churches a guide through the churches in the krško municipality

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D r a g o M e d v e d

ChurChes AGuidethroughthechurches intheKrškoMunicipality

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SLO

A

I

H

HR

Ljubljana

Zagreb

Budapest

Graz

Maribor

Kranj Celje

Klagenfurt

Novo mesto

Rijeka

KRŠKO

Trieste

Venezia

341 km

189 km

431 km

184 km

59 km

169 km

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Foreword

The “Churches in the Krško Municipality” guide is meant for all those who wish to get familiar with more important churches and chapels in the Krško municipality, which include the sacral buildings of the Celje and Novo Mesto dioceses. The guide was made in cooperation with the Krško Commune, the BOOM Agency, the Celje and Novo Mesto Commune, as well as parish priests from all of the before mentioned parishes.

All parishes with all the parish churches and important branches, as well as some chapels with interesting historic backgrounds, or which hold importance for today’s religious, life are introduced in the guide.

Sacral legacy can tell us a lot about the building blocks of our culture and art. The guide, however, has got a different and much wider purpose. Along with the information on the beginnings of churches, their architecture, stylistic image and interior design, it also contains important information on

the visiting times of the buildings, as well as dates of important festivities, gatherings and other traditional events connected with the certain church or chapel. We have also presented the Capuchin convent in Krško, Romance and Gothic chapels in Rajhenburg castle in Brestanica, as well as the legacy of the former Trappist monastery. We have also presented the former Church of the Holy Spirit in Krško, where nowadays there is a gallery, and the former Church of the Holy Cross in the park, which used to be a cemetery church, but is nowadays a concert hall.

The churches are alphabetically listed, first those from the Celje Commune, then those from the Novo Mesto Commune. At the end, we have also added the list of all the churches in the Krško commune, as well as some brief instructions on the demands of the etiquette after entering the house of God.

The Author

G u i d e t h r o u g h t h e c h u r c h e | �


The Brestanica ParishT h e C e l j e d i o c e s e

We, the Slovenes, have our own Lourdes1 too. With its triple-nave basilica, it is situated in a place with a remarkably rich history. It was built at the spot where the Brestanica river flows into the Sava River, and above which dominates the Rajhenburg castle, where the Trappists had their monastery in the years from 1881 to 1947.

Brestanica was originally, until 1953, named Rajhenburg which in German means “a wealthy place”. From whichever direction you drive to this place, your eye catches the sight of the immense church almost immediately. The foundation stone was blessed on 16th July, 1908. At the same time, they have also built a

1 | Lo u rd e s i s a tow n i n t h e S o u t h o f Fra n ce, s i t ua te d a t t h e f o o t h i l l s o f t h e P y re n e e s. I t i s o n e o f t h e m o s t f a m o u s Ca t h o l i c p l a ce s o f p i l g r i m a g e, w i t h a we l l t h a t i s s a i d to h a ve h e a l i n g p owe r s. I t wa s h e re, t h a t M a r y s h owe d h e r s e l f to a 1 4 - ye a r- o l d s h e p h e rd e s s, B e r n a rd e l l e S o u b i ro u s, f ro m 2 n d to 1 0 t h J u l y, 1 8 5 2 . S o m e o f M a r y ’s u n i ve r s i t i e s i n S l ove n i a a l s o b e a r t h e n a m e Lo u rd e s.

The Basilica of the Mary from Lourdes, BrestanicaParish Church


parchment in the foundation stone. The parchment reads: “Rise strongly from the blessed foundation, the home of Mary, you, and bring the Slovene people the mercy of Lourdes!”2

At the beginning of the 20th century, the parish of Rajhenburg needed a much more spacious parish church. The preparations for the building began when Jožef Cerjak, who was up until then a vicar in the Mari-bor cathedral, came to be the priest in Rajhenburg. Jožef founded the “Church Building Society of the Mary of Lourdes” and all its members were obliged to provide gifts for the building. The biggest gift, however, was the property that was donated by the local woman, Ana Koban. The church bears the honourable title “the Lourdes of Slovenia”, due to the fact that countrymen from all over our country helped to build the church.

The building of the church began in 1908, on the 50th anniversary of Mary’s celebrations in Lourdes. Sixty years later, it was consecrated by the Maribor bishop, Dr. Mihael Napotnik. An interesting fact – on the same day, 2nd July, 1914, that the new church was being consecrated, the train with the body of the imperial heir to the throne, Franc Ferdinand, and his wife Zofija came driving through Rajhenburg. Both of them were victims of the assassination in Sarajevo.3

Hans Pascher, an architect from Graz, constructed the church according to its role in the environ-

~ Th e I n te r i o r o f t h e B a s i l i ca

T h e C e l j e d i o c e s e

2 | Th e C h ro n i c l e s o f t h e R a j h e n b u rg Pa r i s h3 | E xa c t l y t h e re


ment. It is one of the biggest church buildings in Slovenia. The high walls and the two bell towers look monumental in their neo-Romance style. The church is a triple-nave basilica with a transverse nave, two-storey vestries, and bell towers. The interior of the triple-nave church was painted by an Ital-ian, Oswaldo Bierti, in 1911. A Slovene artist, Peter Markovič, painted the walls of the church with scenes representing all the mysteries of the Rosary, and he also created paintings above the side altars.4

The Pieta – Mother Mary with the dead son in her arms – from the first half of the 15th century deserves our special attention. Nowadays, she is completely renovated and situated in the christening chapel. The two-metre statue of the Mary of Lourdes was made in Paris, together with the

statue of St. Joseph and the Heart of Jesus. The two statues of Mary and Joseph were blessed in Lourdes by bishop Napotnik. The statue of the Heart of Jesus was, however, blessed in Paray only by Monialu. The colourful windows were brought in from Innsbruck, the marble altar was ordered from Feliks Toman, a stonecutter from Ljubljana, and the side altars were made by Vincenc Čamerink. The church was proclaimed basilica in 1929, and in the same year the new church organ resounded through it.

The main gatherings are on the Lourdes Sunday after the name-day of the Lourdes Mother of God, on the anniversaries of the consecration, which are celebrated every first Sunday in July, and Mary’s holidays. Especially well visited are the annual gatherings of the ill, disabled, and elderly, which take place every first Sunday in September. Therefore, the Slovene Lourdes is also a gathering place for the ill and the disabled.

The address of the parish office: Cesta prvih borcev 8a, 8280 BrestanicaTelephone number: 07 497 91 60

Open for visitors: every dayAccess by bus

~ Th e a l t a r M a r y o f Lo u rd e s


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St. Peter’s Church, BrestanicaThe Old Parish Church

The old parish church is situated at the oldest part of Brestanica, called Šutna, and with its dominant position calls to attention its historic status. Its modern late-Gothic image still hides the traces of its Romance predecessor that stood in this place in the 12th and 13th century. The church nave is originally from the Romance period, and the tower entrance from the choir also leads through the former Romance window in the west wall.1

The single-nave building is remodelled in Baroque style in the nave, the presbytery is Gothic, with netlike ribbed vaults from the 15th century and ceiling fresco, which are waiting to be uncovered and renovated. The side chapel was gradually added to the building. In 1688 the church tower was added, and in the middle of the 18th century so too were both Baroque chapels. The church got its final form when the north vestry was added to it in 1896. The north Baroque chapel is dedicated to St. Francis Ksaverij. In its interior, you can see the ceiling stucco and the 1740 altar that was renovated in 2006.

1 | Pa r i s h a rc h i ve s ~ S t. Pe te r ' s C hu rc h


The main altar is made of black marble and dates back to 1592. In the side altar there used to be a Gothic stone Pieta from the 15th century, but nowadays it is in the Lourdes Basilica of the Mother of God, which is the parish church.

The wooden pulpit bears the statues of four evangelists.The Chapel of the Rosary Mother of God is empty and has been a mortuary for many years.Next to the church, there was also a rotunda (St. Michael’s Chapel with ossuary) util 1830. We also have to

mention the two Renaissance relief tombstones: Margareta Rajhenburška – Gradnek’s tombstone, dates back to 1502, and the life-size tombstone belonging to the knight Franc Grandek dates back to 1563.

On 29th June, there is a festive celebration of the Peter and Paul’s holiday. And because the cemetery of the Brestanica Parish has been in this place forever, this is also the place where the holiday of all the holy men is celebrated, as well as the memory of all the deceased churchgoers.

The address of the parish office: Cesta prvih borcev 8a, 8280 BrestanicaTelephone number: 07 497 91 60

Church visitations: by appointmentNo bus access


~ Th e m a i n a l t a r, p u l p i t , a n d s i d e a l t a r s



The Rajhenburg Castle Romance and Gothic ChapelBrestanica

The Rajhenburg Castle in Brestanica is the oldest castle in Slovenia. In writing, it was mentioned for the first time on September 29, 895. In 1043, it became the property of the Salzburg archdiocese as the legacy of countess Hema.1 The latest findings have shown, however, that the above-mentioned information is of questionable validity, because the documents, in which the data was found, were transcribed. There is also great possibility that the documents may even have been forged.2

The Romance chapel was found in the square Romance tower, in the northwest corner of the de-sign, where there is also a late-Gothic chapel. It was discovered in December, 1979, on the first floor. It is preserved in its circumferential walls, whereas its former stone, and possible statue decorations, are mostly ruined. From the looks of its architectural components, the reconstruction of its main features is possible. The chapel was decorated in the square room where two semicircular pillars – they supported the rib of the

1 | I va n S to p a r : “Ca s t l e s i n Ea s t S l ove n i a , B e t we e n Koz j a n s ko a n d t h e S a va R i ve r r i ve r b a s i n”, p. 9 52 | Š t i h , Pe te r. 2 0 0 0 . “ S t r u c t u re s o f To d a y ’s S l ove n i a i n t h e Ea r l y M i d d l e Ag e s” V: ” S l ove n i a a n d I t s N e i g h b o u r i n g Co u n t r i e s B e t we e n t h e A n t i q u e Ti m e s a n d Ca t h o l i c Era . Th e B e g i n n i n g s o f S l ove n e Et h n o g e n e s i s I ”, L j u b l j a n a , 3 5 5 - 3 8 6

~ Fre s co i n R a j h e n b u rg ca s t l e

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square profile – divided it into two bays of the approximate square ground plan, which is typi-cal of significant Romance castle chapels. In the northeast part, there was a horseshoe like apse3 which is partly preserved in the wall around the new window.

