Most hospitable is amber city Novo mesto

One of the biggest advantages of many big sports events like Tour of Slovenia definitely is, is a chance to take the event and bring it to the any place by the sea, in the mountains and valleys and also in the city centers – and with this bring the sport close to fans of all levels. At the same time it is possible to show the beauty and importance of this place to very large audience.

This reminds of the interesting statistical data: Tour of Slovenia had in total 128 stages in 23 years. Start of the individual stage happened in 44 different places in Slovenia and three abroad (twice in Italy and once in Austria). 35 places in Slovenia hosted stage finishes, one in Austria and one in Croatia. Organizers selected Nova Gorica for the start of the stage 11-times, meanwhile Novo mesto hosted a stage finish 25-times! 21 of those were also last stages of the tour. This is not a surprise – Novo mesto is closely connected with the cycling club Adria Mobil – organizer of the race Alpe Adria, later Tour of Slovenia – that is organizing this event for the 24^th consecutive year. Next to that city has a long cycling tradition that has started in the last third of the 19^th century.

History of cycling in Nove mesto region

Novo mesto is not just very friendly to cyclists, it’s also a city with extremely rich and interesting history. It’s located on the most distinct meander of the emerald green river Krka, water beauty of the Dolenjska region. City was established on 7^th April 1365 by ambitious Habsburg duke Rudolf IV, who named it after him self – Rudolfswerth. But people called it Novo mesto (“New city”) from the beginning, simply because it really was new in that time. And this is how 650 years old history of the people in the city started.

Archeological findings however show on the even more impressive picture of the history of Novo mesto, one that reaches all the way back to prehistoric times. Novo mesto is today relayed with the iron period, but this touristic marvel also started a big promotion about another interesting fact: city was one of the most important European centers on the amber way, which is the reason why there are so many precious amber products in the area. Share number of products, precisely designed jewelry from home and imported amber, perfectly shaped glass products, found on the graveyards in Novo mesto… everything proves how important Novo mesto and the region was at the time. All of this is on display in amber city, a real treat for all cycling enthusiasts and other explorers that like to a bit of culture on their travels.

More about Novo mesto.