Address Dobrovnik 297 9223 Dobrovnik Telephone ++386 2 577-68-80 Fax ++386 2 577-68-87 Email obcina.dobrovnik@siol.net Website www.dobrovnik.si Population 1307 Size 31 km2 Mayor Marjan Kardinar

The Municipality of Dobrovnik was founded only in 1998, but humans have lived here since time immemorial, as is testified to by findings from the Stone Age and burial mounds at the edge of the municipality which testify to settlement during antique times. During Roman times this area was part of the province of Pannonia, and is said to have undergone intensive Roman colonization during that time. Dobrovnik was first mentioned in 1270, and the year 1280 is inscribed on the town seal as the year of the appearance of the settlement. Later it is mentioned as a market and even as a town. During the second half of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century the town grew rapidly, and crafts (pottery) and trade began to flourish. There were three shopkeepers in the village, in 1878 the first inn was opened, and in 1911 a brick-making factory was opened which operated until 1979. During the Second World War the economy suffered, but advances were made with the opening of a sawmill. In 1930 the Dobrovnik post office received its first telephone switchboard, and electricity was led after the Second World War. Dobrovnik is the second-largest bilingual settlement in Pomurje after Lendava, and three-quarters of the population belong to the Hungarian national minority. The new municipality has concentrated its attention on the building of infrastructure, socially-oriented buildings (bilingual primary school), commercial and residential buildings, the renovation of the cultural center and village homes and the development of the economy. Although the economy will not bring any more jobs to the municipality in the future, certain bright spots will at least partially contribute to improved development. The natural attractions allow the accelerated development of tourism through taking advantage of the thermal springs and Lake Bukovnica and its surroundings. Both local and foreign experts are involved in the municipality’s development projects, as they have successfully competed for various domestic public invitations and for European structural funds.