Kostanjevica Monastery ( it, Castagnevizza) is a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

monastery in Pristava near Nova Gorica,

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. The locals frequently refer to it simply as Kapela (meaning ''The Chapel'' in Slovene). The monastery with the Church of the Annunciation of Our Lady stands on a 143-metre hill dividing the town of Nova Gorica and the suburb of Pristava. It is located just some 200 meters from the border with

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. It is famous as the burial place of

Charles X of France Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Lou ...

and his family.

History

In 1623 a small

Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

sanctuary was erected just outside the limits of the town of

Gorizia Gorizia (; sl, Gorica , colloquially 'old Gorizia' to distinguish it from Nova Gorica; fur, label= Standard Friulian, Gurize, fur, label= Southeastern Friulian, Guriza; vec, label= Bisiacco, Gorisia; german: Görz ; obsolete English ''Gorit ...

. In the next hundred years, a monastery was built next to the church, while the monastic chapel became an important site for pilgrims from Friuli and Goriška regions. In 1781, the monastery was disbanded by the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

Emperor Joseph II. In 1811, the

friars acquired the abandoned complex, re-establishing the monastery. Among other, they brought a notable library containing some 10,000 books, which they transferred from the nearby

Sveta Gora Sveta Gora (; it, Monte Santo di Gorizia) is a settlement in western Slovenia in the Municipality of Nova Gorica. It encompasses Holy Mount ( sl, Sveta gora), above the Soča Valley and southwest of the Banjšice Plateau. History In 1539 Uršula ...

monastery. Today, the library is named after Father Stanislav Škrabec, a renowned Slovene

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

from the 19th century who lived and worked in the monastery for more than 40 years. The Kostanjevica monastery was severely damaged in the

Battles of the Isonzo The Battles of the Isonzo (known as the Isonzo Front by historians, sl, soška fronta) were a series of 12 battles between the Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies in World War I mostly on the territory of present-day Slovenia, and the remaind ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. It was restored between 1924 and 1929. Until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the monastery was part of the town of

. In 1947, the border between Italy and

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

was set just a few hundred meters westward from the monastery, and Kostanjevica became part of the newly established town of Nova Gorica. Kostanjevica crypt

The crypt

In the 19th century, the crypt of the Franciscan monastery was used for the burial of members of the French

House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanis ...

who went into exile after the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

. Most of them had settled in Gorizia, then part of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

, in the 1830s. Those buried in the crypt are:

References

Kostanjevica Monastery Official Site

External links

Franciscan Monastery of Kostanjevica - Nova Gorica, Slovenia

Flickr image
{{Coord, 45, 57, 0.78, N, 13, 38, 10.38, E} Franciscan monasteries in Slovenia Christian monasteries in the Slovene Littoral Christian monasteries in Slovenia Burial sites of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine Burial sites of French royal families Burial sites of the House of Bourbon