Church St Luke

The Pilgrim Church of St Luke attracts attention from afar thanks to its unusual location. It is not built on top of a hill, but rather its volume is built into the hillside above the village of Spodnje Prapreče. The pavement is also a special feature; it rises 1.70 m from the large door to the end of the chancel.

Among the four Evangelists, St Luke was given the symbol of an ox. The basis of this symbol is sacrifice; Christ gave himself on the cross for all people. Through the ox as a symbol, St Luke became known in Slovenia as the patron saint of the peasantry. As he was a doctor by profession, he is also considered the patron saint of that profession. According to legend, he is also said to have depicted the mother of Jesus, Mary (an icon in the Roman Basilica of Our Lady of the Snows), which is why painters and artists have also chosen him as their patron saint.

The well-preserved frescoes in the presbytery represent a number of saints who were particularly popular at the time the church was built. Below the row of saints, the nobleman Janez Herič of Brdo and his daughter, a prominent patron of St Luke’s, are depicted in a prayerful posture. In the main nave, the church’s master mason Stephen and his family are depicted. The arches of all three aisles and the altar finials are decorated with beautiful tracery between the ribs and the vaults.