The apse was decorated by the frieze4 with a dice-like pattern, which also separated its lower, cylindrical part from the semi-cupola. The richly shaped stone details place the chapel at the top of the artistic and architectural achieve-ments in Slovenia in the Romance period. It was finished in the time of Conrad, Archbishop of Salzburg, in the first half of the 12th century.5

A narrow passage in the southwest corner of the yard brings us to the ground floor of the former two-storey, cross-ribbed vaulted Gothic chapel, underneath which the ossuary (place where bones of the deceased are kept) is preserved. The most interesting places are preserved in the first floor of the north tract. In the most west lying room, which comes together at a sharp corner, you can see frescoes from the 1620’s on the walls. They were discovered in 1979. The fresco is the oldest castle painting in Slovenia. It shows the allegory of Christian virtues and pictures from the legends of St. Kunigunda Bamberška. The fresco is the work of the artist who, in 1526, painted the subsidiary church Marija Gradec, near Laško.6

The address of the castle: The Museum of the Modern Slovene History, Brestanica unitTelephone number: 07 497 15 68

The tour can be arranged as part of the Rajhenburg castle tour from Tuesday until Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. If arranged in advance, the tour is also possible on

Mondays.Access by bus

~ Th e G o t h i c c h a p e l

3 | S e m i c i rc u l a r f i n a l p a r t o f c hu rc h e s a n d c h a p e l s4 | Vo d o ra ve n k i p a r s ko a l i s l i ka r s ko o k ra š e n p a s, k i za k l j u č u j e a l i p ož i v l j a s te n e.5 | E xa c t l y t h e re6 | E xa c t l y t h e re


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The Legacy of the TrappistsFormer monastery in Rajhenburg castle1

Trappists are a branch of the famous Cistercian Monks order, which was founded by St. Robert, a Benedictine abbot, from Molesmo, France. In 1098, he and some monks started living in a province Cistercium, from which the order got its name. Later, St. Bernard entered the order and founded another 160 monasteries. He is perceived as the second founder of the order and therefore the Cistercian monks are also called the order of the Bernardines. Trappists got their name after a place called La Trappe, in Normandy. In Slovenia, there is the Cistercian monastery in Stična, and there also used to be one in Kostanjevica na Krki, but it was abolished in 1782 by Jožef II.

Trappists came to Rajhenburg from the Notre Dame des Dombes monastery, in France. In 1880, the authorities closed the monastery. When the monks were looking for a new place for their activity, they found their way across Vienna and Graz to Rajhenburg, where Christian Esebeck, a baron, was just selling his castle.2 Abbot Benedict arranged to pay the price of 95,000 florins, which was paid by Friar Gabriel Giraud, who is also the founder of the monastery. Together with the castle, they purchased also the land surrounding it, the vines on Stremič with its wine cellars, the Sotelska property, as well as forests in Mačkovci, Šedem and Brezje. They drained the ponds and turned them into meadows.

On 21st April, 1881, seven monks came to Rajhenburg. And that’s how it all started. The castle was altered for purposes of their

1 | Th e ca s t l e ow n s t h e K r š ko M u n i c i p a l i t y a n d i n i t t h e re i s Th e M u s e u m o f M o d e r n H i s to r y, B re s t a n i ca u n i t .2 | Tra p p i s t s i n R a j h e n b u rg, B re s t a n i ca Ca s t l e – a p e r m a n e n t e x h i b i t i o n ; a u t h o r o f t h e e x h i b i t i o n a n d t h e ca t a l o g u e i s I re n a Fü r s t , B re s t a n i ca 1 9 9 3 , p. 3

~ A ce l l

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monastery, which they named “The Monastery of Mary the Saviour”.

They built new halls, because the entrance to every room had to be from the hall. They arranged a room for the prior – ab-bot’s substitute, and the library. They set up a special room with thirty beds for novices, the sick-ward with a special chapel, a small dinning room, a room for the accountant, bookbindery, and pantry. On the ground floor, they set up a cheese dairy, pantry, kitchen, bakery, and wash-ing room. In the basement, they set up pantries for potatoes and wine, and in two rooms they ripened cheese.

In 1891, the monastery was elevated

into an abbey. It was led by John the Baptist Epalle, who introduced great changes. They bought more land, set up new farm buildings and started new economic activities. In the stables, they installed water and built two new buildings – one for visitors, and another for pupils. In 1896, they built a chocolate and liquor factory. They also built their own power plant in the former mill at the foothill of the castle and installed a telephone into the monastery.3

Abbot Epalle fell ill and died in France and his nephew Placid Epalle took over the running of the monas-tery. In 1940, due to the war, he withdrew to France and Pij Novak, a Slovene man, was elected new abbot.4

In 1941, the Germans chased the Trappists, there were 90 of them, out of the monastery. Some of them were kept by the Germans, so they could work for them in the chocolate and liquor factory, dairy farm and also the vineyards on Sremič. 35 monks went to the friars in Banja Luka. After the liberation in 1945, they came back but the castle. The property was given to the public in 1947 and the Trappists went to live all over different parishes. The activity of the order died away. The chocolate factory was moved to Sotelsko pri Krškem and with that, the times of real Trappist chocolate ended. The Germans relocated the printing machines to Celje during the war, and then back. After the nationalization, the machines were taken to the Rumpret printing house in Krško. The Germans took most of the books that were never seen again.

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The Trappists were good farmers and therefore had a great impact on the community. People looked up to them, they began getting jobs, the poor were granted aid. Even though the Trappists were silent monks, they lived as one with the town. The Brestanica monastery also had its own private secondary school and theology college.

The castle address: The Museum of the Modern Slovene History, Brestanica unitTelephone number: 07 497 15 68

The tour can be arranged as part of the Rajhenburg castle tour from Tuesday till Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. If arranged in advance, the tour is also possible on Mondays.

Access by bus



The Koprivnica ParishThe Church of Mary the Ascended, the Parish ChurchKoprivnica

The church is of late-Baroque origin and dates back to the 17th century. It used to be, and still is, a famous pilgrimage path, until the basilica in Brestanica was built.

An older church, or at least a chapel, probably stood at its place before. A sign of that is an old fresco, representing the birth of Christ, on the left side of the nave. The church was consecrated in 1808 by Bishop Leopold von Firrman.

In 1824, the church was elongated and the church tower was added to it.1

In the main altar, which dates back to around 1800, is a statue of Mary with Jesus and above the statue,


~ Th e C hu rc h o f M a r y, t h e A s ce n d e d1 | I n t h e C hu rc h Cro n i c l e s i t i s w r i t te n t h a t i t wa s e l o n g a te d f o r t h re e co rd s ( t h re e 1 2 8 - c u b e f e e t )


The Koprivnica Parish there is another statue of her that represents her leaving for heaven. Next to it are statues of St. Joseph and St. John.At the top of the altar are statues of St. Valentin and St. John Nepomik. In the presbytery, there are pictures of four gospellers:

Luke, John, Mark, and Mathew.On the arch that separates the nave from the presbytery, there are pictures of Christ on the left side, and Mary on the right side.

The church has got two side altars. The left one is Ann’s altar with statues of St. Francis and St. Nick, and the right one is the Cross Altar with statues of Mary and John.

The address of the parish office: Koprivnica 4, 8282 KoprivnicaTelephone number: 07 49 76 530

Open for visits every dayAccess by bus

~ Fre s co f ro m t h e o l d c hu rc h

T h e C e l j e d i o c e s e~ Th e m a i n a l t a r o f M a r y, t h e A s ce n d e d


The Chapel of the Holy Virgin of Lourdes, KoprivnicaThe Chapel

The chapel is situated next to the main road and was built as a thank you for the safe return from the battle at Novara. It was built in 1885 by a local man, Blaž Sikošek, and was completely renovated in 1974 by his niece, Margareta Hess.

The author remembers, as she writes in the book “How the Chapel in Koprivnica Came to Be”1, that her father told her when she was lying in bed ill and looking at a picture on the wall: ”See, that little church was built for our dear Holy Virgin by him as a thank you because he was saved from a very wild sea battle.” The man her father was talking about, was her uncle, Blaž Sikošek.

He was drafted into the navy in Pulj and taught to be a gunner. When the war with Italy began, he was called in to fight. His family escorted him to the place where the chapel is today, and it was there that he said: ”If I am granted mercy to return from war unharmed, I will build an appropriate statue in this very place, where I so solemnly swear, as a sign of my gratitude.”

The first battle was at Kustoca. Italy was defeated, but marshal Radetzky decided to attack again in 1849. While doing so, he lost his ship Novara, which Blaž Sikošek was aboard. The ship sank, and with it sank a large part of the crew. Only the captain of the ship and Blaž survived.

1 | Th e d a te a n d p l a ce o f t h i s l i b ra r y u n f o r t u n a te l y a re n’t s t a te d a ny w h e re



From there on, uncle’s dreams come into the picture: he dreamt that there was a treasure on the island to which he and the captain swam to save themselves. They really did find it and after they were rescued from the island, they handed the chest to the authorities. There was a lot of money in the chest and Blaž and the captain got a nice reward. Blaž Sikošek went to live in Pulj, where he got married to a woman from Venice, but he also asked for advice on how to build a chapel in Koprivnica from the vicars of both Pulj and Koprivnica. He wished to keep his promise, so he began working. He brought the stones, blocks, windows, doors, fences, and all the rest to Koprivnica from Pulj. He wanted to be part of the construction all the way, from the beginning to the end. He brought the statues of Mary, as well as those of Blaž and St. Catherine, his wife’s patroness, from Vienna. Before the building began, the ground was blessed. They built a little chest with the treasure in the foundation. The interior of the chapel was richly decorated. The altar had all the accessories. That was the place where the holy masses were supposed to be read five times per year: one dedicated to Mary, one on the day of St. Blaž, one on St. Catherine’s Day, one on the anniversary of Blaž’s death, and one on the anniversary of his wife’s death. At first, Blaž Sikošek planned that he would be buried together with his wife in the chapel, but because he the soil was wet from the water that was coming from the cemetery, he built another tomb for himself in Pulj.

