m.

The area of ​​Ptuj was settled even in the younger Stone Age. The Celts settled Ptuj in the late Iron Age. In the 1st century BC Christ's settlement was under the control of ancient Rome. The first written description of Ptuj, under the original name Poetovio, dates from the year 69 AD, when the Roman Emperor Vespasian was elected. Already in the era of Rome, Ptuj has developed into an extremely important commercial, customs and administrative center. In the 103rd year of Emperor Trajan, Ptuj was given the status of a civil center and the name Kolonia Ulpia Traiana Poetovia. The city had 40,000 inhabitants until it attacked Hun.

570 AD, the city was occupied by Avar and the old Slavs. Between 840 and 874 belonged to the Balaton principality of Slovene Pribina and Kocelje. Between 874 and 890 Ptuj gradually fell under the influence of the Diocese of Salzburg. As German Petau, he was involved in the Duchy of Styria in 1555.

In 1376 Ptuj got its city statute. In the 17th century, when the Turks occupied much of Hungary, Ptuj was completely destroyed. In the 19th century, the city was located further away from important traffic routes.

According to the latest Austrian population census of 1910, 86% of the population of Ptuj were Germans. The surroundings of Ptuj were predominantly populated by the Slovene population. During the German occupation, from 1941-45. The Slovenian population was abducted from Ptuj forcibly. Their houses were taken over mostly by the Germans from Bolzano. Later, after German capitulation, all Germans were forcibly evicted to Austria.