Novo Mesto, Slovenia

Situated on a sharp bend of the Krka River, the inappropriately named ‘New Town’ is the political, economic and cultural capital Dolenjska, and one of the prettiest towns in the province. But – Janus-like – today’s Novo Mesto shows two faces to the world. The Old Town. perched high up on a rocky promontory above the left bank of the Krka, is filled with interesting things to see.

The new town, to the north and south, thrives on the business of Krka, a large pharmaceutical and chemical company, and Revoz, which produces Renault cars.For Slovenes, Novo Mesto is synonymous with the painter Božidar Jakac (1899–1989), who captured the spirit of the place on canvas, and the writer Miran Jarc (1900–42) who did the same in prose with his autobiographical novel Novo Mesto. For the traveller, Novo Mesto is both a destination and an important gateway to the historical towns and castles along the lower Krka River, the karst forests of the Gorjanci Hills to the southeast, Bela Krajina and Croatia.