Slovenia3 Ljubljana3 The Cathedral

1. SLOVENIA 3 Ljubljana 3

2. Slovenia, a country in southeastern Europe, is bordered by Austria, Croatia, Hungary, and Italy. The former constituent republic of Yugoslavia is almost landlocked; it has only a short (46 km) coastline at the Adriatic Sea between Italy and Croatia With an area of 20,273 km² Slovenia landscape offers a small coastal strip in south west, and an alpine mountain region with the Julian Alps, a mountain range that stretch from northeastern Italy to Slovenia, within the Julian Alps lies the country's highest mountain the Triglav at 2,864 m. In the north there are the Karawanks, a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps on the border between Slovenia and Austria. Almost 63% of Slovenia is forested area. The country has a population of just over 2 million people. Largest city and capital is Ljubljana with about 280,000 residents (in 2016). Spoken languages are Slovenian (official; 91%) and Serbo-Croatian (4.5%). The major religion is Christianity (about 60%)

3. Ljubljana Cathedral, officially named St. Nicholas's Church, also named the Cathedral of St. Nicholas, or simply the Cathedral (Stolnica), was a Gothic church. In the early 18th century, it was replaced by a Baroque building. It is an easily recognizable landmark of the city with its green dome and twin towers

4. The Cathedral of St. Nicholas stands at Cyril and Methodius Square by the nearby Ljubljana Central Market and Town Hall

5. Dragon bridge Cathedral Town Hall

6. Town Hall Cathedral Dragon bridge

8. The facades of the church are decorated with 19th-century and 20th-century niches containing statues of bishops and saints…

9. …with Baroque frescoes, and with ancient Roman tombstones and some others 

11. The western facade (next to the main entrance)  Statue of Thomas Aquinas and a statue of Saint Bonaventura by the sculptor Ivan Pengov (1912)

13. The southern facade

14. The niches of the southern facade contain the Gothic pietà, and statues of Saint Hermagoras and Saint Fortunatus, made of sandstone in 1872 by the sculptor Franc Ksaver Zajec

15. The southern facade

16. The Gothic Pietà in the southern cathedral wall

17. The Gothic Pietà in the southern cathedral wall

18. The entrances have bronze sculptured doors from 1996, created at the 1250s anniversary of Christianity in the Slovenian territory and the visit of Pope John Paul II. The side door, now named the Ljubljana Door, was redesigned by Mirsad Begić (sl, 1953)

19. The side door, now named the Ljubljana Door, was redesigned by Mirsad Begić (sl), who decorated them with portraits of the 20th-century bishops of Ljubljana

20. The south door represents the recent history of the Ljubljana diocese (which in 1961 became the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Ljubljana, signifying that the Archbishop is the head of the ecclesiastical province of Slovenia as well as his own archdiocese)

25. The second bishop in the sequence is Gregorij Rožman, who collaborated with the Axis occupiers during World War II; although he escaped to the US after the war and ended his days in Cleveland (home of the largest Slovene-American community), he continued to be, officially, the Bishop of Ljubljana

26. Episcopal duties from 1946 to 1959 fell on the shoulders of an auxiliary bishop, Anton Vovk. In 1952 he was attacked, doused in gasoline, and set afire by a gang of what Communist governments liked to call “hooligans” when they were on someone else’s side. Though badly injured, Vovk recovered, at least partially; he never fully got his health back.

27. The doors are the work of Mirsad Begić (1953-), a Slovene sculptor whose background is Bosnian

28. The front door, now named the Slovene Door, was painted by Tone Demšar with a depiction of Slovene history to commemorate the 1250th anniversary of Christianity in Slovenia

29. The main door, on the west side, symbolizes 1,250 years of Christian history in Slovenia in a swarm of images, including Saints Cyril and Methodius, the Apostles of the Slavs, baptizing converts; combat between Christian and Turkish horsemen, and a throng of people being herded into a cave — the latter representing the Slovenes entering the troublesome 20th century

31. Cathedral of St. Nicholas (Stolnica Sv. Nikolaja) Bishop Anton Martin Slomšek from Maribor

32. Cathedral of St. Nicholas (Stolnica Sv. Nikolaja) Bishop Frederik Irenej Baraga

34. At the top, John Paul II, the first Slavic Pope, looks down on it all

41. The new bronze doors were commissioned for the Cathedral’s two entrances in commemoration of a visit by Pope John Paul II

42. Inside much of the original Baroque decor remains with frescoes painted by Giulio Quaglio between 1703–1706 and later 1721–1723

43. Cathedral main altar

44. The dome with a cupola that replaced a painted one in 1841, was built by Matej Medved The dome was painted by Matevž Langus (sl) in 1843–44

46. Frescoes painted by Giulio Quaglio

47. Frescoes painted by Giulio Quaglio the Younger (1668–1751)

49. Fresco by Giuglio Quaglio on the cathedral ceiling