The chapel became a real holy path. The holy mass was read here for many of the soldiers on their way to the army. As a symbol, Sikošek built one cannonball in each of the four corners of the chapel. In 1885, the chapel became property of the church.

The thanksgiving mass is every last Saturday in August.

The address of the parish office: Koprivnica 4, 8282 KoprivnicaTelephone number: 07 49 76 530

Visits by appointment



The Krško Parish – Videm ob saviThe St. Rupert Church, VidemThe Parish Church

The modern St. Rupert church on Videm was consecrated in 1897. It stands in the place of the former Baroque church.1 A part of that church’s tower is still preserved. It is the parish church of the oldest parish in whole of Posavje and Krško Municipality. Dragotin Fernand Repšl (1874 – 1887), a famous vicar, also worked in this church. According to the folk tales, it was supposed to be St. Rupert himself who inspired the establishment of this parish and the building of the church when he was travelling from Pannonia to Salzburg. The real cred-its for the establishment of the parish, however, go to St. Emma of Krško, who supposedly gave her land here to the Bishops of Salzburg, and they decided to

found the Christian centre in this place. The centre was dedicated to the founder of the Salzburg diocese, St. Rupert. That is also how the barrel of salt came to be the saint’s attribute.

The exact date of the beginning of this church is not known, but accord-ing to some scriptures, we can assume that it dates back to the Gothic period. It had a presbytery with multiple enclosing and a longitudinal nave. The vestry was on the north side of the choir. The church tower had a rectangular base and the roof that was shaped like an onion. The church was in very bad condition in the 19th century. In 1831, the cemetery next to it was abandoned. When Janez Novak started his job here in 1888, the people decided to build a new church. The plan was made by N. Pečnik, but wasn’t accepted due to the costs being too great. Josipina Hočevar, a benefactress from Krško, came to the rescue once again

1 | D a š a Pa h o r : Th e Vi d e m Pa r i s h C hu rc h e s – Th e S t R u p e r t Pa r i s h C hu rc h , t h e Vi d e m - K r š ko Pa r i s h , Th e Va l va s o r R e s e a rc h Ce n t re K r š ko, 2 0 0 7 , p. 2 1 8 - 2 2 3



and donated 10,000 florins. The building of the church, according to the plans of Bernik, began in 1893. Jože Grein from Vojnik supervised the construction. Ms Hočevar donated another 10,000 florins for the side altar. The church was consecrated in 1897 by bishop Napotnik. The church saw its first great renovation in 1934, but on 6th March, 1945, it was severely damaged by a bomb. It got its modern look after a long lasting renovation.2

It is built in a neo-Byzantine style, based on the Greek cross, and has a multiply enclosed presbytery. On the north and south side of the choir, are two two-storey vestries, and leaned against its west wall is a massive church tower. There are pilasters that merge into the decorative frieze on every corner. The windows are semi-circularly enclosed and have capitals of Antique origin with emphasized keystones. There are windows with three fields on the transverse nave. The church tower is divided in the same way as the church, and has a built-in portal with a wooden jutting roof at the bottom.3

On the west side of the south part of the transverse nave, there is a built-in epitaph in memory of Dragotin Fernand Ripšl,4 a vicar from Videm.

The interior of the building is light. The place for believers is composed of a two-pole nave. Under the west part, there is an organ in the place above the side nave. The transverse nave is wider than the main one and the presbytery is made up from the five-eighth ending. The interior is completely vaulted with cross-like ribbed vaults, which are leaned against half-pillars, and with historically designed capitals. The interior is also richly painted with neo-Byzantine and ethnographic elements.5

The transverse nave has got two glassworks built-in, one with the image of St. Helen, and one with the image of St. Teresa. They are said to have been brought from the St. Joseph’s Chapel in Resa. In the choir part, there are more modern glassworks, the work of Stane Kregar. The main altar is dedicated to St. Rupert. Alongside his statue, there are also statues of St. Peter and Paul.

In the north part of the transverse nave, there is a historically made altar. In its central niche is a statue of Mary with child in one hand and a sceptre in the other. A similar altar stands in the south side of the transverse nave and is dedicated to St. Joseph. The pulpit was relocated from this church to St. Mary’s church in Libna.

The address of parish office: Krško – Videm ob Savi, Savska pot 1, 8270 Krško

Phone number: 07 490 1400Open for visits: every day

Access by bus


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4 | R i p š l wa s b o r n i n Š e n t j u r a n d wa s a l s o a n e t h n o g ra p h e r, f r u i t g rowe r, a n d p o e t.5 | E xa c t l y t h e re


The Church of the Holy Virgin, Dolenja vasA Subsidiary Church

The plan of the modern church that is situated in the middle of the village, on a slightly elevated terrain and offers nice view of the valley, originates from 1627. We can assume that a medieval camp used for warding off the Turks was set here because of the strategic position of the place.1

The church endured many interventions. The vestry and the church tower are at the north side, the main door is in the west wall, and the side door is built in the church tower. The massive lower part of the tower is of medieval origin. There is a drawing of it in Ripšl’s2 Chronicles, where the tower bears in inscription with the year 1627 at the top. The tower also had a built-in clock and a sundial from 1840.3 In between, the tower was re-built many times, the last time, in 1995, a new door was made on the ground floor. A wooden ladder leads into the top storeys of the tower. The nave is nicely vaulted.

1 | Vi d e m Pa r i s h , Co l l e c t i o n o f D o c u m e n t s a t t h e 8 5 0 t h a n n i ve r s a r y o f t h e g ra n d p a r i s h Vi d e m o b S a v i , K r š ko 2 0 0 7 , D a š a Pa h o r : “C hu rc h e s i n t h e Vi d e m Pa r i s h”, p. 2 3 1 2 | R i p š l Ka r l ( D ra g o t i n ) Fe rd i n a n d ( 1 8 2 0 – 1 8 3 5 ) , p r i e s t , p o e t a n d n ove l i s t , c h ro n i c l e r, f r u i t g rowe r3 | E xa c t l y t h e re



Along the north and south walls of the main nave, two vaulted side spaces form two low chapels. The presbytery was finished, along with its painting, in 1849, and the vaulted naves in 1878. According to some information, the interior was painted by Matija Bradaško. The nave and the presbytery are stylisti-cally in harmony. On the ceiling of the presbytery is a picture of Mary’s coronation surrounded by four evan-gelists and two putt’s4 heads in medallions.5 On the walls of the north and south side, there are pictures of Frequentation and Annunciation, and below them, in painted frames, also pictures of Mary from Louver and Mary the Protector. On the main nave vault are pictures of Gift Giving in the Temple and Birth. The place above the side nave is painted with the scene from Flee to Egypt and two angel’s heads.

The main altar was made in 1886 by Janez Kušlan. The statue of Mary is older and used to stand in a glass case above the altar. On the left and right side, there are statues of St. Joachim and St. Anne. The side altars have pictures of Reverence and St. John Evangelist painted in their central field. The paintings were created in 1887 by J. Jagodic, who also signed his name on one of them. Next to Reverence stand statues of St. Anton the Anchoret and St. Rok. In the medallion at the top, there is also a picture of St. Joseph. The side

altar on the other side has also got a picture of St. Anne and statues of two saints on each side. A statue of the Good Shepherd, which used to be part of the wooden pulpit, is all that is left of the original features.6

Address of the parish office: Krško – Videm ob Savi, Savska pot 1, 8271 KrškoTelephone number: 07 490 14 00

Church visitation by appointment Access by bus

4 | Pu t to : a s t a t u e o f a n i m a g e o f a n a n g e l5 | Pa h o r, e xa c t l y t h e re, p. 2 3 56 | E xa c t l y t h e re




The Church of Christ, the Resurrected, Senovo The Parish Church

The senovo Parish

The Senovo parish was founded by a bishop from Maribor, Dr. Maksimilijan Držečnik, in 1964. The town in situated in the foothills of the magnificent Bohor and is known for its coalmine and its collection of fossils and minerals. This was also the place where the old Church of St. John the Baptist used to be.

With time, however, it had got too small, so it had to be replaced with a new one. The designs for it were entrusted to the architect Janez Fuerst from Ljubljana. He worked with Vicar Janez Nanut and took into consideration the history of the town while designing it. He illustrated the tower above the coalmine Zaklo with the tower of the church.

The foundation of the church was blessed by the Maribor substitute bishop, Dr. Vekoslav Grmič, in 1975. The church was consecrated on 21st May, 1995, by Dr. Franc Kramberger, the bishop of Maribor. The paintings in its interior are the work of Leon Koporc, a painter from Ljubljana.

The church bells were made in Žalec. The largest bell weighs a little more than 600 kg. The thing that is very significant in this church is the



organ. It was made in the diocesan workshop in Maribor and has 24 registers and 2 manuals. The picture of Christ’s Resurrection is what visitors find most interesting.

The address of the parish office: Titova 84a, 8281 SenovoTelephone number: 07 497 93 62Church visitations by appointment

Access by bus

~ Th e i n te r i o r o f t h e n a ve w i t h t h e o rg a n a n d p re s by te r y


St. Jurij’s Church, ZdoleThe Parish Church

The Zdole Parish

The lovely village above Krško is proud to have the parish church of St. Jurij’s that was built in 1710. Anton Siedl wrote in 1843 that the church is from 200 to 300 years old.1

At the main altar, there is a statue of St. Jurij that was made by Adam Šerer from Videm. On the statue’s left side is a statue of St. John the Baptist, and on the right side, a statue of St. Jacob senior. The left side altar of the Virgin standing on a snake wrapped around the Earth. On her left side is the statue of St. Francis, and on her right the statue of St. Aloysius. The right side altar is the altar of the Jesus’ Heart. On his left side is the statue of the Virgin, and on his right the statue of St. Joseph. Scenes from the Bible are painted on the ceiling.

1 | G ö t h’s to p o g ra p hy o f S t y r i a , 1 8 4 3 ( re w r i t te n by O l a f Lov re n ć i č ) , Zd o l e, p. 5 – 9 . I wa s g i ve n n o t i ce o f t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n by B o š t j a n Š p i l e r i n h i s co l l e g e ce r t i f i ca te d i s s e r t a t i o n “ Zd o l e, Pe o p l e f ro m Zd o l e”, L j u b l j a n a 2 0 0 3 , p. 1 8 a n d m o s t o f t h e te x t i n t h i s g u i d e o n t h e S t . J u r i j ’s C hu rc h i n Zd o l e i s f ro m t h e s t a te m e n t s i n t h e a b ove m e n t i o n e d d i s s e r t a t i o n .



