Ribnica was attested in written sources in 1220 as Rewenitz (and as Reiwencz and Reifenitz in 1241, Reiuenz in 1263, Reyuinz in 1303, and Reyfniz in 1327).

[2] Archaeological evidence shows that the area has been settled at least since the late Bronze Age between 1300 and 900 BC.

It is first mentioned as Rewenicz in written documents dating to 1220, making it one of the oldest towns in Slovenia.

[5]The parish church in the settlement is dedicated to Saint Stephen and belongs to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ljubljana.

It was built between 1865 and 1868 and has a double belfry that was only completed after 1957 based on an idea by the architect Jože Plečnik.