In the south-east of the country, in the valley of the emerald-green Krka river, lies one of the most beautiful regions of Slovenia - Dolenjska.

The region is dotted with vineyards and white churches and crisscrossed by fertile valleys and winding streams. It is here that we find the town which on 7 April 1365 took the name of its founder, the Austrian duke Rudolf IV. Officially known as Rudolfswerd, this town grew up as Novo mesto (“New Town”) and soon developed into the main administrative, cultural, religious and business centre of Dolenjska.

Its current site and the surrounding area were originally settled several thousand years ago, something attested to by the rich finds from prehistoric and Roman times. Because of these, the town is one of the richest and most important archaeological sites in Slovenia.

Records suggest that by the end of the 15th century the town had approximately 2000 inhabitants and it is traditionally believed that the plan and appearance of what is the largest main square in Slovenia is also a survival from that time. Then there is the mighty Chapter Church rising up above the town like a swan and lending it a unique architectural beauty, and the embankment of the river which has so attracted many artists, particularly painters. The Chapter Church is home to a valuable picture by the famous Italian painter Tintoretto dating from the end of the 16th century. The altar image of Saint Nicholas, together with the sanctuary as a whole, is today Novo mesto’s most important art-historical monument. A collegiate chapter has met in this church since 1493, presided over to date by thirty-two provosts.

The town was unable to wrest itself from its state of stagnation until its more ambitious townsmen managed to win the ear of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa in the middle of the 18th century. A ruler of enlightened views, she granted the town the right to found a grammar school (1746) which soon became one of the most popular in Slovenia.

After 1848, when the feudal system was finally done away with, the town was already strongly imbued with the spirit of Slovenism and Slavism. After long years of striving the townspeople were finally able to build their own Narodni dom (National Hall), the first cultural centre of its type in Slovenia (1875).

On the other hand the town was experiencing considerable spiritual unrest and was permeated by the social and spiritual aspirations. The “Novo mesto Spring” is well known, and can be considered one of the more important heralds of the renewal of Slovene culture. From this movement emerged one of the greatest Slovene artists, the Novo mesto-born painter Bozidar Jakac, and his fellow-traveller, the most successful Slovene Olympian of all time, winner of six Olympic medals, the legendary gymnast Leon Stukelj, also a son of this town, who on 12 November 1998 will celebrate his 100th birthday in Novo mesto. The town and its surrounding regional centres experienced great economic, urban and cultural development during the 1960s, 1970s and 1990s, and this development continues to the present day. These periods saw the growth of today’s textile, footwear, construction, timber, electrical, metal, automobile and pharmaceutical industries. The most successful of all of these are the pharmaceuticals company Krka and Revoz, which produces Renault cars. These companies are also Slovenia’s biggest exporters. Novo mesto’s economy, accounting for barely 4.5% of the total economy of Slovenia and with 5% of Slovenia’s total unemployment, creates as much as 13 to 14% of the country’s convertible exports. This means that last year we were able to spend 1.8 billion tolars on investments, almost two and a half times the figure for a year ago. Industrial production is increasing slightly, while the unemployment rate is slowing.

We also have other resources which have helped ensure that our region has not had to suffer serious social anxiety: a well-developed small business and cottage industry sector into which the municipality, together with the banks, invests more than a hundred million tolars annually; a similar amount of non-returnable investment set aside for the development of agriculture and tourism; unspoilt nature, famous health resorts such as Dolenjske Toplice and Smarjeske Toplice, fishing, farm tourism, etc.

Without knowledge there is no progress, and for this reason we are also investing a lot of money in the development of primary, secondary and higher education. Several schools have been built and renovated, and still others are planned. The most important thing is to ensure that the young people of our town finally get suitable premises for their activities. We also need to found a centre for higher education with an administration and business management school.

Mr. Franci Koncilija, Mayor

We are currently building a new extension for the town’s central library, the Miran Jarc Library. The town is also home to the regional historical archive, the Institute for the Protection of the Natural and Cultural heritage and the completely renovated Janez Trdina Cultural Centre. Of special value are the Chapter Library and the Franciscan Library and their archives. In addition to traditional printers and newspaper publishers the town has three radio stations and a regional television centre.

The Municipality of Novo mesto is also working successfully on inter-municipal and international cooperation. Outside the borders of Slovenia we are involved in various forms of cooperation.

Most lively and friendly of all is our developing cooperation with the German town of Langenhagen (near Hanover) and the Catalan municipality of Vilafranco del Penedes in Spain. It is with the help of the latter that the Municipality of Novo mesto is beginning to join in with the national programmes of the European Union. We also cooperate with the Chinese province of Yixing, Trento and Brescia in Italy, the municipality of Stord in Norway, Karlovac in Croatia and the municipality of Bihac in Bosnia.

I believe that in its overall development our municipality has achieved, despite a difficult period of recession, successes which are measurable, positive and recognisable. For this reason the municipality is becoming the true political, economic, cultural, religious and sporting centre of Dolenjska.