Church of St. Ingenuin and St. Albuin
Encyclopedia
The Church of St. Ingenuin and St. Albuin is a Catholic
church located in the village of Koroška Bela
, in the municipality of Jesenice in northwestern Slovenia
. The church is dedicated to St. Ingenuin and St. Albuin, bishops of Säben Abbey
from the 6th and 10th centuries respectively.
church also dedicated to the two saints, as is the chapel of nearby Bled Castle
, which dates from roughly the same time frame. Consecration was on 26 April 1361; the altar of Saint Acacius
was dedicated the next year by John, bishop of Urbin and papal vicar general
.
Due to defilement of the church by Turkish
raiders, the altar was reconsecrated on 2 October 1486 by Ljubljana
bishop Žiga the noble Lambergar. In 1584, during the Reformation
, local Lutherans came into conflict with ecclesiastical authorities, some confrontations apparently taking place in the church. The protestant minority was subsequently expelled from the area.
In 1691, the church was granted special rights. By 1752, the building had grown dilapidated as well as too small, and a decision was reached to replace it, with what would become the present church. Experts believe the architect was one Matija Perski. Collection of funds began immediately; loans were extended by the churches at Blejska Dobrava
, Rečica (now part of Bled
), and Kupljenik pod Babjim Zobom
. In addition to popular contributions, the then-parish church in Jesenice made a gift. The ironworking facilities in Javornik
were unable to help due to their own difficulties.
The old church was demolished in 1754; the year is marked on the keystone of the main portico
. Construction took seven years, and was sufficiently far along that consecration was planned for the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul of 1761 when - two days beforehand, on 27 June 1761 - the entire village of 60 houses burned down, including the church.
Reconstruction took ten years; the new church was finally consecrated on 3 September 1771 by Ljubljana
bishop Count Carl Herberstein. In 1788, the church was granted greater privileges.
Due to another disaster, a massive landslide in 1789, furnishing the new church had to be deferred. The only new element commissioned was the baroque
altar of St. Ahac, kept fairly modest due to circumstances. Records describe it as a humble wooden structure with statues of the two patron saints in niches
, and an oil painting of the saints before lake Bled
overhead.
The side altar of the Virgin of the Rosary was the work of Ignacij Arer (1776, restored around 1867). The ceiling was decorated by an unknown artist in 1828, but required repairs by 1858, performed by painter Matevž Goričnik. The 16-station Way of the Cross was the work of Goetzla from Kranj
. An organ
was purchased from Kropa
manufacturer Ignac Zupan, but was - due to poor quality - replaced in 1893 by a Gorščič organ, still there today. In 1875, the Koroška Bela parish was established, as a suffragan of Jesenice parish; St. Ingenuin and St. Albuin's became the parish church
.
Amid the effort to equip it properly, however, the church was struck by another calamity: on June 2, 1875, the building was struck by lightning, killing the priest Valentin Plemlj and starting a fire which destroyed the bell tower and roof. The village spent several years making external repairs, then returned to the project of beautifying the interior. In 1903 the current altar painting was purchased, the work of the artist Kaestner from Tirol
. In 1906, the old and damaged wooden altar was replaced with a marble one carved by A. Rovšek of Ljubljana
, and marble communion tables were added.
In 1916, due to the need for raw materials for the war effort, Austro-Hungarian soldiers removed the bells; one year later, on August 14 1917, the village and church were badly damaged and set alight by an Italian air raid
. The extent of the devastation was such that it took six years to rebuild the bell tower, and longer to fix the roof. Some of the repairs were temporary, with decades needed before a permanent fix; other traces of damage were never fully addressed and are still evident.
To date, the tower and roof have had to be rebuilt four times each.
During the 1920s, the interior frescoes were repainted by Matej Sternen
. The current bells were blessed on 16 November 1986, while the facade of the church was restored in 1990. The fifth consecration of the altar of St. Ahac was on February 8 1998.
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
church located in the village of Koroška Bela
Koroška Bela
Koroška Bela is a settlement in the municipality of Jesenice in northwestern Slovenia. While its name refers to historic Carinthia, it has long been located in the Upper Carniolan region rather than in present-day Slovene Carinthia...
, in the municipality of Jesenice in northwestern Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
. The church is dedicated to St. Ingenuin and St. Albuin, bishops of Säben Abbey
Säben Abbey
Säben Abbey is a Benedictine nunnery located near Klausen in South Tyrol, northern Italy. It was established in 1687, when it was first settled by the nuns of Nonnberg Abbey in Salzburg.-History:...
from the 6th and 10th centuries respectively.
History
The predecessor of the current building was a GothicGothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
church also dedicated to the two saints, as is the chapel of nearby Bled Castle
Bled Castle
Bled Castle is a medieval castle built on a precipice above the city of Bled in Slovenia, overlooking Lake Bled. According to written sources, it is the oldest Slovenian castle and is currently one of the most visited tourist attractions in Slovenia....
, which dates from roughly the same time frame. Consecration was on 26 April 1361; the altar of Saint Acacius
Ten thousand martyrs
The ten thousand martyrs of Mount Ararat were, according to a medieval legend, Roman soldiers who, led by Saint Acacius, converted to Christianity and were crucified on Mount Ararat in Armenia by order of the Roman emperor...
was dedicated the next year by John, bishop of Urbin and papal vicar general
Vicar general
A vicar general is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ordinary executive power over the entire diocese and, thus, is the highest official in a diocese or other particular...
