Local center
CHURCH MARIJE VNEBOVZETE
Location:
Architecture:
Legend has it that snow fell in Dole on July 5, 512. Traces were found in the snow leading to the spot where the church stands today. For this reason, a small church was built that same year and dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows (Marija Snežna). In 1858, Jožef Zelenc built a new church; only the bell tower next to the road remains from the old one.
The exterior of the church is adorned with large semicircular arches and windows with stained glass from 2000 and 2001. The two bell towers are connected by a small bridge, and the interior of the towers houses four bells. The doors are embellished with wooden reliefs of St. Cyril and Methodius, which are the work of sculptor Stane Jarm. The main nave is in the shape of a cross, with two side wings.
The magnificent organ with 16 registers, made in 1913, was returned and restored after World War II. The Stations of the Cross (Križev pot) are the work of Jurij Tavčar from 1863. The same painter also painted the entire interior of the church, created the statues, and decorated the altars. Statues from the old church can also be found on wooden pedestals.
The side altars are made in the Baroque style, richly decorated with angels, and depict St. Oswald with the Holy Sepulchre, statues of St. Apollonia and St. Catherine, as well as St. George, who defeated the dragon, with statues of St. Andrew and St. Martin. The main altar features a statue of the Virgin Mary with Jesus, surrounded by statues of St. Peter, St. Joseph, St. Joachim, and St. Paul. The sacristy boasts Tintoretto’s painting of the Ascension, St. Nicholas, St. Hermagoras (Mohor), and St. Fortunatus (Ortunat), as well as 13th-century icons from Ohrid.
CHURCH SVETEGA ROKA
Location:
Borje, Dobovica
Even Valvasor wrote that this branch chapel only had an altar dedicated to St. Lucy, a saint who lived in Syracuse, Sicily, at the end of the 3rd and beginning of the 4th century and died a martyr’s death. She became the patron saint of sight. The chapel, dedicated to St. Lucy, was built during the time when Christianity began to spread in this region. On its altar, there is also a painting from Persia (Turkey) depicting the Virgin Mary with Three Hands.
A chapel with the altar of St. Catherine of Alexandria was later added to this St. Lucy’s chapel. St. Catherine was a saint condemned to death, tortured, and beheaded, who became the protector of maidens and youth, printers and librarians, philosophers, lawyers, scholars, and scientists. She is invoked in illness for protection against migraines, for finding the drowned, and for a happy final hour.
Around 1700, parish priest Frančišek Schreiber had another chapel built, dedicated to St. Roch, the protector against the Black Death – the plague – which was raging in Lower Styria at the time. Later, parish priest Venčeslav Filler added a spacious sacristy, thus enlarging the three chapels and uniting them into one whole that we can admire today.
The church in Borje thus became a pilgrimage church where people pray for health.