Ljubljana Cathedral ( sl, ljubljanska stolnica), officially named Saint Nicholas's Church (, unofficially also ),
also named Saint Nicholas's Cathedral ( sl, stolnica sv. Nikolaja), the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas, or simply the Cathedral (), is a
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
in
Ljubljana
Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center.
During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...
, the capital of
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 ...
.
Originally, Ljubljana Cathedral was a
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
church. In the early 18th century, it was replaced by a
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
building. It is an easily recognizable landmark of the city with its green
dome
A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
and twin towers and stands at Cyril and Methodius Square () by the nearby
Ljubljana Central Market
The Ljubljana Central Market ( sl, Osrednja ljubljanska tržnica) is a market in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The riverside market building, sometimes referred to as Plečnik's Market ( sl, Plečnikova tržnica), was designed by Jože Plečnik between 193 ...
and
Town Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
.
History
Predecessor churches
![Valvasorjev bakrorez Mestnega trga s stolnico 1689](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Valvasorjev_bakrorez_Mestnega_trga_s_stolnico_1689.jpg)
The site was originally occupied by an aisled three-nave
Romanesque church, the oldest mention of which dates from 1262. It was a succursal church of the ancient
Parish of Saint Peter. An extensive fire in 1361 saw it refurbished in the
Gothic style
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
but underwent alterations when the
Diocese of Ljubljana
The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Ljubljana ( sl, Nadškofija Ljubljana, la, Archidioecesis Labacensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Slovenia.[arson
Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...]
, presumably by the
Turks
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...
.
Baroque cathedral
In 1700, at the initiative of Dean
Johann Gregor Thalnitscher
Johann Gregor Thalnitscher von Thalberg ( sl, Janez Gregor Dolničar;Petrovich, Michael B. 1963. "The rise of modern Slovenian historiography." ''Journal of Central European Affairs'' 22(4): 440–467, p. 456. 10 March 1655 – 3 October 1719)Smol ...
(Dolničar) and the ''
Academia Operosorum Labacensium
The ''Academia Operosorum Labacensium'' (Academy of the Industrious Residents of Ljubljana)—a forerunner of the modern Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts—was founded in Ljubljana in 1693 as an association of 23 scholars. Most of the member ...
'', the
Capuchin friar
Florentianus Ponnensis from
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
or
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
designed a new Baroque hall church. The following year, after the construction already started, the plan was revised and complemented by the
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
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, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
architect
Andrea Pozzo
Andrea Pozzo (; Latinized version: ''Andreas Puteus''; 30 November 1642 – 31 August 1709) was an Italian Jesuit brother, Baroque painter, architect, decorator, stage designer, and art theoretician.
Pozzo was best known for his grandiose fresc ...
who designed it as a
basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
and added to it a
dome
A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
. He did not supervise the realisation of his plan, so the buildings was significantly adapted by the builders, in particular by Francesco Bombassi of Venice. The two belfries, resembling of the
Salzburg Cathedral
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, image = Salzburg Cathedral 1.jpg
, imagesize =
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, imagealt =
, landscape =
, caption =
, pushpin map ...
, were added upon the plan by Lombard
Giulio Quaglio.
The construction took place between 1701 and 1706. It was led by
Francesco Bombasi
Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include:
People with the given name Francesco
* Francesco I (disambiguation), sever ...
, who already after a few months replaced the unreliable
Francesco Feratta, and
Mihael Zamerl
Mihael is a masculine given name with the same etymology as Michael (given name), Michael.
Notable people with the name include:
*Mihael Ambrož (1808–1864), Slovenian politician
*Mihael Brejc (born 1947), Slovenian politician, Member of the Eu ...
.
The master builder was
Pavel Jugovic
Pavel ( Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian and Macedonian: Павел, Czech, Slovene, Romanian: Pavel, Polish: Paweł, Ukrainian: Павло, Pavlo) is a male given name. It is a Slavic cognate of the name Paul (derived from the Greek Pavlos). Pa ...
, and after his death in March 1704,
Gregor Maček, Sr. The construction was completed in 1706, the first worship took place in the new building in August 1706, and the consecration took place on 8 May 1707.
Description
Exterior
The church, oriented towards the east, is recognisable by its octagonal dome above the
crossing at the eastern side, and two belfries at the western side. The dome with a
cupola
In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome.
The word derives, via Italian, from ...
that replaced a painted one in 1841, was built by Matej Medved, whereas carpenter works were carried out by . The belfries were built in 1705–06 and have been decorated with gilded apples. Various
relic
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
s and
parchment
Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves, and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for over two millennia. Vellum is a finer quality parchment made from the skins of ...
inscriptions have been stored in them. The church towers have six bells, including the second oldest bell in Slovenia, dated to 1326, a bell by Gasparo de Franchi from 1706, and five bells by the Strojne Livarne factory. Between the belfries, there is a segmented semicircular
gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...
, a 1989 reconstruction of the original Baroque gable that was after the
1895 Ljubljana earthquake
An earthquake struck Ljubljana, the capital and largest city of Carniola, a crown land of Austria-Hungary and the capital of modern-day Slovenia, on Easter Sunday, 14 April 1895. It was the most, and the last, destructive earthquake in the area ...
replaced by the builder Franz Faleschini with a triangular one according to plans by the architect .
