Novo Mesto

Novo Mesto stands on a bend of the Krka River in Lower Carniola, where a planned town connected surrounding farms with regional roads and markets. Agriculture, livestock and crafts supported local households, while merchants carried goods between neighbouring districts. The river offered resources and shaped the town's defensible position. Churches and civic institutions organised urban life within a countryside of villages, estates and wooded hills.

The Habsburg duke Rudolf IV founded the town and granted it rights in 1365. Its German name Rudolfswerth recalled the duke, while Novo Mesto means “new town.” Its position in Carniola connected it with routes toward Croatia and the eastern Alps.