St. Jurij’s Church, ZdoleThe Parish Church

The Zdole Parish Siedl wrote in his Chronicles that except for the roof, the building was in good condition.He also stated that the church had three bells. The large one bore the inscription “Made by Vincenc Zmaza, Ljubljana 1808”,

the middle one “God’s Holy Ghost, have mercy on us”, and the small one “St. Florian, pray for us MDCXLVI”. The smallest bell bears the inscription “MARIA UNR”. Siedl also tells us that the bell with the picture and the inscription about St. Florijan came as a gift from the dean parish of Videm. Folk tales from the 19th century confirm this. Siedl also reports that the inscription on the smallest bell was in Gothic alphabet and had a picture, a large part of which was not recognisable anymore. There were also two figurines in knight’s clothes on its left and right part.

In 1875, the little church with a wooden roof was expanded, made more beautiful and got its neo-Romance form. The last two most important renovations date back to 1986 and 2002, when the church tower’s roof was replaced. The frontage was renovated in 2008. A cemetery used to surround the parish church.

Address of the parish office: Krško – Videm ob Savi, Savska pot 1, 8271 KrškoTelephone number: 07 490 14 00

Church visitation by appointmentAccess by bus

~ P re s by te r y w i t h t h e m a i n a l t a r



T h e N o v o M e s t o d i o c e s e

The Church of St. John the Evangelist KrškoThe Parish Church

The Krško Parish

The Church of St. John, the Evangelist was built in 1582, but was extensively remodelled in the 19th century, and nowadays only church tower and a part under the choir still have the original form and style.1

In 1894, when the Krško Parish was established, the church was elevated from a regular, to parish church. At that time, it was also extensively renovated with the financial help from Josipina Hočevar. The form of the church was rebuilt into a pseudo-Romance form. In the front of the façade is the statue of the Virgin. Above the door, there are two large relief medallions. The tympanums2 are also decorated with relief. The third medallion is built in the back outer wall of the presbytery.3 With these sculptures, Krško gained important works of art that belong to the early opus of the sculptor Ivan Zajc, who later designed the statue of Prešeren that is situated in Ljubljana. The sculptures from Krško were chiselled from Istrian stone and were finished in 1899.4

1 | “ K ra j e v n i l e k s i ko n S l ove n i j e” ( “ Th e Le x i co n o f S l ove n e Tow n s” ) , I I I . B o o k , L j u b l j a n a 1 9 7 6 , p. 1 4 62 | D e co ra te d s p a ce a b ove c hu rc h w i n d ow s o r d o o r s3 | Em i l i j a n Ce vc : “Cu l t u ra l M o nu m e n t s i n K r š ko a n d i t s N e a r S u r ro u n d i n g s, K r š ko Th ro u g h Ti m e 1 4 7 7 – 1 9 7 7 ”, K r š ko, p. 1 7 44 | E xa c t l y t h e re



The relief of the Holy Trinity is situated on the presbytery. But more exciting are the scenes on the two wall medallions, St. John on Pathmos and the Wonder with the Chalice. It is an interesting story of how John got the order for the statues. When the young artist experienced a total family poverty at age 18 and then became an orphan in 1888, a benefactress named Josipina Hočevar took him under her wing. With her support, he left to study in Vienna. It was only logical that she later entrusted him with the making of the relief. The interior of the church is bath-like vaulted and stylistically indefinable. In the church is a tombstone made of white marble that belongs to the town councillor and merchant, Andrej Kopriva, who died in 1648 and got his tombstone erected while he was still alive. The second tombstone is made of black stone and was erected by the vicar Gašper Thunkelsteiner for his parents and siblings. Both tombstones are good examples of the Early Baroque. The christening stone has got a sim-ple chalice-like form and stands on a round pillar. On it is an inscription, which tells us that it was made by a provost of Novo Mesto and a vicar of Leskovec, Polidor de Montagna, a well-known opponent of the Protestants. On the left side, under the choir, there is a painting of Annunciation that dates back to the late 16th or early 17th century.5

The main wooden altar is in pseudo-Romance style. It contains a painting of St. John the Evangelist, which was painted in 1861 by Pavel Kűnl. In the right side altar, there is a painting of St. Nikolaj, which dates back to

5 | E xa c t l y t h e re ~ Th e m e d a l l i o n w i t h t h e p i c t u re o f S t . J o h n Eva n g e l i s t


the second half of the 19th century. The oil painting in Mary’s altar was made by Fran Klemenčič and is based on a German sketch. This painting was also an order from Ms. Hočevar. Fran Klemenčič, a renowned artist and a contemporary to the Slovene Impressionists, spent his childhood in Boštanj. He also lived in Krško for two years and in 1909 moved to Ljubljana. In the church, there is also a Baroque holy-water font under the choir and a washstand made of black marble in the vestry from the late 17th century.6

Outside, next to the church, is a stone pillar from late Renaissance that was erected as a reminder of the plague.

The address of the parish office: Pod Goro 6, 8271 KrškoTelephone number: 07 492 28 70Church is open for visits every day

Access by bus

6 | E xa c t l y t h e re


~ Th e m a i n a l t a r


St. Joseph’s Church, Trška gora hill above KrškoSubsidiary church

The church can be seen from afar. As a guard, it stands above the plain where the Sava River flows. Valva-sor wrote about it: ”The church burnt to the ground on the night of 27th May, five years ago. The fire spread from a near by house that was property of the Krško castle. All three altars, two bells, one chalice, and other church utilities and decorations were ruined.”1

This happened in around the year 1683. The church might have primarily been made of wood. In Valva-sor’s times, it was in ruin. But soon, they began building a new and larger building. It was partly finished in 1705, even though the chronogram on the altar bears the date 1702.2 The church has never been finished. Most likely this happened because of shortage of funds.

At first people thought that the Augustinian monks, who had a monastery near by, were building the church, but later Ljudmila Šlibar, who worked at the Valvasor Library in Krško, found out that the building of the church was ordered by the countess Katarina Elizabeta Auersperg, the last owner of the Krško castle.3

1 | Tr š ka g o ra p r i K r š ke m” ; co l l e c te d by Fra n c Le v i ča r a t t h e 3 0 0 t h a n n i ve r s a r y o f S t . J o s e p h’s C hu rc h , Tr š ka g o ra , 2 0 0 5 , s e l f - p u b l i s h e d2 | “ Tr š ka g o ra « , p. 83 | “ Th e Po s a v j e R e v i e w ”, S e p te m b e r 2 0 0 1 , p. 4 6



The nave of the church is quite large, especially when looked at from the back. From that perspective, we can see large cubes of the cave and presbytery in front of us. In the outer niches of the east church wall, there probably used to be statues. The nave has a rectangular ground plan and a 13-metre high wooden ceiling. Such a large building was prob-ably built with the purpose of becoming a pilgrims’ church, because St. Joseph used to be worshiped by many. The plan was to build two church towers as well. There are two chapels in the middle of the nave.

The presbytery is narrower than the nave. In the original plan, there were probably two presbyteries. The main altar, which takes up all the space in the presbytery, is most definitely the most beautiful work of art in the church. It is chiselled from black marble and decorated with inlays of colourful stones. A late 19th century statue of St. Joseph is placed in the main altar niche. It was supposed to have been made in Mislej’s stonecutting work-shop in Ljubljana. The original statue is nowadays in the Brežice museum. The base of the altar in the right side chapel, which is older from the left one, was originally painted on the wall. The fresco is from around 1740. Later, in 1770, the altar of St. Fabijan, Boštjan, and Rok from the Leskovec parish church was brought here, because the parish church was being renovated. This is a work of art from the Baroque period that was made by the Avguštin Ferfile workshop, in Ljubljana. This altar is also from the period in which “the golden altars”were created.4

The altar of Rosary Mary in the left chapel is a beautiful late-Baroque, almost Rococo, work from the mid-18th century. Under the choir hangs a painting of Rosary Mary with St. Dominic and St. Katherine. It was made in 1871 by Frederik Tomc, a son of portrait painter Tomc from Šentvid above Ljubljana. The painting is based on the Baroque iconographic scheme. A painting of St. Joseph and Mary looking for a place to stay over night hangs on the triumphal arch wall. The painting is the work of an almost forgotten, but renowned artist,

4 | S e e “ Th e C hu rc h o f t h e S a d M o t h e r o f G o d i n Le s kove c ”




Fran Klemenčič, and dates back to the early 20th century. The painting of the Holy family at the top of the main altar is also his work. The Stations of the Cross were brought here from the parish church in Krško. In the back of the church is a large choir with an organ. The organ was made by Mr. Račič from Cerklje. Three smaller bells hang in the small church tower. The Augustine monks had their monastery in the place that today is a hunters’ home. Therefore, people used to call that part of the Turška gora hill “at the monks’”. Those monks are buried under the main altar. The hill was bought by a writer and lawyer in Krško, Janez Mencinger, in the late 19th century. He renewed the vineyards and orchards on the property. He used to send wine from this vineyard to the mayor of Ljubljana, Ivan Tavčar. In 1904, he sold the property to the local wine trade teacher, Gombač. Mencinger wrote about his experience when walking around on the Turška gora hill in the unfinished book called “Memories of the Monastery”.

Holy masses take place three times per year in St. Joseph’s church. The masses are on the Sunday after St. Joseph’s holiday (19th March), on the Sunday after St. Joseph, the Worker holiday (1st May), and every first Sunday in October (the Rosary Sunday). On Easter Saturday, the blessing of Easter dishes takes place at the church.5 The church is a very beautiful God’s house and cultural and historic monument. It looks a bit unusual,

almost rugged, but can be seen from afar and invites to be seen.

