| Ponikve | |
|---|---|
|
Ponikve
|
|
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Slovenia |
| Region | Slovenian Littoral |
| Municipality | Tolmin |
| Area | |
| • Total | 7.86 km2 (3 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 673.9 m (2,211 ft) |
| Population (2002) | |
| • Total | 203 |
| [1] | |
Ponikve is a settlement in the hills to the south of Kneža in the Municipality of Tolmin in the Littoral region of Slovenia.[2]
The parish church in the settlement is dedicated to the Visitation and belongs to the Koper Diocese. The original small Gothic church at this site is believed to date from the 1480s based on a stone plaque on the south side of the church dated 148_ (the last digit is missing) and bearing the name of the prominent builder Andrej of Loka (a.k.a. Andreas von Lack). In the eighteenth century, the church was expanded and redone in Baroque style. At that time the altar and other church valuables were brought to this church from the already abandoned and dilapidated former Church of St. Nicholas, which stood on the hill north of the village. In 1944 (ironically, on the Feast of the Annunciation), the church was burned by German troops, destroying everything except the altar statue and the shrine of the Holy Sepulchre, which the locals managed to save. The ruins were shelled in 1945, leaving only the damaged bell tower and walls. In 1952, after considerable difficulty and thanks to the efforts of the parish priest Janez Lapanja, the architect Jože Plečnik agreed to rebuild the church, which was newly consecrated in 1958. In Plečnik's characteristic style, the reconstruction utilized elements of the old structure, including the bell tower. At the same time, the interior and exterior decoration departed radically from the former building, and the orientation of the church was reversed so that the nave is now on the east end, towards the village, and the altar on the west. A second church in the parish is dedicated to Saint Anne.[3]