Hostel Situla is a non-profit organisation funded by the Students' Society of Novo Mesto (DNŠ), established in 1993. DNŠ formed another two institutions besides Hostel Situla – Culture club LokalPatriot and GOGA Publishing House and Bookshop. GOGA Publishing House organizes many literary events both in the LokalPatriot and Hostel Situla.
Hostel Situla is situated in the city's town centre. It's thematic indoor design reminds one of the iron age of this region of Europe, which emphasises the significance of the archaeological excavations in Novo Mesto. The architecture and interior designs of Hostel Situla, accompanied by modern architecture, emulate the Art of Situla, the task which is to connect the past with the present. The programme of the Hostel Situla includes workshops, educational meetings and several social events.
Novo Mesto is a quaint medieval country town, just lively enough so that a writer can find something to entertain her/himself, but quiet enough so that he/she can find creative peace while staying here. Hostel Situla is located in the heart of the old town Novo Mesto, close to the town hall. It was founded by the Student Society of Novo Mesto Group, together with the Norwegian EEA Grant Foundation. In its activities, Hostel Situla has joined forces with Novo Mesto’s GOGA Publishing House, which is a small, non commercial, but very effective publishing house specialising in publishing literature and philosophy books. The GOGA publishing house is also part of the DNŠ Group (Student Society of Novo Mesto, which, besides GOGA, assists in the activities of the Hostel Situla, Novo Mesto summer festival, Culture Club LokalPatriot), which is the founder of the Hotel Situla in Novo Mesto.
The whole concept of the Hostel Situla - which is much more than "just" a hostel - is to return life into old town centres. With its conceptually furnished rooms the Hostel Situla conveys a touch of the Halstat era and reminds you of a museum in the fresh and innovative way it presents its history. But Hostel Situla is even more than this. On its estate of almost 1,000 square metres there is also an apartment reserved especially for writers who, behind its old thick walls, can find shelter from the bustle and noise of town life. What is more, the hostel restaurant, once a famous fish restaurant, serves Slovenian cuisine and has a wine cellar with selected wines from the Dolenjska district today. In Hostel Situla you will also find restaurant serving Slovenian cuisine and a vine cellar with selected vines from the Dolenjska vine district. On the other hand, if you wish to "catch some life" there is always something to do. The cosy GOGA Book and Coffee Shop is a place to linger and almost every week hosts a literary event, a jazz concert, or a vernissage and lots more. And this is also the right place to meet local authors. And the GOGA Publishing House is always interested in publishing good literature, even more so if it has been written in Novo Mesto by a guest author.