The address of the parish office: Pod Goro 6, 8271 Krško

Telephone number: 07 429 28 70Visitations are possible if appointed a day in

advanceBus access is limited

5 | “ Tr š ka g o ra “, p. 8


~ Th e p a i n t i n g o f R o s a r y M a r y, m a d e by Fr i d e r i k To m c


St. Laurence’s Church, Gora nad KrškimSubsidiary church

The place where the church is situated used to be called “St. Laurence Mountain”. “At the top of the near-by Mountain, next to the pilgrims’ church with its distinct protector, St. Laurence, are Roman graves and inscriptions. Among the graves is an interesting tombstone, which was put up for Gesio Sabrin by his family. The barbarians, who killed Gesio, were probably the Marksmen. They invaded these places in the 1060’s.”1

St. Laurence’s Church is facing east. The present day nave is a left-over from the Romance church. This former church had a Romance-designed window, made of many pieces of various stones. The window is unfortunately no longer there. Next to the window are still some remains of

1 | J ože Ka te l i c : “ Th e Lowe r Po s a v j e i n Th e O l d Ag e s, K r š ko Th ro u g h Ti m e”, 1 9 7 7 , p. 1 2


~ Th e R o m a n i n s c r i p t i o n s to n e


the Gothic wall paintings. A quite wide and semicircular triumphal arch, which is possibly what is left of the Romance apse, opens up into the present-day Baroque presbytery.

The main altar is from the 17th century, and the side altars from the second half of the 18th century. In the main altar is the statue of St. Laurence. A statue of St. Apolonia is situated in the left side altar, and the statue of St. Jurij is on the right side one. Next to these two altars are also paintings: by Apolonia’s altar is a painting of Mary and next to Jurij’s a painting of Jesus. On the arch that divides the nave and the presbytery is a painting of The Last Supper.

A Roman inscription stone with a figurative image is built in the northwest corner of the nave.2

Eight saints are painted in the two fields of the church nave. On the left side there are (from the entrance to presbytery): St. Jacob, St. John, St. Bernard, and St. Joseph. And on the left side are St. Paul, St. Peter, St. Laurenc, and St. Frank Saleški.

Address of the parish office: Pod goro 6, 8271 KrškoTelephone number: 07 429 28 70

If you wish to visit the church, contact: Martin Musar, Gora 6, 8271 Krško;Telephone number: 07 4921 602

2 | ” K ra j e v n i l e k s i ko n S l ove n i j e” ( “ Th e Le x i co n o f S l ove n e Tow n s” ) , I I I . B o o k , L j u b l j a n a 1 9 7 6 , p. 1 3 7

T h e N o v o M e s t o d i o c e s e~ Th e m a i n a n d t h e s i d e a l t a r s


St. Rosalie’s Church, KrškoSubsidiary church

On top of the hill, above the old town’s centre, hidden among the trees, is the small church of St. Rosalie’s. The name of the patroness suggests that she is an intercessor against the plague, which killed many people in Krško in the 17th century, especially in 1646.1

As a thank you that the plague subsided, this church, in honour of St. Rosalie, was built in 1647. Another two guardians against plague were honoured in the side altars – St. Rok, the patron of ferrymen, and St. Nikolaj. Valvasor wrote about this in his book “Slava Vojvodine Kranjske” (“The Glory of Dukedom Carniola”). Nowadays, there is an altar of St. Anton the Anchoret instead of St. Nikolaj’s.

There is a church tower in front of the fronting of the quite large rectangular church nave. The date 1647 is written on the main door. The interior of the church nave looks a little empty nowadays. In the past, it was decorated with altars of the so-called golden type that were typical of the 17th century. That was also the time when the walls weren’t so dully painted with squares.2 Despite all of this, the place managed to retain a noble seriousness. This is probably due to the straight wooden ceiling. The ceiling is divided into boxes that are 12-metres long and 7-metres wide. Approximately in the centre of the ceiling is a group of nine boxes with pictures of the following saints: St. Catherine, St. Ellen, St. Lucy, St. Apolonia, St. Rosalie, St. Cecil, St. Ursula, St. Margaret, and St. Barbara. The saints are painted with their whole bodies – the names are written in the same way that they are across the whole ceiling.3

The patroness of the church is painted lying down in a rock cave. Next to her is the date 1666. All the other saints are painted in standing positions, in front of the landscape, and with their attributes. They are all dressed as rich ladies.

1 | Em i l i j a n Ce vc : “Cu l t u ra l M o nu m e n t s i n K r š ko a n d I t s N e a r S u r ro u n d i n g s, K r š ko Th ro u g h Ti m e 1 4 7 7 – 1 9 7 7 ”, K r š ko, p. 1 7 9 , 1 8 02 | E xa c t l y t h e re3 | N a t a š a G o l o b : ” Pa i n te d wo o d e n ce i l i n g s o n S l ove n e G ro u n d s u n t i l t h e M i d - 1 8 0 0 ’s”, L j u b l j a n a , p. 1 4 7



Following each side of the middle row is one box with the picture of the Sun and the Moon. Next to them are two boxes that have an angel’s head with wings painted in each corner. The corner boxes are emphasized as well. In them, there are angels’ heads with wings. All the other boxes are filled with a floral motif, which can be seen in the centre of the smaller box, as well as in the triangular corner boxes.4

On the south side, next to the arch, is the inscription: “JOHAN SOHAR MOLER IN VIDEM 1666”. The painter used natural colours when painting the boxes with the saints. White, blue, and yellow colours dominate the boxes with floral motifs, and the laths between the boxes are painted red and green.5

The semicircular triumphal arch leads us to the presbytery. The second inscription above the triumphal arch informs us that the ceiling was renovated in 1840. In 1896, an artist from Ljubljana, Andrej Rovšek, following the sketches of Celestin Misa, made a new main altar. He also made the pulpit and the side altars, for which he also drew sketches himself. The new equipment was pseudo-Romance. The church was renovated on its 200th an-niversary and this made it look more modern. The renovation was in part paid for by the well-known benefactress from Krško – Josipina Hočevar. Proof of that is the inscription, written on the board on the south wall of the nave, by Janez Mencinger, a lawyer and writer from Krško:

1646 – 1896This God’s house was renovatedBy a Krško resident – who was she?Decorated by the emperor: they sayThankfully far around these placesInstitutions, churches, schools her name.For God to repay her, a churchgoer prays.6

The organ was made by Franc Naraks in 1897, and the Stations of the Cross by Anton Postl.7

The address of the parish office: Pod Goro 6, 8271 KrškoTelephone number: 07 429 28 70Church visitations by appointment

No bus access. A walk to the church is a pleasant short walk from the parking lot in the centre of the town.


6 | Ce vc : E xa c t l y t h e re7 | Pa r i s h A rc h i ve s



The Hall in the Park, KrškoFormer Church of the Holy Cross

In the Krško park is a former cemetery church – the Church of the Holy Cross. Nowadays, this is a concert hall, hence the name “The Hall in the Park”. The town cemetery used to be in this place, as well as St. Florian’s Church. The tooth of time, however, started getting to it, and even a local newspaper, “Do-lenjske novice”, wrote about it: “…the tooth of time gnawed the church and due to age, it began to sink into the ground. The church, at least its front part, was probably built in the 13th century…”1

The Church of the Holy Cross was finished in 1891 with financial aid of a Krško benefactress, Josipina Hočevar. Her contributions also helped to tidy the cemetery where too her husband, Martin Hočevar, was buried. Today they both rest in the mausoleum in the same park, not far from the Church of the Holy Cross.

The entire old cemetery is nowadays a park, because the cemetery was abolished on 1st July, 1945. After World War II, a furniture storage room was situated in the before mentioned church. The church, the park and the former Capuchin monastery garden, were renovated in 2003 by the Krško Commune. Because the church is now deconsecrated it has a more secular and neutral name – the Hall in the Park. The neo-Classicist single-nave room with semicircular presbytery in a wonderful place for different shows, conferences, concerts, etc.2

Visitations are possible if arranged with the Krško Commune, or during events.

1 | A l e n ka Če r n e l i č K ro š e l j : ” S c h o o l s y s te m a n d t h e Tow n o f K r š ko a t t h e En d o f t h e 1 9 t h Ce n t u r y a n d B e g i n n i n g o f t h e 2 0 t h Ce n t u r y ”, K r š ko 2 0 0 5 , p. 9 02 | E xa c t l y t h e re



The Gallery of the Holy Ghost, KrškoThe art gallery in the former church hospital

This is the last building on the Valvasor embankment. It is connected to a hospital that was made by the Lords of Rajhenburg. The church was built in the place of the former saddler shop and contained two altars – the altar of the Holy Ghost, and the altar of the Last Supper.1

A very important feature of the church are its walls with their height proportions. The façade in the main, lower part, is divided with four massive half-pillars.2 The two middle ones enclose a rectangular stone portal with volute reveres under the upper beam. Above this, there is a large window, arched at the top. On the other side of the capitals3, the altitude lifting power is stopped by a strong wreath wall. Above the wall, however, continues the course of the pilasters on the epistyle4 insertion, until the make up of the main part of the façade is concluded by the bulging wall. The lower part above the wall is already a kind of Attica5, in the middle filled with a shallow arc that connects the images of the two central pilasters.6

Semicircular chapels are situated on each side of the oblong nave. The square presbytery is concluded by a slightly bulging back wall.The interior of the church is very colourful. The transitions among the nave, the presbytery, and the chapels are very soft. The architecture

is late Baroque and, despite the almost classic division of the walls, works softly. According to Nace Šumi, the architecture was influenced by the

1 | Em i l i j a n Ce vc : “Cu l t u ra l M o nu m e n t s i n K r š ko a n d I t s N e a r S u r ro u n d i n g s, K r š ko Th ro u g h Ti m e 1 4 7 7 – 1 9 7 7 ”, K r š ko, p. 1 7 22 | A p i l a s te r i s a re c t a n g u l a r p i l l a r3 | Th e u p p e r, h e a d - l i ke p a r t o f t h e p i l l a r

4 | Th e m a i n b e a m o n to p o f t h e p i l l a r s5 | Th e wa l l a b ove t h e d o o r t h a t cove r s t h e ro o f6 | E xa c t l y t h e re



Štajersko Baroque and the architecture of Johann Fuchs, an architect who moved to Maribor. Damjan Prelovšek, however, sees in the church architecture, Fuch’s personal opus and compares it to the deanery church in Vienna. This church was built between the years 1774 to 1781 and is almost ex-actly the same as the church in Krško, the only difference being that the church in Vienna has a slightly richer façade.7

On the portal, there is the date 1777 and the coat-of-arms of the founders, the Counts of Turjak. More specifically, this is of Rihard Auersperg, who was a grandfather of the poet Anastazij Grün, whose educator in Vienna was France Prešeren. Paintings for the altar were made by Andrej Herrlein, a painter from Ljubljana. Unfortunately, they are no longer part of the church’s interior.8 The paintings are now in the Posavsko Museum in Brežice.

