Jugovzhodna Slovenija

Pascal Aerssens, young Dutch student writing Tourist Guide to Slovenia (more photos)

Jugovzhodna Slovenija is a statistical region in the southeast of Slovenia. It has about 2,675 km² and there live 139,095 people. The population grows steadily because of positive net migration, which is a result of the increasing amount of recreational areas in the region. A second reason is that it has the highest share of young people in Slovenia, about 15.8 %.

Novo mesto
The "Breg" area of Novo mesto is one of the most pictoresque places of the city. The name literally means ‘steep riverbank’, that is because the buildings of "Breg" were at first built on the rocks of the riverbanks of river Krka. Most houses were built in 1786 following the outline of the ruins of the medieval city walls, which still can be seen in the cellars of the houses. Because the people that lived in these houses were really poor, the housewives of "Breg" had to rent rooms to grammar school students until WW II and were therefore called "Student Moms". The roofs of the buildings parallel to the street were first covered up with wooden panels until the 20th century, when they were replaced by roof tiles. The area of Breg in Novo mesto has been declared a cultural monument of local importance by the Novo mesto Community.
High above the Old City, you can see the 15th century Gothic chapter cathedral of Saint Nicholas (stolnica Sv Nikolaja). It is one of the most important historical monuments of Novo mesto. The bell tower once has been a medieval defence tower. Imposing are the painted ceilings and the painting of Saint Nicholas, which was painted by the Venetian master Jacopo Tintoretto (1518-1594). If the church is closed, you can always ask for the keys at the Provost’s House (Proštija, Kapiteljska ulica 1), which is the yellow building to the northwest of the church. It was built in 1623.
Nice to visit is the Dolenjska Museum. The oldest building once housed the Knights of the Teutonic Order, but nowadays houses an archaeological collection of findings that were done in the suburb Kandija: a helmet from the 4th century BC,  a bronze pail decorated with hunting scenes and Celtic ceramics and jewellery.
The church of Saint Leonard and the monastery attached to it, were founded in 1472, when Franciscan monks fled for the Turks from Bosnia. Its library contains over 12,000 books.
South of the Provost’s House, there is a part of the 14th century medieval town walls.

Tourist information centre Novo mesto
Address: Glavni trg 6
telephone: +386 (0)7 39 39 263
e-mail: tic@novomesto.si