.
Due to defilement of the church by Turkish
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
raiders, the altar was reconsecrated on 2 October 1486 by Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
bishop Žiga the noble Lambergar. In 1584, during the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
, local Lutherans came into conflict with ecclesiastical authorities, some confrontations apparently taking place in the church. The protestant minority was subsequently expelled from the area.
In 1691, the church was granted special rights. By 1752, the building had grown dilapidated as well as too small, and a decision was reached to replace it, with what would become the present church. Experts believe the architect was one Matija Perski. Collection of funds began immediately; loans were extended by the churches at Blejska Dobrava
Blejska Dobrava
Blejska Dobrava is a settlement in the municipality of Jesenice, in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia. It is one of the oldest villages in the area, attested from the 12th century, and is located at the base of the Mežakla plateau, on a series of river terraces between the right bank of the...
, Rečica (now part of Bled
Bled
Bled is a municipality in northwestern Slovenia in the region of Upper Carniola. The area, within the Julian Alps, is a popular tourist destination.-History:...
), and Kupljenik pod Babjim Zobom
Kupljenik
Kupljenik is a village in the Municipality of Bled in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia.The village church is dedicated to Saint Stephen.-External links:*...
. In addition to popular contributions, the then-parish church in Jesenice made a gift. The ironworking facilities in Javornik
Slovenski Javornik
Slovenski Javornik is a settlement in the Municipality of Jesenice in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia. Commonly known simply as Javornik, the place name is derived from the Slovene word javor 'maple'....
were unable to help due to their own difficulties.
The old church was demolished in 1754; the year is marked on the keystone of the main portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
. Construction took seven years, and was sufficiently far along that consecration was planned for the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul of 1761 when - two days beforehand, on 27 June 1761 - the entire village of 60 houses burned down, including the church.
Reconstruction took ten years; the new church was finally consecrated on 3 September 1771 by Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
bishop Count Carl Herberstein. In 1788, the church was granted greater privileges.
Due to another disaster, a massive landslide in 1789, furnishing the new church had to be deferred. The only new element commissioned was the baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
altar of St. Ahac, kept fairly modest due to circumstances. Records describe it as a humble wooden structure with statues of the two patron saints in niches
Niche (architecture)
A niche in classical architecture is an exedra or an apse that has been reduced in size, retaining the half-dome heading usual for an apse. Nero's Domus Aurea was the first semi-private dwelling that possessed rooms that were given richly varied floor plans, shaped with niches and exedras;...
, and an oil painting of the saints before lake Bled
Lake Bled
Lake Bled is a glacial lake in the Julian Alps in northwestern Slovenia, where it adjoins the town of Bled. The area is a popular tourist destination.-Geography and history:...
overhead.
The side altar of the Virgin of the Rosary was the work of Ignacij Arer (1776, restored around 1867). The ceiling was decorated by an unknown artist in 1828, but required repairs by 1858, performed by painter Matevž Goričnik. The 16-station Way of the Cross was the work of Goetzla from Kranj
Kranj
' is the third largest municipality and fourth largest city in Slovenia, with a population of 54,500 . It is located approximately 20 km north-west of Ljubljana...
. An organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
was purchased from Kropa
Kropa, Radovljica
Kropa is a settlement in the Radovljica municipality in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia.It is famous for its traditional smithies which produce a variety of decorative metal fittings. There is an Iron Forging Museum in Kropa...
manufacturer Ignac Zupan, but was - due to poor quality - replaced in 1893 by a Gorščič organ, still there today. In 1875, the Koroška Bela parish was established, as a suffragan of Jesenice parish; St. Ingenuin and St. Albuin's became the parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
.
Amid the effort to equip it properly, however, the church was struck by another calamity: on June 2, 1875, the building was struck by lightning, killing the priest Valentin Plemlj and starting a fire which destroyed the bell tower and roof. The village spent several years making external repairs, then returned to the project of beautifying the interior. In 1903 the current altar painting was purchased, the work of the artist Kaestner from Tirol
German Tyrol
German Tyrol is a historical region in the Alps now divided between Austria and Italy. It includes largely ethnic German areas of historical County of Tyrol: the Austrian state of Tyrol and the province of South Tyrol but not the largely Italian-speaking province of Trentino .-History:German...
. In 1906, the old and damaged wooden altar was replaced with a marble one carved by A. Rovšek of Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, and marble communion tables were added.
In 1916, due to the need for raw materials for the war effort, Austro-Hungarian soldiers removed the bells; one year later, on August 14 1917, the village and church were badly damaged and set alight by an Italian air raid
Regia Aeronautica
The Italian Royal Air Force was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946...
. The extent of the devastation was such that it took six years to rebuild the bell tower, and longer to fix the roof. Some of the repairs were temporary, with decades needed before a permanent fix; other traces of damage were never fully addressed and are still evident.
To date, the tower and roof have had to be rebuilt four times each.
During the 1920s, the interior frescoes were repainted by Matej Sternen
Matej Sternen
Matej Sternen was a leading Slovene Impressionist painter.Sternen was born in Verd, now part of the Carniolan municipality of Vrhnika, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He attended the secondary school in Krško and attended technical school in Graz between 1888 and 1891...
. The current bells were blessed on 16 November 1986, while the facade of the church was restored in 1990. The fifth consecration of the altar of St. Ahac was on February 8 1998.