25th June, 1966, the date when the statue of Valvasor, the work of Vladimir Štoviček, was erected here, was also the date of the first exhibition in the Church of the Holy Ghost. The Krško Gallery opened its door on this day and the former church got its new name.9

When the “Museum Society of the Political districts of Krško and Brežice” was founded in Krško in 1939, the people who founded it also made plans for the local museum. The idea was to place it in this church.10 In the same year, the Ljubljana bishop ordinary’s office allowed the church to be deconsecrated and handed over to the Museum Society.11

The gallery is open for visits during the exhibition time.Bus access

7 | E xa c t l y t h e re8 | E xa c t l y t h e re9 | Fro m t h e co l l e c t i o n o f d o c u m e n t s “J a n e z Va j ka rd Va l va s o r a n d K r š ko” t h a t i s s t i l l i n p r i n t , g i ve n to u s by A l e n ka Če r n e l i č K ro š e l j

1 0 | “C h ro n i c l e s o f t h e S l ove n e Tow n s”, S a r i a 1 9 3 9 , p. 2 4 21 1 | C hu rc h A rc h i ve s



The Capuchin Monastery, KrškoThe monastery with the Church of the Immaculate Conception of Virgin Mary

The Capuchin monks came to Krško to help out the priests from the churches near-by. The Krško town hall wrote to the administration of the Capuchin province a request for the monks come live in the town. The administration gave them a positive reply in 1634, and in 1640 the Capuchin monks came to Krško. The town hall approved the building of the monastery, bought the land from Janez Radleker for 600 florins, 500 of which were spent on the construction. Some of the money was also contributed by the noblemen and townspeople from the surrounding towns.1 The foundation stone was laid on 3rd June, 1640, by the Novo Mesto provost, Nikolaj Mrav. The building was finished four years later. The church was consecrated on 11th September, 1644, in honour of Mother of God, by the Pičen bishop, Anton Marenzi, who was until 1643 the local vicar. The permission for the consecration was given by the Oglej patriarch.2

The monastery within the church doesn’t exactly represent the peak of artistic achievement, but is nicely knit in the urbanite image and the silhouette of the town. The architecture meets the demands of

1 | M e to d B e n e d i k : “ K r š ko a n d I t s S u r ro u n d i n g s i n t h e c hu rc h e s v i e w, K r š ko Th ro u g h Ti m e. 1 4 7 7 - 1 9 7 7 p 1 6 1 .2 | E xa c t l y t h e re



the order’s regulations and doesn’t show exterior glamour. Only the church tower rises above the houses in the town. In 1718, the church was built anew and got its present form.3 Monks have masses in the church and preach for the townspeople, as well as others. The main holiday is called “Porcijunkula” and is celebrated on 2nd August.4

The nave of the church is elongated, with the presbytery flatly enclosed, and behind it is a monk choir. The nave is covered by a bath-like vault with a triangular hollow at the bottom, cov-

ered in decorative and figural frescoes by Oswald Bierty. He painted them in 1912. The frescoes were completely renovated by Rado Zoubek and his team, between the years 1998 and 2000. The paintings in the side altars – Death of St. Joseph, and St. Anna are the work of Ivan Gosar, form 1892.5

Several paintings with religious themes are stationed in the monastery. They can be seen in the special gallery above the library, but tours have to be arranged in advance. Some of the famous

artists are: Potočnik, Herrlein, Zeit, etc. Some of the works are also supposed to be the work of Matz-iger, although that has never been confirmed.

Mihael Kramer – p.Rogeri lived in the monastery for some time. He is, next to Janez Svetokriški, one of the most famous Capuchin preachers, as well as an important writer.

The monastery also has a valuable library. The library is in the upper floor of the building, above the rooms of today’s modern Valvasor Library in Krško. There are 1344 books in the Baroque mon-astery library, which is more than 300 years old and is since 1988 un-der the administration of the Valvasor library. Most of the books are in good condition and with the distinct Capuchin, or Franciscan, binding. We can still see the book catalogue, or code, from 1695 that is one of the oldest preserved catalogues in Slovenia. The most important of the rare Slovene prints are all of the five parts of “Sacrum Promptarium”

3 | Em i l i j a n Ce vc : “Cu l t u ra l M o nu m e n t s i n K r š ko a n d I t s N e a r S u r ro u n d i n g s, K r š ko Th ro u g h Ti m e 1 4 7 7 – 1 9 7 7 ”, K r š ko, P. 1 7 64 | Th e d a y, w h e n o n e ca n g e t t h e p l e n a r y i n d u l g e n ce, u n d e r ce r t a i n co n d i t i o n s. “ Po rc i j u n ku l a” i s a l s o a p l a ce i n I t a l y w h e re S t . Fra n c i s g a ve h i s m o n a s t i c h a b i t to S t . C l a ra . 5 | E xa c t l y t h e re


~ Th e m o n a s te r y l i b ra r y

~ P i e t a


by Janez Svetokriški, as well as both parts of the father Rogerij’s preaches. He was the director of the mon-astery from 1711 to 1713. The oldest book in the library is Calepin’s Latin Dictionary from 1502, which has not only a historical value, but is also applicable to the present. Among the many books written by Janez Ludvik Schönleben, a polymath and theologian, is also the most famous one – “Carniolia Antiqua et Nova”

from 1681. Old prints, written before 1510, can also be found among the valuables, as an prints from older Ljubljana printers, manuscripts, and books in water print.6

The address of the monastery: Cesta krških žrtev 26, 8270 KrškoTelephone number: 07 49 21 780

The monastery is open for visits every day except Sundays, church holidays, and final days before Christmas and Easter.

Visits of the Capuchin library: The Valvasor Library, KrškoTelephone number: 07 490 40 00

Bus access

6 | Th e Va l va s o r L i b ra r y, K r š ko ; M a n ca Ve ž n a ve r K l j u n , K r š ko 2 0 0 2


~ Th e i n te r i o r o f t h e m o n a s te r y c hu rc h

~ D e a t h o f S t . J o s e p h


The Church of the Sad Mother of God, LeskovecThe parish church

The Leskovec near Krško Parish

The church that is one of the most recognisable 16th century churches in Slovenia was supposedly mentioned for the first time in documents dating back to 1074.1 It is a well-known fact that the original church in Leskovec stood there even before the year 1200. The Romance church, more of a chapel, was dedicated to Mary’s Assumption. It was called “Our dear Lady on the lake” because water used to run from the cemetery around the chapel.2

The parish church of the Sad Mother of God is mentioned for the first time in 1274 as the church of Mary on the Lake.

1 | Pa t r i a rc h S i g e h a rd o rd e re d B i s h o p o f Fre i s i n g to p l a ce i t n e x t to t h e o n e i n B e l a ce r ke v…2 | Th e Pa r i s h A rc h i ve s : “C hu rc h e s o f t h e Le s kove c Pa r i s h i n I n te r v i e w w i t h Vi ca r Lu d v i k Ža g a r



Next to the church was St. Michael’s ossuary, but nothing remains of it.Nowadays, the building has a straight, elongated nave to which the church tower is attached. At

first, the tower was detached from the church and was part of the fortification around the church. Inside the church, the place with three naves leads through the slightly pointed triumphal arch to the higher presbytery, where the altar is.

The three naves are separated by four pairs of equiangular pillars with Renaissance chapters. Every one of these chapters is different, which gives the interior of the church a very lively image. The building was probably made in the 1630’s.

The style of the massive altar is Baroque, even though experts placed it among the late examples of “the golden altar”.3 It was made in 1685 in the workshop of Avguštin Ferfill, a sculptor from Ljubljana. The side altars are also from that period. One of them, however, is nowadays in St. Joseph’s church on the Trška gora hill. The side altars that are in the church today are from 1777. The paintings “Mary’s Corona-tion” and “St. Boštjan and Fabijan” were created by Andrej Herlein. The painting of St. Boštjan was in 1936

replaced by the painting of the Holy Family, made by Slavko Pengov.

The painting “The Rosary Mother of God” from the Baroque chapel is the work of Valentin Metzinger. Of the church’s specialities is its stone pulpit of the North-Renaissance type with the Aichelburg coat-of-arms and a German inscription informing us that a man should trust only God when in trouble, and that only faith counts for something, because man’s wisdom and wealth have no value with God, and that a poor man only rarely achieves justice. The pulpit has a shape of an equiangular chalice and a pillar-like stem, decorated with palm trees. The first

3 | Th e p e r i o d o f “G o l d e n A l t a r s” g a ve a s t r i c t a rc h i te c t u ra l d e s i g n , r i c h i n ca r v i n g s, a b u n d a n ce o f s t a t u e s a n d a n g e l i c h e a d s, f l o ra l a n d g e o m e t r i c d e co ra t i o n s… R e n a i s s a n ce g i ve s wa y to v i va c i o u s B a ro q u e te n d e n c i e s.


~ S to n e p u l p i t w i t h t h e d a te 1 5 4 5


side on the left has got letters chiselled in, which was already pointed out by Valvasor. Above them is a coat-of-arms and next to it letters M and D. Newer publications by Daša Pohar show that the letters are the initials of Martin Duelacher, a vicar from that church. The coat-of-arms is also supposed to be his.4 In the chapel under the choir is a Gothis statue of Pieta.

The whole interior is lively and rich, but at the same time calm and spiritual. There are many legends about this church. The one that is still popular today says that all you have to do is lean your ear to the floor

and you will hear the sound of water in the ground.5 Valvasor says that two Turks were shot on the Sava River bank from the tower of the former church.

The Blessing is celebrated on 15th August – the holiday of Mary’s As-sumption.

