The town that “mills black”, as its name suggests, came to be called Črnomelj, because of the miller who tried to scam a good fairy, disguised as an old lady, by milling her black flour instead of white. As a result, he was punished. Črnomelj is not only special for its name, but also for the town’s design, which connects to the roads from Ljubljana, Novo Mesto, Zagreb, and Rijeka in the shape of a star. The history of Črnomelj The pier situated between the two rivers Lahinja and Dobličinca, and has been inhabited for three millennia. The town originated during the Late Bronze Age (13th to 8th century BCE) and developed through the Iron Age until the arrival of the Roman Emperor Octavian Augustus. Late Antique Črnomelj belonged among the more important settlements in this part of the Western Balkans It was integrated into trade across a wider area, and in the mid-4th century, the first church adorned with a mosaic was constructed. Črnomelj was first mentioned in 1228 when the Bela Krajina pre-parish was established. Before 1251, Črnomelj received market rights, as its first mayor, Fridericus iudex de Tzerneml, was mentioned at that time. The Ottomans never destroyed the town, but it was affected by several severe fires. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, Črnomelj was rather dormant, only to experience renewed development in the 19th century. In 1868 the first Slovene Reading Society was established, in 1874 the firefighters were organized, in 1890 the first town school opened, and in 1941 the railroad came to Črnomelj. With the connection to the rest of Slovenia, Črnomelj rapidly modernized in the early 20th century.