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Novo mesto’s history as a city dates back 655 years, when Rudolf IV. von Habsburg decided due to the geostrategic advantages of the bend in the Krka river, the settlement deserves city rights. Before Rudolf, the geostrategic advantages and natural endowments of the space around the bend of the Krka were already known to the Illyrians and Celts. The first known settlement of this area dates back to the 10th century BC. The archaeological site Marof is one of the most important ones in Europe, when it comes to researching that period. On this hill, situated above the town, archaeologists have found situlae, remains of tools, weapons and other items, whose origin dates back to the Neolithic through to the decline of antiquity. The most famous excavations were dated back to the period from the 7th to the 5th century BC, when Hallstatt nobles were buried at Marof. In that period Novo mesto was one of the most important settlements in Europe.

In the Middle Ages, the town was the victim of Turkish incursions. An important line of defence against this danger stood right across the Krka valley, where one can still see more or less preserved castles from that period. Novo mesto was surrounded by walls, whose remains still exist today. At the time, Novo mesto was under the administration of the Habsburgs, who were aware of the geostrategic importance of this region in their efforts to extend its influence to the Adriatic Sea. Therefore, Rudolf IV von Habsburg signed a Charter on the rights to the city on 7th of April 1365, for which he earned representation on the Novo metso’s coat of arms.