The facades of the church are decorated with 19th-century and 20th-century niches containing statues of bishops and saints, with Baroque frescoes, and with ancient Roman tombstones and some others named the Thalnitscher stone monument collection (), which was created in the early 18th century at the initiative of the historian Johann Gregor Thalnitscher. On the southern wall there is a side entrance in the eastern part and a brightly decorated
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
pietà
The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form o ...
in the western part, a copy of one that used to be in the earlier Gothic cathedral. A
sundial
A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat ...
with
Roman numeral
Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...
s and a
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
motto ( – "You don't know the day or the hour"), dated to 1826, also decorates the southern facade. It was renovated in 1989. The western facade with the main entrance is decorated with a plaque to the right of the entrance bearing a
ceiling boss from the old Ljubljana cathedral in the form of Christ's head and the Latin inscription " ("old memories of the cathedral church").
There are six
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
statues of bishops and saints in the niches of the cathedral. The niches of the southern facade contain the Gothic pietà, and statues of
Saint Hermagoras and
Saint Fortunatus, made of
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
in 1872 by the sculptor
Franc Ksaver Zajec. The niches of the western facade (next to the main entrance) contain a statue of
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...
and a statue of
Saint Bonaventura
Bonaventure ( ; it, Bonaventura ; la, Bonaventura de Balneoregio; 1221 – 15 July 1274), born Giovanni di Fidanza, was an Italian Catholic Franciscan, bishop, cardinal, scholastic theologian and philosopher.
The seventh Minister Ge ...
by the sculptor
Ivan Pengov
Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...
(1912), the northern facade's niches contain a statue of
Sigismund von Lamberg, the first bishop of Ljubljana, and of Ljubljana's Bishop
Thomas Chrön
Thomas Chrön ( sl, Tomaž Hren; November 13, 1560 – February 10, 1630) was a Carniolan Roman Catholic priest, bishop of Ljubljana, and patron of the arts.Rajhman, Jože, & Emilijan Cevc. 1990. Tomaž Hren. ''Enciklopedija Slovenije'', vo ...
, both created in 1913, also by Pengov.
The entrances have
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
sculptured doors from 1996, created at the 1250s anniversary of Christianity in the Slovenian territory and the visit of
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
. The front door, now named the Slovene Door, bears a relief by with a depiction of
Slovene history to commemorate the 1250th anniversary of
Christianity in Slovenia. The side door, now named the Ljubljana Door, was redesigned by , who decorated them with portraits of the
20th-century bishops of Ljubljana. Subsequently, an automatic electric door has been added beyond the main door.
Interior
Inside much of the original Baroque decor remains with
frescoes
Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
painted by Giulio Quaglio between 1703–1706 and later 1721–1723. Other notable decorations in the cathedral include the altar angels by the brothers
Paolo and
Giuseppe Groppelli on the right part of the nave (1711) and by
Francesco Robba
Francesco Robba (1 May 1698 – 24 January 1757) was an Italian sculptor of the Baroque period. Even though he is regarded as the leading Baroque sculptor of marble statuary in southeastern Central Europe, he has remained practically unknown to ...
on the left (1745–1750).
Angelo Putti created the statues of the four bishops of
Emona
Emona (early gkm, Ἤμονα) or Aemona (short for ) was a Roman castrum, located in the area where the navigable Ljubljanica river came closest to Castle Hill, seated under the dome beam (1712–1713), the bust of (1715), and the reliefs of angels in the spherical triangles at the altar of the Holy Trinity. The dome was painted by in 1843–44. The fresco in the cupola depicts the
Holy Spirit
In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...
and
angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
s, whereas the frescos on the walls of the dome depict the
coronation of the Virgin
The Coronation of the Virgin or Coronation of Mary is a subject in Christian art, especially popular in Italy in the 13th to 15th centuries, but continuing in popularity until the 18th century and beyond. Christ, sometimes accompanied by God th ...
and the glorification of
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...
, surrounded by angels and saints.
In the 1950s, the architect
Jože Plečnik
Jože Plečnik () (23 January 1872 – 7 January 1957) was a Slovene architect who had a major impact on the modern architecture of Vienna, Prague and of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, most notably by designing the iconic Triple Bridge and ...
made plans for new church furnishings.
Gallery
File:Pietà in the southern wall of Ljubljana Cathedral.jpg, Pietà in the southern cathedral wall
File:Ljubljana Cathedral ceiling and organs.jpg, Cathedral ceiling and organs
File:Baroque ceiling frescoes (Ljubljana Cathedral).jpg, Fresco by Giuglio Quaglio on the cathedral ceiling
File:Ljubljana Cathedral (18487759430).jpg, Interior with the main altar
File:Cathedral of Ljubljana.jpg, Cathedral viewed from Ljubljana Castle
Ljubljana Castle ( sl, Ljubljanski grad, german: Laibacher Schloss) is a castle complex standing on Castle Hill above downtown Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is a key landmark of the town. Originally a medieval fortress, it was probably co ...
File:Napis na sončni uri ljubljanske stolnice.jpg, Sundial on the cathedral facade
File:Stolnica Sv. Nikolaja 02.jpg, Pogačar Square in front of the cathedral
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
Cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
Cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1706
18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Slovenia
Baroque church buildings in Slovenia
Cultural monuments of Slovenia
Church buildings with domes
Churches destroyed by arson
1706 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire
Roman Catholic cathedrals in Slovenia