Church of St. John the Baptist - Ribcev Laz, Slovenia - This Old Church on Waymarking.com

The Slovene Tourist Website at (visit link) tells us:

"On the moraine embankment above the east bank of Bohinj Lake, at the source of the Sava Bohinjka, stands a regularly orientated Gothic church with a Baroque bell tower and a covered entryway.

The first known recorded mention of the church was from 1464, but the church is certainly older. A lower wall is set around the sanctuary. The ashlar nave with Romanesque proportions was vaulted around 1520. The vaulted Gothic presbytery originated around 1400. The bell tower next to it was added in the 18th century and was covered with a Baroque bulb-shaped shingled cap. The covered entryway, also Gothic, is paved with gravel.

Inside is an old alms box, and on the wall of the church are the remains of frescoes by Jernej from Loka with scenes from the life of John the Baptist. In front of the entryway on the wall there is a large painted image of St. Christopher (sv. Krištof) looking towards the bridge and the village. It covered the older image of the same saint. Jernej from Loka also repainted the chapel behind the presbytery, which the master of the Bohinj presbytery had painted before him.



The interior is decorated with frescoes in several layers and from different time periods. The oldest layer is the work of an unknown master from the beginning of the 14th century and shows the figure of John the Evangelist with a cup of poison in front of Aristodemus. In the presbytery there are paintings by the master of the Bohinj presbytery.

In the tradition of the Kranj presbytery, between the rib vaulting around the keystone with Christ, he portrayed angels with ribbons, symbols of the Evangelists and individual saints. In the nave the Master pained the legends of St. Jacob around 1520. The lower belt in the presbytery was painted at approximately the same time by Jernej from Loka.

In the church stand three wooden altars made by carvers in different periods of the 17th century. The older Gothic altar from the church is exhibited in the National Gallery in Ljubljana.

The branch church of St. John is regularly maintained. The key is in the tourist office. At the moment the church is not available for sightseeing due to restoration works."

I would hope that a waymark visitor could provide additional indoor pictures when the renovations are completed.

Date the Church was built, dedicated or cornerstone laid: 01/01/1464 Age of Church building determined by?: Church website If denomination of Church is not part of the name, please provide it here: Catholic (?) Street address of Church: Ribčev Laz 48 Ribčev Laz, Slovenia 4264 Primary website for Church or Historic Church Building: [Web Link] If Church is open to the public, please indicate hours: Not listed If Church holds a weekly worship service and "all are welcome", please give the day of the week: Not listed Indicate the time that the primary worship service is held. List only one: Not Listed Secondary Website for Church or Historic Church Building: Not listed

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Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   02/14/2025 TeamSO visited it 06/19/2023 KaRo team visited it 05/13/2018 Airspotter visited it 09/13/2014 Iris & Harry visited it 07/31/2012 Superted visited it 07/27/2010 Gjende visited it 05/25/2003 Klaus visited it

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