St. Peter's Parish Church ( sl, Župnijska cerkev sv. Petra, or ) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

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 are ...

, 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 ...

. It is one of the oldest churches in Ljubljana and is the seat of Ljubljana–St. Peter parish. It is located in the Center District, at the corner of

Trubar Street Trubar may refer to: *Trubar, Bihać, a village in Bihać municipality, Bosnia and Herzegovina *Trubar massacre, a civilian massacre committed by Chetniks on 27 July 1941 *Primož Trubar Primož Trubar or Primus Truber () (1508 – 28 June 1586) ...

(), Njegoš Street () and Zalog Street (), near

Croatian Square Croatian may refer to: *Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , ...

(). The

University Medical Centre Ljubljana The Ljubljana University Medical Centre ( sl, Univerzitetni klinični center Ljubljana, abb. ''UKC Ljubljana'') or Ljubljana UMC is the largest hospital centre in Slovenia based in Ljubljana. It was officially opened on 29 November 1975 and has ...

is situated in the immediate vicinity.

History

The original church at the site was presumably built near the

city wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

s already at the turn of the 9th century on the order of Paulinus II, the Patriarch of Aquilea. It was the seat of the Primitive Parish of Ljubljana. The church was encircled by a

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

that was the main town cemetery until 1779, when it was abandoned. The current building was erected in a

Baroque style 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 ...

between 1730 and 1733 upon the plans of the architect Carlo Martinuzzi, who based them upon the

Church of San Giorgio Maggiore San Giorgio Maggiore (San Zorzi Mazor in Venetian) is a 16th-century Benedictine church on the island of the same name in Venice, northern Italy, designed by Andrea Palladio, and built between 1566 and 1610. The church is a basilica in the class ...

in Venice. The model of the church was made by Giovanni Fusconi, who also gave some technical advice. The church was built by the master builder Gregor Maček Jr. Interior division of the church has been preserved from the period. After the

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 ar ...

of 1895, the church was renovated by the architect

Raimund Jeblinger ''Raimund'' is thought to be a variant of the name Raymond. Raimund may refer to: * Ferdinand Raimund (1790-1836), Austrian actor and dramatist * Raimund Theater, a theatre in the Mariahilf district of Vienna, Austria People with the given name R ...

in a neo-baroque style. This renovation was strongly criticised for its supposed low quality, and was followed by another, done between 1938 and 1940. The façade was completely remodeled by the architect

Ivan Vurnik 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 ...

, while his wife

Helena Vurnik Helena Vurnik née Kottler (1882-1962) was a Slovenian artist born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, best known for decorative paintings on Cooperative Business Bank facade and its interior. Life She was born in Vienna to a father Moritz Kottler ...

contributed new interior decorations and mosaics. The church's ceiling frescoes are the work of baroque painter

Fran Jelovšek Fran may refer to: People and fictional characters * Fran (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Fran (footballer, born 1969) or Francisco Javier González Pérez * Fran (footballer, born 1972), Spanish retired football ...

; altar paintings are by

Valentin Metzinger Jean-Valentin Metzinger (19 April 1699, Saint-Avold – 12 March 1759, Ljubljana) was a French-born Austrian-Slovenian painter, in the Baroque style. Life and work His ancestors were originally from Italy. He was one of twelve children born ...

Cultural references

Until 1952, Trubar Street was known as St. Peter's Street (). The nearby St. Peter's Bridge across the

Ljubljanica The Ljubljanica (), known in the Middle Ages as the ''Sava'', is a river in the southern part of the Ljubljana Basin in Slovenia. The capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana, lies on the river. The Ljubljanica rises south of the town of Vrhnika and flow ...

is named after the church. The church also gave its name to the former barracks housed at Vraz Square ().

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peter, Ljubljana Roman Catholic churches in Ljubljana Center District, Ljubljana Roman Catholic churches completed in 1733 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Slovenia Baroque architecture in Ljubljana Baroque church buildings in Slovenia