Dobrovnik was attested in written sources in 1322 as Dobronok (and as Dobronuk in 1322/35, and as Drobronak and Dabronuk in 1323).

[3] Early settlement of the area is attested by the discovery of a prehistoric stone chisel and 21 burial mounds south of the village.

The continued threat of Ottoman attacks resulted in very slow development of the settlement over the next two centuries.

[4] A parish school was established before 1669, when a visitation report stated that there was a teacher but no pupils in the village.

The Štihthaber Grave (Slovene: Grob pri Štihthaberjevih) lies in the woods 1.8 kilometers (1.1 mi) northeast of the church.

[5] The Pap-Hegy Crossroads Grave (Grob pri križišču za Pap-hegy), also known as the Popov Breg Grave (Grob Popov breg), is located in an abandoned gravel pit about 750 meters (2,460 ft) north of the church.