Sveta Gora (Holy Mountain - in Slovene)

Sveta Gora is an important sacred place with a rich pilgrimage tradition. It is situated at the junction of the Vipava and Soča Valley at the transition of the Gorica Plain into the Friuli Plain. With its height of 682m above the sea level it offers a magnificent view of the Julian Alps, the Trnovo Forest, the Karst up to the sea, and to Brda and the Friuli Plain, the Carnic Alps and the Dolomites to the west.

The first sanctuary of Sveta Gora was mentioned in early sources from the Middle Ages dating from 1368, 1376, 1382 and 1383, and there is more information about another Church on Sveta Gora which was built between 1514 and 1544. This is the period when the legend of the St. Mary’s apparitions to Urška Ferligoj from the nearby settlement Grgar was created. This gave encouragement to numerous pilgrimages from all of the nearby countries.

The Basilica of Sveta Gora from the first half of the 16th century has always been an important monument of cultural and historical value. It was designed as a three-nave church in which elements of late Gothic and Renaissance style were combined. During the First World War, precisely in June 1915, the church was destroyed and other buildings on the hill were also demolished: the monastery, the restaurant, and edifices for pilgrims.

The present basilica was built in 1928 following the plans of the architect Silvan Baresi (Baricha). It is designed as a three-nave building with a transverse nave. It is 72 m long and 22 m wide. Its greatest artistic artefact is a famous graceful image of the Mother of God at the main altar which was donated to the sanctuary by the Aquileia Patriarch Marino Grimani and its authorship is attributed to the circle of the Venetian painter Palma Vecchio (Old Palma). It was solemnly crowned in 1717 and it belongs to the most famous images of the Holy Mary in Slovenia.

The present main altar dates back to 1932 and behind it are the tombstones of the Gorica Archbishop Borgia Sedej and the Apostolic Administrator of the Yugoslav part of the Gorica Archdiocese.

As regards the interior of the church, the stained glass windows from 1939 are worth mentioning. The church received a new church organ of high quality in the same year and the bells from 1921 are also famous. The Way of the Cross, painted in 1765, was placed in the church in 1977. What has remained of the former Church of the Holy Mountain of the 14th century is just a stone plaque built into the wall behind the main altar, to the left of the entrance into the Winter Chapel. This is where the statue of the Mother of God with Jesus Christ of the late Gothic style is kept. The statute was carved in the second quarter of the 16th century.

The Mariano Museum is open to visitors in the monastery.

Also the more contemporary era has left indelible marks in this place which speak of the bloody days of the past of this important historical and cultural area. Right here, along the Soča/Isonzo River, the Soča/Isonzo Front took place during the First World War from 1915 to 1917, which left behind horrible devastation with numerous casualties and serious consequences. On the southern side of the hill, the mountaineers from Nova Gorica blazed and marked a path which for the most part runs through trenches and caverns remaining from WWI.

The museum collection of the Soča/Isonzo Front with numerous exhibits and archive photos and documentary material is currently closed due to reconstruction.

contact:
Frančiškanski samostan Sveta Gora
Sveta Gora 2, 5250 Solkan, Slovenia
tel.: ++386 (0)5 330 40 20
fax: ++ 386 (0)5 330 40 38
e-mail: sveta.gora@rkc.si
www.svetagora.si, sveta-gora.rkc.si

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