Pleterje Charterhouse
Encyclopedia
Carthusian
The Carthusian Order, also called the Order of St. Bruno, is a Roman Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics. The order was founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns...
monastery, or charterhouse, in the village of Drča
Drča
Drča is a village at the foothills of the Gorjanci hills in the Šentjernej municipality in southeastern Slovenia. The area was traditionally part of Lower Carniola...
near Šentjernej
Šentjernej
Šentjernej is a small town and a municipality in southeastern Slovenia. The area was traditionally part of Lower Carniola. It is now included in the Southeast Slovenia statistical region....
in 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 only extant monastery of that order in the country.
First foundation
The Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n mystic and theologian Nikolaus Kempf was prior here from 1447 to 1451 and again from 1462 to 1467.
In 1471 an Ottoman raid
Ottoman wars in Europe
The wars of the Ottoman Empire in Europe are also sometimes referred to as the Ottoman Wars or as Turkish Wars, particularly in older, European texts.- Rise :...
destroyed the buildings, which were reconstructed in a much stronger and more easily defensible manner.
After a long period of decline Archduke Ferdinand II of Inner Austria
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II , a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary . His rule coincided with the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...
gave the monastery in 1595 to the Jesuits 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...
. When the Jesuits were suppressed in 1772, Pleterje became state property. In 1839 it passed into private hands.
Second foundation
In 1899 the Carthusians reacquired the site and began construction of a new monastery, which was completed five years later.During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the charterhouse suffered severe damage when in 1943 it was set on fire by Communist partisans.
Present day
Gothic 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, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, which survives from the earlier monastery.
Produce
The monks cultivate 30 hectares of land, mostly for fruit and honey, which they sell, and from which they also produce wine, fruit spirits (especially pear brandy), mead and beeswax candles.Art collection
The community at Pleterje are the owners of a significant collection of several dozen paintings, which for the sake of the peace of the community have been deposited on permanent loan for exhibition in a gallery in Kostanjevica na Krki. The paintings date from the 17th and 18th centuries, and are attributed to Flemish, French, Italian and German artists. They seem mostly to have reached Pleterje with refugee monks from Bosserville Charterhouse in LorraineLorraine (province)
The Duchy of Upper Lorraine was an historical duchy roughly corresponding with the present-day northeastern Lorraine region of France, including parts of modern Luxembourg and Germany. The main cities were Metz, Verdun, and the historic capital Nancy....
, who were given shelter in Pleterje in 1904.