Description of the attraction
St. Nicholas Cathedral is the architectural dominant of Ljubljana, the Catholic Cathedral and the most beautiful building in the Baroque style. It is located in the city center, not far from the Town Hall and the Bishop's Palace, with which it forms a single ensemble.
The building, which is seen by contemporaries, was erected in the 18th century, on the foundations of an ancient Romanesque church of the 13th century. A century later, this significant religious building was destroyed in a fire. The newly built church, after the recognition of the city as the center of the diocese, received the status of a cathedral. But as a result of the next invasion of the Turks, it was also destroyed by fire.
At the beginning of the 18th century, the construction of a new cathedral began. Like all significant buildings of that time, the cathedral was designed by Italian architects. Andrea del Pozzo created a magnificent Baroque building, its two high bell towers and the top of the dome can be seen from all points of Ljubljana. Recipes of old masters were used in construction, for example, lime was mixed with wine to make mortars strong.
The old Italian school is also felt in the interior decoration of the cathedral, which is stunning with splendor. The interior is decorated with frescoes by the Italian painter Giulio Quaglio, as well as Venetian stucco, gilding and pink marble.
The dome deserves a special mention. Impressive, covering the middle cross of the temple, it has become a new word in the architecture of the city. It was made much later, in 1841. Before that, the cathedral had been covered for many decades with a fake wooden dome, which, however, was quite picturesque.
Later, Slovenian craftsmen also took part in the decoration of the cathedral. The domestic painter Mateus Langus decorated the stone dome with magnificent paintings in the 19th century, and the famous architect Josef Plečnik was entrusted with the creation of the altar and the baptismal font in the 20th century. The interior is decorated with numerous sculptures by the masters of the Ljubljana school.
In the 20th century, new doors with engraved paintings were installed at the central entrance to the temple, which depict scenes from the history of Ljubljana and Slovenia. They were made for the visit, in 1996, of Pope John Paul II.
About the image of St. Nicholas. In Orthodoxy, he is considered the patron saint of sailors and travelers. In Slovenia, this saint is revered as the patron saint of fishermen, therefore he is always depicted with a fish.
