Dolenjska & Bela Krajina - Slovenia - page 316

(Dolenjski Muzej; 373 11 30; www.dolmuzej.com ; Muzejska ulica 7; incl Jakac House
adult/student & child €5/3; 9am-5pm Tue-Sat, 9am-1pm Sun) About 100m to the
southeast of the Cathedral of St Nicholas is the enormous Dolenjska Museum. The oldest
building, which once belonged to the Knights of the Teutonic Order, houses a valuable
collection of archaeological finds unearthed in the southern suburb of Kandija in the late
1960s. Don't miss the Hallstatt helmet dating from the 4th century BC with two enormous
axe blows on top, the fine bronze situla (or pail) from the 3rd or 4th century BC embossed
with battle and hunting scenes, and the Celtic ceramics and jewellery (particularly the
bangles of turquoise and dark blue glass).
Other collections in the complex include one devoted to recent history, and an excellent
ethnographic collection with farm implements, commemorative jugs presented at wed-
dings, decorated heart-shaped honey cakes, and icons painted on glass.
The museum also administers Jakac House Offline map Google map (Jakčev Dom;
373 11 31; Sokolska ulica 1; adult/child €2.50/1.80; 9am-5pm Tue-Sat, 9am-1pm last
Sun of month) , which exhibits some of its 830-odd works by the prolific painter and local
boy Božidar Jakac (1899-1989). The artist visited dozens of countries in the 1920s and
'30s, painting and sketching such diverse subjects as Parisian dance halls, Scandinavian
port towns, African villages and American city skylines. But his best works are of Novo
Mesto's markets, people, churches and rumble- tumble wooden riverside houses. The
Dolenjska Museum's permanent collection of paintings from the 17th to 20th centuries is
also exhibited here.

Glavni Trg
Offline map Google map
The neo-Renaissance town hall (rotovž; Glavni trg 7) , out of step with the square's other
arcaded buildings, ostentatiously calls attention to itself with its bells and unusual facade.
The coat of arms on the front is that of Archduke Rudolf IV, the town's 14th- century
founder.
Southeast of the town hall is the bright yellow Franciscan Church of St Leonard
Offline map Google map (Frančiškanska Cerkev Sv Lenarta; Frančiškanska ulica) , which
was originally built by monks fleeing the Turks in Bosnia in 1472, and the attached Fran-
ciscan monastery Offline map Google map (Frančiškanski samostan; Frančiškanska ulica
1) , whose library contains some 12,000 volumes, including 12th-century incunabula.

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