Exaltation of the Holy Cross Church (Vrhpolje): A Gothic Branch Church in Slovenia
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.3
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Slovenia
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Habsburg, Holy Roman Empire
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Church
On this page12 sections
History
The Exaltation of the Holy Cross Church is a Roman Catholic branch church in Vrhpolje, Slovenia, built during the first half of the fifteenth century in the Gothic period. As a branch church, it is subordinate to the Vrhpolje parish rather than serving as its principal church. The church belongs to the Vipava Deanery, the Diocese of Koper, and the Ljubljana ecclesiastical province.
Fifteenth-century origins
The church was founded with a Gothic form, and its surviving medieval core includes the presbytery, the part of the building reserved for the altar and clergy. Frescoes created approximately between 1450 and 1500 were probably painted by an artist from the workshop at Vremski Britof. Their survival provides evidence of the church’s early decoration and religious use.
Seventeenth-century renovation
The building was renovated in the seventeenth century. The date 1657 appears on the lintel of the stone entrance portal and on a relief of the Crucified Christ built into the exterior wall of the presbytery. The renovation probably included the blocking of the Gothic windows, the raising and barrel-vaulting of the presbytery, and the installation of a semicircular arch dividing it from the nave. A vaulted side chapel and the choir also belong to this phase.
Parish changes and later history
In 1771, a wall cupboard for the holy oils was installed in the main altar. In 1875, after a new church had been completed, the former parish church of Saints Primus and Felician was rededicated as the Church of the Holy Cross. Most of its furnishings were transferred to the new parish church.
Further changes followed in 1888. Priest Henrik Dejak supplied a new Holy Cross altar and an old Way of the Cross from the Church of Saint Stephen in Vipava. Dean Matija Erjavec donated the Way of the Cross to the people of Vrhpolje. The church was entered in Slovenia’s Register of Cultural Heritage as an immovable monument of local importance on 8 April 1987. It remains an active church.
Remains
Medieval fabric and painted decoration
Gothic presbytery window
The surviving core includes a Gothic presbytery. A walled-up Gothic window was discovered there in 1974, retaining parts of its ornamental stone framework, known as tracery, and painted wall surfaces. On either side are frescoes of two standing female saints, each placed inside a painted niche with a semicircular top. Saint Dorothy appears on the right with a basket of flowers, while the saint on the left remains unidentified. The paintings are probably the work of a painter from the workshop at Vremski Britof and date to approximately 1450–1500.
Seventeenth-century structural changes
The presbytery was raised and covered with a barrel vault during the seventeenth-century alteration. A semicircular triumphal arch, marking the division between the nave and the presbytery, defines the interior arrangement. The same period contributed a vaulted side chapel and the choir. The stone entrance portal preserves the carved date 1657, while the exterior presbytery wall contains a relief of the Crucified Christ bearing the same date.
Liturgical furnishings and burial space
Holy oils cupboard
The 1771 sacrarium is a wall cupboard used for storing holy oils. It is set within a stone frame decorated with carved reliefs and a date, and its metal gridded doors close the cupboard.
Later furnishings
The church contains the Holy Cross altar supplied in 1888 and the old Way of the Cross transferred from the Church of Saint Stephen in Vipava. These furnishings belong to the building’s later history after its former parish role had changed.
Crypt
An unexplored crypt inside the church contains coffins whose origin is unknown. The former cemetery around the building is reflected in the name Brith.
