Saint Nicholas' Cathedral (Slovene: Stolnica svetega Nikolaja), commonly referred to as the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas or Ljubljana Cathedral, is a cathedral in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is an easily recognizable landmark of the city with its green dome and twin towers and is located on Cyril and Methodius Square by the nearby Ljubljana Central Market and the Ljubljana town hall.[1]
The site was originally occupied by an aisled Romanesque church, the oldest mention of which dates from 1262. An extensive fire in 1361 saw it refurbished in the Gothic style but underwent alterations when the Diocese of Ljubljana was established in 1461. However, in 1469 it was burnt down again; this time it was suspected to be arson, presumably by the Turks.[2]
Between 1701 and 1706, Jesuit architect Andrea Pozzo designed and built a new Baroque hall church with side chapels built to resemble a Latin cross. Originally a fake dome was painted on the arch above the centre until the church's real dome was constructed, in 1841.[2] Inside much of the original Baroque decor remains with frescoes painted by Giulio Quaglio between 1703–1706 and later 1721-1723. On the southern wall is a brightly decorated pietà, a copy of one that possibly used to be in the earlier Gothic cathedral.[3]
Other notable decoarations in the cathedral include the altar angels by the brothers Paolo and Giuseppe Groppelli on the right part of the nave (1711) and by Francesco Robba on the left (1745–1750). Angelo Putti was assigned to much of the artwork, with his painting of Dean Janez Anton Dolničar (1715), who had commanded the rebuilding of the church and the statues of the four bishops of Emona seated under the dome beam (1712–1713). The cupola was added later by the architect Gregor Maček, and the dome fresco painted by Matevž Langus in 1843-44.[4] In the 1950s, the architect Jože Plečnik made plans for new church furnishings.
In the 20th century, several of the doors were altered on the church. Tone Demšar painted a historical depiction of Slovene history to commemorate 1250th anniversary of Christianity in Slovenia, and Mirsad Begić redesigned the side doors with portraits of bishops at the church. Beyond the main door is now an automatic electric door.