Trebnje, a Dolenjska town with 1,500 naive paintings

The naive art gallery

The Trebnje Gallery of Self-Taught Artists (Galerija likovnih samorastnikov) was founded in 1971 to keep the work produced at a yearly camp for artists without academic training, held here without a break since 1968. It began in the parish house and since 2004 has occupied a building in the centre, at Goliev trg 1.

The collection brings together around 1,500 works, from paintings to sculptures, by more than 360 artists from various countries. The gallery says it’s the only one in Slovenia that systematically collects and studies this art, and one of the genre’s most important collections in Europe. For me it alone justifies the detour, because it’s a kind of museum you don’t come across often.

Each year it invites up to ten self-taught artists, who work in the town and show visitors how they paint. At the end, each one donates a piece to the collection. The 59th edition took place in 2026.

Gallery opening times and prices

The gallery is closed on Mondays, Sundays and public holidays. General admission is €3 for adults and €2 for students and pensioners, and some exhibitions or tours rise to €4 and €3. Besides the permanent collection, it runs temporary exhibitions and workshops for children and adults, and the hall doubles as the municipality’s official wedding venue.

A stop on the way to Novo mesto

Two or three hours cover the gallery and a stroll along the river through the centre. I’d put it on the same day as Novo mesto, or as a stop on the way to the spas at Šmarješke Toplice and Dolenjske Toplice. If you like museums in Slovenia that are off the usual list, this one is worth it.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Trebnje on Expedia and filter by area before price.

What else to see in Trebnje

The municipality highlights the parish church, the Jurjeva domačija open-air farm museum, Baraga’s birthplace, the banks of the Temenica and the monument marking the 15th meridian. Around the town it suggests walks through the vineyard hills and visits to tourist farms, where you can try the local Slovenian wine.

From Praetorium Latobicorum to today

According to SURS, Trebnje has 3,901 residents and its municipality 13,855 on 1 January 2026, spread over 133 settlements. It recorded 12,201 tourist arrivals in 2025, a modest figure for Dolenjska. The municipality notes that the town occupies the site of an important Roman settlement, Praetorium Latobicorum, and the River Temenica runs through it today.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Trebnje and pick one that fits your day.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Trebnje on Booking.com and filter by area before price.