The address of the parish office: Grebenčeva 1, 8273 Leskovec pri KrškemTelephone number: 07 49 27 130Church is open for visits every day

Bus access

4 | D a š a Pa h o r : “ Pa r i s h C hu rc h o f t h e H o l y Vi rg i n M a r y i n Le s kove c p r i K r š ke m , a n d I t s B e g i n n i n g s i n t h e t i m e o f P ro te s t a n t i s m”5 | Pa r i s h A rc h i ve s

T h e N o v o M e s t o d i o c e s e ~ Th e c hu rc h n a ve

~ R o s a r y M a r y i n t h e B a ro q u e c h a p e l


St. Ann’s Church, Leskovec pri KrškemSubsidiary church

The church is situated on a small hill and can be seen from afar. It too was mentioned by Valvasor, especially its two altars of St. Anne and St. Rok. Supposedly it was built in the 17th century, but was probably renovated in the 18th century, so today it has a totally late-Baroque character. Cevc says that this character is of a very popular nature.1 According to the north door, the renovation took place from the years 1760 to 1770.

The rectangular nave has a straight wooden ceiling that was covered with plaster. On the sides, the nave opens into two shallow chapels, and the triumphal arch with a compressed arc divides it from the rectangular bath-like presbytery, which shows characteristics of the late 18th century.2

Unfortunately most of the plaster from the ceiling has fallen off. Two frescos have been ruined because of that. The one above the choir represented Mary’s Assumption with five apostles gazing up at the sky, and the second fresco represented The Immaculate on Earth between St. Anna and Joachim. The frescoes were assigned to Janez Wolf, a local artist and an important figure from the mid- to

1 | Em i l i j a n Ce vc : “Cu l t u ra l M o nu m e n t s i n K r š ko a n d I t s N e a r S u r ro u n d i n g s, K r š ko Th ro u g h Ti m e 1 4 7 7 – 1 9 7 7 ”, K r š ko, p. 1 8 52 | E xa c t l y t h e re



late 19th century. The backdrop of the main altar is also painted on the wall as illusionist architecture from the second half of the 18th century. This is complemented by an oil painting of St. Anne with Mary in her lap and St. Joachim beside her. The painting is a good, but only partly repainted Metzinger work.3

St. Rok’s altar in the right chapel is of the golden type with lean pillars decorated with vine ornaments. It dates back to the late 17th or early 18th century.

The altar in the left chapel is dedicated to the “Klagenfurt Suffering Christ”. The painting is accompanied by two angels, each on one side, with tools of torture. On the simple pulpit are two paintings attached to the canvas – one of Christ with the cross sitting among four evangelists, and one of St. Anne teaching Mary. These paintings remind us of Wolf ’s work too, but the signature “M. T. 1870” denotes that they are the work of Wolf ’s student, Tomc.4

The church was most severely damaged during World War II when German soldiers lived in it and destroyed or stole many things in it. A sad reminder of those days is the organ that still doesn’t work. People, however, like coming to this church, and these include the patroness of young mothers and widows, and most of all, the guardians of young families. Amongst the parishioners, it is a very popular pilgrimage spot.

The Blessing is on a Sunday after St. Anne’s name-day, which is usually on the last Sunday in July. In the summer months, classical concerts take place in the church. They are called Anna’s Music Evenings.

The address of the parish office: Grebenčeva 1, 8273 Leskovec pri KrškemTelephone: 07 429 71 30

The church is open for visits every dayBus access





St. Stephen’s Church, Nemška vasSubsidiary church

Somewhere mid-way from Leskovec to Veliki Trn we are greeted by the little St. Stephen’s Church. The hill on which it stands is NE from Nemška vas. This place was settled as early as the Early Stone Age. Finds from near the Ajdovska jama Cave prove that. According to that, we can assume that this church has got a very rich tradition. Its rectangular base is from the Middle Ages, but the nave was later made Baroque. The presbytery is enclosed by skimmed edges.

The nave is bath-like vaulted, and its wall arches stand on pillars. The presbytery is also bath-like vaulted. The church has got four altars. The main altar is from the second half of the 18th century and is dedicated to St.

Stephen, deacon and the first martyr. He is accompanied by St. Mathew and St. Mark.1

St. Stephen was the first martyr, born around the birth of Christ in Jerusalem. He died around the year 40, when an enraged crowd stoned him to death. Among those who approved of his death was also Saul, who later became an apostle of cellarers, against headache, retaining of stones, burning pains, possession, and for the lucky final hour.2

1 | Th e Pa r i s h A rc h i ve s2 | S a i n t s a n d N a m e - d a y Pa t ro n s” ( Ve ra S c h a u b e r, M i c h a e l S c h i n d l e r ) , L j u b l j a n a 1 9 9 5 , p. 6 6 4 , 6 6 5



The side altars are simpler. In the left one is a saint without any attributes by him, and in the right one a very nice statue of St. Laurence, who was also a deacon and martyr.

Very interesting is also the Rococo altar of St. Francis Ksaverij in the left chapel. The church tower is built next to the west nave wall.Since 2006, there has been also a bowl for the holy water in the church. The bowl is Vladimira Štoviček and Vladimir Čebular’s work.The Blessing is on 26th December. The tradition of blessing salt and horses is still preserved here.

The address of the parish office: Grebenčeva 1, 8273 Lekovec pri KrškemTelephone number: 07 49 27 130

Church visitations by appointment – contact person: Jože Božič, Ivandol 7, telephone number 07 49 27 962Bus access

T h e N o v o M e s t o d i o c e s e ~ Th e m a i n a l t a r


The sveti Križ ParishPodbočjeThe Church of the Holy Cross, PodbočjeParish church

The Sveti Križ Parish existed already before the year 1249, even though it is mentioned for the first time in that year, together with its vicar Tomaž from Sveti Križ, who co-signed the documents for the Kostanjevica monastery. The inventory of Ljubljana archdiocese parishes mentions that a parish was here already in 1135, but the church inventory mentions that the church was built in 1214. Valvasor introduces the Sveti Križ parish in 1689:”The Sveti Križ parish

belongs to the Kostanjevica monastery, by which it is also run. Vicar Abbot from Kostanjevica monastery is here now. The parish church is dedicated to the Holy Cross and has four altars.”1

The church underwent several changes from its beginning till 1907. In 1905, it was damaged in an earthquake, and in 1906 it was severely damaged by a lightening that struck its church tower. Eng. Ivan Režek from Krško found out that the tower was in such bad condition that it had to be pulled down. And since the church too was in bad condition, it was decided that they would build a new one. The old church was 18-metres long and 8-metres wide. It was pulled down in May 1907 and they immediately began building a new

1 | Fra n ce N ova k : ” Th e H i s to r y o f t h e Sve t i K r i ž Pa r i s h ; a t 7 5 0 t h A n n i ve ra s r y o f Sve t i K r i ž ( t h e H o l y Cro s s ) ”, Po d b o č j e 2 0 0 0 , p. 4 3 - 6 4



one. The plans for it were drawn up by Eng. Kirschleger. They were originally meant for a church in Cerklje, but it was decided that it would be too big for that place. The church was finished in 1908 and blessed the same year.2

The church was built in the neo-Gothic and neo-Baroque style. It is magnificent also because of its size, which is well illustrated by the fact that there are over 7 million bricks built-in in the whole building. The main cupola is of iron and concrete and it is said that it is the first one of this kind.

The altars and statues were made by the Tyrol school. The main altar was brought here from the Ljubljana women’s hospital after World War II. The new altar was consecrated by Anton Vovk, an archbishop from Ljubljana. In the presbytery that was renovated in 1989, are glassworks made by Stane Kregar, and on the male

side there are glassworks made by Gorazd Satler, a painter from Ljubljana.3

The Church of the Holy Cross is powerful and its position dominates the whole space. The houses in its sur-rounding are like small children beside a

mother’s skirt. The statue of a Roman lion, which stands next to the church, reminds us of the church’s ancient past. On entering the church, a mag-nificent piece of the past surrounds us, as well as the exciting secret of the many messages that are more or less visible in its interior design. All of it, however, bears witness to the great care of the local people to keep their house of worship clean, for it symbolizes all the generations that shared its destiny and the destiny of its predecessors so far.

The address of the parish office: Podbočje 69, 8312 PodbočjeTelephone number: 07 497 82 27

The church can be visited after an appointment with the vicarBus access



~ Th e i n te r i o r o f t h e c hu rc h ~ G l a s s wo r k w i t h t h e i m a g e o f P i e t a


raka ParishSt. Laurence’s Church on RakaParish church

Raka is a picturesque village that was settled first in prehistoric times and then later in the Roman Era, proof of which are Roman graves and an old building site. Nowadays, the massive parish church of St. Laurence, from 1803, stands in the middle of a specifically designed square. The church had its Gothic predecessor with the same name here. The Raka Parish was founded as early as 1363. When the old church was pulled down, they began building a new and magnificent building in its place, in 1770. The new building was consecrated in 1804.1 St. Laurence, the deacon, was born around 230 in Spain and died on 10th August, 258, in Rome. Laurence was the first “autumn saint” and was very popular with the people. His name-day is on 10th August and people say good words for themselves to him about their troubles.2

1 | Th e Pa r i s h A rc h i ve s2 | Ve ra S c h a u b e r, H a n n s M i c h a e l S c h i n d l e r : “ S a i n t s a n d N a m e - D a y Pa t ro n s”, L j u b l j a n a 1 9 9 5 , p. 4 1 3 , 4 1 4


~ S i d e a l t a r Ecce h o m o


Lovrenc Prager, a builder from Ljubljana, began building the church. His son Ignac continued with the work and simplified some details like wall pillars and the presbytery enclosure.3 The church was being built for more than thirty years. In between, in 1899, it also suffered from a fire. The church towers were finished around 1825. The church was furnished only in the second half of the 19th century due to the lack of money. 4

The great altar was made by M. Tomc in 1867, and the Attica5 painting is the work of Janez Wolf, who also painted the Stations of the Cross in 1870. He also designed and painted the side altars of Queen Mary, Ecce homo, St. Anne and St. Anton the Anchoret in 1883. Along with the late-Baroque pulpit, we also have to mention the quality organ closet, which was brought here from the monastery church of the Cistercian monks in Kostanjevica na Krki.6 The organ was made by Janeček, an organ master from Celje, in 1742. It was designed similarly to that in the Ljubljana Cathedral and had 18 registers. It was bought to Raka in 1828. The organ was crammed into a small choir, where Anton Martin Slomšek saw it on his second visit, in 1837.7 It worked until 1910 when the Mayer Brother’s company from Predarlsko made a new, pneumatic organ with 1000 pipes. This was put in the old closet. This organ had 22 registers, two manuals and a pedal. It was in the church till the year 2000 when it was completely renovated by Marjan Bukovšek, an organ master from Golo Brdo pri Medvodah. He finished his work in November, 2007. The organ was blessed on 3rd February, 2008.8 The organ closet was renovated by Aleš Verne from Štrit pri Bučki. Ivan Tavčar, a writer, used to come to Raka

as a student. His uncle, Anton Tavčar, was a vicar at this church and is also buried here. Ivan Tavčar wrote the short story “Otok in struga” (“The Island and the Riverbed”) in Raka.

