Novo mesto and the Krka Valley

The Krka rises near Ljubljana and flows eastward across southeastern Slovenia until it joins the Sava, near the border with Croatia. Its middle and lower courses cross Dolenjska, a region of hills with vineyards and chapels, forests and villages, known for cviček, a light wine made from red and white grapes.

Novo mesto, the region’s main town, was founded in 1365 by Duke Rudolf IV of Habsburg on a bend of the river. The old center sits on a promontory: the main square, with arcades, slopes down to the Krka, and at the highest point stands the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas, with an altarpiece by Tintoretto. Excavations around the town revealed Iron Age graves with situlas, bronze buckets decorated with scenes of contemporary life, and the town came to be called the city of situlas. The pieces are in the Dolenjska Museum.

Downriver, Otočec Castle sits on an island in the middle of the Krka, and further on, at the foot of the Gorjanci hills, is the Pleterje Carthusian monastery, still inhabited by Carthusian monks. Kostanjevica na Krki, already in the neighboring Posavska region, is a small town built on a river island, with an old Cistercian monastery that became an art gallery and a sculpture park of oak works.

The destination is easy to travel by car with short stops, and combines history, art, river and wine.

This destination brings together 2 cities: Novo mesto, Kostanjevica na Krki.