Novo mesto, also called the metropolis of Dolenjska, was founded in the year 1365, when the Austrian Archduke Rudolf IV granted city rights to the town at the bend of the Krka River. Officially called Rudolsfwerd, it grew as Novo Mesto and soon became an administration, cultural, religious and business center of Dolenjska. Novo Mesto is situated in the midst of the hilly landscape of Dolenjska, embraced by the Krka River.

Abundance of nature, tradition and culture can be a real experience for every visitor of Novo Mesto. The Krka Valley, located just above Novo mesto, is in the opinion of many the most beautiful river valley in Slovenia with tender banks, picturesque rapids and natural dams which emphasize its nature. Special attractions include numerous mills and castles which, combined with the landscape seem anachronistic in our present day. You will find the stay in our town pleasant. You can select among a variety of viewpoints, pilgrimage trails, sports and other facilities and forests rich with walking paths, hunting possibilities, forest fruits for picking, and fishing. In the town you will find numerous monuments, and in the Museum of Dolenjska, an amazing archaeological wealth as well.

The most beautiful inland city in Slovenia has been for centuries the centre of administrative, cultural, religious and business life in Dolenjska – and of a unique landscape in the south of the country.  Among vineyards in the shelter of the Krka valley, is a city concealing an amazing archaeological heritage. On its hillsides you can visit traditional events, picturesque churches, monasteries, museums and galleries.  Everything in the vicinity of Novo mesto, from mighty forests and thermal springs to varied  opportunities for outdoor activities make it a great destination.

MAIN SQUARE Glavni or Veliki Trg (Main or Large   Square) was the central area of the medieval Novo Mesto, a town founded on 7 April 1365. Here merchants and craftsmen lived and worked. The dominant features of Glavni Trg are arcades on the ground-floors and first floors of houses and in courtyards (1, 2, 8 and 9 Glavni Trg).

At the town hall, the local dignitaries made decisions about town life, with the first town hall being built in 1720. It was demolished in 1905 and replaced with the present building, in a Neo-Romanesque and Neo-Gothic style. The façade bears the coat-of-arms of Novo Mesto, with the image of the town’s founder Rudolph IV of Habsburg. In front of the town house, busts of the poet Dragotin Kette and writer Janez Trdina are displayed, both works by the sculptor Jakob Savinšek. At the upper end of Glavni Trg, a stone fountain was erected in 1955. It is inscribed with verses from Kette’s poem, “Na Trgu” (In the Market). Plans for the layout of Glavni Trg, the fountain and the Town Gate entrance to the town were drawn up by Marjan Mušič.

TOWN HALL The first town hall being built in 1720. It was demolished in 1905 and replaced with the present building, in a Neo-Romanesque and Neo-Gothic style. The façade bears the coat-of-arms of Novo mesto, with the image of the town’s founder Rudolph IV of Habsburg. In front of the town house, busts of the poet Dragotin Kette and writer Janez Trdina are displayed, both works by the sculptor Jakob Savin{ek. At the upper end of Glavni Trg, a stone fountain was erected in 1955. It is inscribed with verses from Kette’s poem, “Na Trgu” (In the Market). Plans for the layout of Glavni Trg, the fountain and the Town Gate entrance to the town were drawn up by Marjan Mušič.

KETTE FOUNTAIN IN THE SQUARE
The Kette Fountain is stuated in the upper part of the Main Square in Novo mesto. A heptagonal fountain made of marble stands on a base, made in the shape of three profiled marble stairs. A stone column with a circular profile stand in the centre of a stone basin with carved verses from Kette’s poem “On the Square”. The fountain was designed by Marjan Mušič in 1955 and has replaced a cast-iron fountain from 1903.

KANDIJA BRIDGE Riverside Novo Mesto received its first bridge at the start of the 16th century. The bridge was wooden and spanned between today’s Pugljeva and Resslova streets. Prior to its completion, locals crossed the river by boat or raft. Restored many times, it served the city well until the year 1898, when the Kandijski Bridge was built a stone’s throw downriver. Kandijski Bridge is 75 metres long and crosses the river in a single arc. Its riveted iron construction lies on rustic stone support beams. Due to the bridge’s construction, a house was torn down in the south side of the Main Square in 1896, which opened the square towards the Kandija. At the time it was built, the bridge was one of the largest iron constructions in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and was considered one of the most daring and advanced bridge structures of the time. Today, the Kandijski Bridge is open to traffic and doubles as a popular sightseeing point over the southern face of the old town.