Address of the parish office: Raka 43, 8274 Raka

Telephone number: 07 49 75 303Church is open for visitors every day

Bus access

~ Th e re n ova te d o rg a n

3 | Th e S l ove n e En c yc l o p a e d i a”, 1 0 . b o o k , L j u b l j a n a 1 9 9 6 , p. 7 1 4 | Th e Pa r i s h A rc h i ve s5 | Th e u p p e r p a r t o f t h e a l t a r ; e n c l o s u re6 | “ Th e S l ove n e En c yc l o p a e d i a”, b o o k 1 0 , L j u b l j a n a 1 9 9 6 , p. 7 1 7 | Th e Pa r i s h A rc h i ve s 8 | E xa c t l y t h e re



The Church of the Holy Ghost, Veliki TrnParish Church

The holy Ghost ParishVeliki Trn

The Church of the Holy Ghost in Veliki Trn is situated in a remarkable place and stands on the grounds of its older predecessor from the 15th century. It was built as the subsidiary church of the ancient Leskovec parish and is dedicated to the Holy Ghost. The parish has been here since 1793. The church is situated on the highest spot in town, which is 470 metres above sea level, on the spot where four villages come together: Ardro, Apnenik, Veliki trn, and Mali trn.

From the top of the hill you can see far across the hilly Dolenjska and to the other side, all the way to the Julian Alps. The date 1885, above the door, tells us that this was the date when the church was thoroughly




renovated. Its pseudo-Gothic nave is typical of that kind of architecture from the mid-1800s.1

Its interior is without any wall paintings. It has four altars, two sacrifi-cial ones and two side ones. On the main altar there is a very valuable painting “The Arrival of the Holy Ghost”, the work of Fran Klemenčič2 from 1906. The left side altar is dedicated to St. Anton of Padova, and the right one to Mary of Lourdes.

The painting, “Stations of the Cross”, which is also a work from Fran Klemenčič, created in 1907, is placed over the walls of the nave.

There were only glasswork windows in the church in previous times, but a storm destroyed them and the windows are now made of yellow glass. The pulpit that used to be situated on the left side of the nave no longer ex-ists either.

On the outer south wall on the nave is a memorial plaque to the local curate Anton Žakelj Redoljub Ledinski, a poet and writer of folk ballads and romancer, who died in Veliki Trn, on 26th April, 1868.

The main gatherings are on Pentecost.

The address of the parish office: Celiki Trn 2, 8270 KrškoTelephone number: 07 818 93 73

Church visits possible by appointmentBus access

1 | Th e Pa r i s h A rc h i ve s2 | J a n e z K l e m e n č i č ( 1 8 8 0 – 1 9 6 1 ) wa s a c t ua l l y b o r n i n L j u b l j a n a , b u t K r š ko e n a b l e d h i m to g o to s c h o o l. Af te r h e h a d f i n i s h e d h i s s c h o o l i n g i n Vi e n n a a n d M u n i c h , h e b e ca m e a p a i n te r. H e l i ve d i n K r š ko f o r a n o t h e r t wo ye a r s a n d a f te r t h a t m ove d to L j u b l j a n a . H e wa s a co n te m p o ra r y o f t h e S l ove n e I m p re s s i o n i s t s , l a n d s ca p e p a i n te r, a n d a s k i l l e d p a i n te r o f f l o ra l s t i l l l i f e s.

~ Th e A r r i va l o f t h e H o l y G h o s t, a r t o f Fra n K l e m e n č i č

~ Th e i n te r i o r o f t h e n a ve w i t h t h e s i d e a l t a r a n d re s by te r y


T h e C e l j e d i o c e s eBrestanica Parish

- The Basilica of the Mary from Lourdes, Parish ChurchSubsidiary Churches:- St. Peter’s Church, Brestanica- St. Mohor’s Church, Brestanica- The Church of the Holy Cross, Armeško- St. Kancijan’s Church, Rožno- The Church of the Holy Ghost, Gorica- St. Boštjan’s Church, Brestanica- St. Ahac’s Church, Stranje- St. Anton’s Church, Gornji LeskovecThe former Trappist monastery in the Rajhenburg Castle, the Romance and Gothic Chapel

The Koprivnica Parish- The Church of Mary the Ascended, Parish ChurchSubsidiary Churches:- St. Joseph’s Church, Mali Kamen- The Chapel of the Holy Virgin of Lourdes, Koprivnica- St. Jošt’s Church on Reštanj- St. Martin’s Church, Veliki Kamen- St. Joseph’s Church, Mali Kamen

The Krško Parish – Videm ob Savi- The St. Rupert Church, Parish ChurchSubsidiary Churches:- The St. Michael's Church, Stara vas- The St. Mary's Church, Libina- The St. Nicholas Church, Stari Grad

C h u r c h e s i n t h e K r š k o M u n i c i p a l i t y


- The Church of the Holy Virgin, Dolenja vas- The St. Primž and Felician Church, KremenThe monastery of the Franciscan sisters in Krško na Resi, with St. Joseph’s Chapel

The Senovo Parish- The Church of Christ, the Resurrected, Parish ChurchSubsidiary Churches:- St. Jacob’s Church, Šedem- St. Paul’s Church, Brezje- St. John the Baptist’s Church, Senovo – cemetery

The Zdole Parish- St. Jurij’s Church, Zdole: Parish ChurchSubsidiary Church:- St. Vid’s Church, Kostanjek

T h e N o v o M e s t o d i o c e s eThe Krško Parish

- The Church of St. John the Evangelist, Parish ChurchSubsidiary Churches:- St. Joseph’s Church, Trška Gora- St. Laurence’s Church, Gora- St. Rosalie’s Church above Krško- The Chapel of St. JosephThe Capuchin monastery with the Church of the Immaculate Conception of Virgin Mary

The Leskovec pri Krškem Parish- The Church of the Sad Mother of God, Parish ChurchSubsidiary Churches:- St. Ann’s Church, Leskovec pri Krškem- St. John the Baptist’s Church, Drnovo



- St. Paul’s Church, Gorica- St. Nicholas’ Church, Veliki Podlog- St. Martin’s Church, Velika Vas- St. Valentine’s Church, Straža- St. Lucy’s Church, Senuše- St. Urh’s Church, Vihre- St. Stephen’s Church, Nemška vas

The Sveti Križ Podbočje Parish- The Church of the Holy Cross, Parish ChurchSubsidiary Churches:- St Peter and Paul’s Church, Veliko Mraševo- St. Catherine’s Church, Frluga- St. Nicholas’ Church, Gradec- The Chapel of the Lourdes Mother of God, Malo Mraševo

The Raka Parish- St. Laurence’s Church on Raka, Parish ChurchSubsidiary Churches:- St. Lenart’s Church, Gornje Ravno- St. Peter’s Church, Koritnica- St. Neža’s Church, Vrh- St. Marjeta’s Church, Podulce

The Holy Ghost Veliki Trn Parish- The Church of the Holy Ghost, Parish ChurchSubsidiary Churches:- St. Andre’s Church, Dalce- St. Primož and Felicijan’s Church, Gornja Lepa Vas- St. Vid’s Church, Ravni



The house of Prayer

If we enter a church during worship of God we should not disturb it. If time allows us to join in, we are more than welcome to do so. Otherwise, the basic rules of behaviour in houses of worship apply.



T a b l e o f c o n t e n t s

Table of contentsForeword 3


The Brestanica Parish 4The Basilica of the Mary from Lourdes, Parish Church 4St. Peter’s Church, Brestanica 7The Castle Romance and the Gothic Chapel 9The Legacy of the Trappists 11 The Koprivnica Parish 14The Church of Mary the Ascended, Parish Church 14The Chapel of the Holy Virgin of Lourdes 16

The Krško Parish – Videm ob Savi 18The St. Rupert Church, Parish Church 18

The Church of the Holy Virgin, Dolenja vas 20

The Senovo Parish 22The Church of Christ, the Resurrected, Parish Church 22

The Zdole Parish 24St. Jurij’s Church, Parish Church 24


The Krško Parish 26The Church of St. John the Evangelist, Parish Church 26St. Joseph’s Church, Trška gora 29St. Laurence’s Church, Gora 32St. Rosalie’s Church above Krško 34The Hall in the Park, Krško 36The Gallery of the Holy Ghost, Krško 37The Capuchin Monastery, Krško 39

The Leskovec near Krško Parish 42The Church of the Sad Mother of God, Parish Church 42St. Ann’s Church, Leskovec pri Krškem 45St. Stephen’s Church, Nemška vas 47

The Sveti Križ Parish 49The Church of the Holy Cross, Parish Church 49

Raka Parish 51St. Laurence’s Church on Raka, Parish Church 51

The Holy Ghost Veliki Trn Parish 53The Church of the Holy Ghost, Parish Church 53

The Churches in the Krško Municipality 55

The House of Prayer 58


Editor Alfonz Grojzdek, Jože Špes, Franc Novak, Alenka

Černelič Krošelj, Milan Brecl, Irena Mesinger

Text Drago Medved

Photo and design Marinšek & Marinšek, Velenje

Illustration Aleksander Jankovič Potočnik

Print Eurograf, Velenje 2008

Publisher Občina Krško, BooM d.o.o. Krško

Number of copies printed 2000 copies

C h u r c h e s

Tourist information TurističnaagencijaBooM | Hočevarjev trg 3, 8270 Krško

Phone (07)4921674,041684320 | e-mail [email protected]

www.posavje-turizem.com | www.boom.si

churches a guide through the churches in the krško municipality

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