St. Martin’s Parish Church in Srednja Vas v Bohinju: A Baroque Parish Church in Slovenia
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.3
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Slovenia
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Habsburg, Holy Roman Empire
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Church
On this page6 sections
History
St. Martin’s Parish Church in Srednja Vas v Bohinju is a medieval Roman Catholic church in Slovenia. The present building is Baroque, an ornate European style that flourished mainly from the seventeenth to the eighteenth century. The church was first recorded in documents dating from 1493 to 1501 and stands in the traditional region of Gorenjska, on the boundary of Triglav National Park.
Structural alterations took place in the mid-eighteenth century, contributing to the church’s present form. The building has protected cultural-monument status. Its dedication is to Saint Martin of Tours, a fourth-century Christian bishop widely venerated in Western Christianity.
The church also preserves a Rococo organ made by Johann Gottfried Kunst in 1830. Rococo describes the later, lighter, and more decorative development of the Baroque style. The instrument was renovated in 2002.
Remains
Building and Decoration
Church and Bell Tower
The Baroque church occupies a slope above the village and is enclosed by a stone fence. Its position provides views over the Bohinj Valley. The bell tower is crowned by an onion-shaped roof, a characteristic Baroque form.
Paintings
Paintings appear on both the exterior and the interior of the church. The Baroque frescoes are by Franc Jelovšek, while Matija Koželj painted the frescoes in the presbytery, the part of the church around the main altar traditionally reserved for the clergy, in 1894. Matevž Langus created the altarpiece painting of the Virgin Mary with Jesus.
Organ and Memorial
The 1830 organ is a Rococo instrument by Johann Gottfried Kunst and was renovated in 2002. Beside the church stands a memorial to those who fell in the First World War.