THE RIVERBANK Houses on the Riverbank, standing in rows on cliffs above the River Krka, represent one of the city’s most lyrical motifs. They were built at the turn of the 18th century when old city walls were cleared from the area. The preserved defensive tower, for example, can still be seen west from the Riverbank. The houses were once occupied by less affluent townspeople and gymnasium students who lived there as tenants.

Today, they accommodate apartments. The ground floors, accessed from the street, end in aisles from where stairs descend into the stone cellars facing the river. The storeys are very low.

Below the houses, just by the river, lie vegetable gardens tended by inhabitants and a popular walking trail. The location used to be an entryway into the city. The Dolenja gates once led through the city walls where Pugljeva street now ends, and a wooden bridge spanned across the River Krka until 1899.

ŠANCE AND THE DEFENSIVE WALLS
The preserved part of old city walls that once successfully defended Novo Mesto from Ottoman raids and other dangers is known as Na šancah. The walls were built right after the city’s establishment, in early 15th century. The simple stone structure had several defensive towers, some of which are still preserved on Kapitelj str. 8, Šolska str. 6 and Rozmanova str. 19. The walls allowed two entry points, one on the north side – the Gorenja or Ljubljanska gates now known as the site “at the Gates”, and one on the south side by the river Krka at the end of Pugljeva street – the Dolenja or Karlovška gates, which had first been accessed by boats and then later on by a wooden bridge built in the 16th century. At the decree of the emperor, the walls were brought down at the end of the 18th century, while their significance already waned in late 16th century when the city Karlovac was established as the first line of defence against Ottoman raids and the military doctrine shifted in focus.

AT THE GATE The appearance of the protected heritage site “at the Gates” was shaped during the city’s restoration after the Second World War. With its memorial lodge dedicated to the fallen townspeople of Novo Mesto and its war heroes, and the statues “Hostage” and “Liberator”, it stands as a reminder of the hardships of war. The site’s arrangement is tied to the Middle Ages when this was the location of one of the two gates leading through the city walls, and includes details from nearby castles demolished during the war. Centuries ago, the churches of St. Martin and St. Catherine stood here. Today, the pleasant site is made even more impressive by the library of Miran Jarc, whose building is known as one of the most beautiful of its kind in Europe. Next to the old part of the library lies the Park of Greats with the statue of the extraordinary composer Marijan Kozina who, among other works, wrote the title song for the movie Kekec which remains one of the folk tunes dearest

to Slovenian children and adults alike. The inn “at the Gates” once stood across from the library and was a favourite resting place of the noted chronologist of Lower Carniola, the writer Janez Trdina.

RAGOV GROOVE AND PORTOVAL
RRagovski mostagov log is a grove on the right bank of Krka river that begins just after Kandija bridge and ends at Ragovo village. The grove is a peculiar oasis of peace and a popular promenade for all generations of Novo mesto residents. Its main quality is a unique cohabitation of the river, forest and the town, which provides us with experience of a dying-out pattern of primeval landscape at the town doors. Tours: Multiple paths lead into Ragov log.

KETTE AVENUE AND MAROF Horse chestnut trees on both sides of the walk make it one of the most picturesque promenades in Novo mesto. In around 1500 metres long walk which connects the town centre and Bršljin neighbourhood over the prehistoric settlement of Marof, 370 trees used grow. It was created in early 19 hundreds, when today’s Ljubljanska street was built so that the historic route over Marof was abandoned. Most of the old chestnut trees used to be in bad condition due to inappropriate maintenance and old age, thus the reconstruction that started in 1992.

Most of the decayed trees were replaced and vital old trees were restored. The walk is protected as a monument of shaped nature as it is one of the most typical town walks in Slovenia .

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SITULA ART Reflections of prehistory in bronze Novo mesto in the Early Iron Age (8th– 4th century BC) represents one of the larger centres in Europe at the time. It was dominated by a large hillfort settlement on the Marof hill, which was surrounded by many barrow cemeteries and isolated barrows. Archaeological excavations that have taken place in Novo mesto since the end of the 19th century have so far uncovered fifty three earthen barrows with almost a thousand excavated Early Iron Age graves.                                                                                              [_Read more_]

FRANCISCAN CHURCH The Franciscans fled into Novo Mesto in 1469 from Bosnia, which had been destabilized by Ottoman raids. In 1472, they built the first section of the monastery, though it then took them several hundred years to complete it.                                                                                              [_Read more_]

CATHEDRAL OF ST. NICHOLAS AND THE BISHOP’S PALACE The church of St. Nicholas is the city’s perennial companion and its greatest monument.                                                                                              [_Read more_]