The vault of the Church of St Barbara has a rectangular floor shape. The entire inner space is typically (Gothic) hemispherically arched. The entrance to the vault was under the square. Originally, access to it was by the staircase from church aisle.
Measures
The size of the building was designed in the following dimensions: it was 22.1 m long, 12 m wide and 11.1 m high. Its special feature was the built church tower, which was 56 m high. The presbytery was 10.7 m long and 7 m wide. The church floor plan was single-aisled, with Baroque form of the space. The crypt had two arched rooms, with dimensions 9.2 m × 4.4 m and different heights: 2.63 m and 3 m. A 14.5 m long and 1.2 m wide tunnel led out of the crypt.
Materials
Oak wood and plaster, stone flooring.
Dating
17th century, 18th century. The Bishop of Ljubljana Tomaž Hren set the cornerstone of the new Baroque church in the town centre in 1622. The thirty-year-long war between 1618 and 1648 suppressed the construction works. In 1686, the church was partially completed. The brick church tower was completed in 1740.
Author / Producer
Idrija Mercury Mine
Picture attachments
Original use
The church of St Barbara was built in several stages and was a sort of a “Pantheon” or a town centre. It was built with the support of the mining administration and the contributions of the miners, who gave one tenth of their modest monthly salary for it. Idrija miners prayed to St Barbara for their safe return from the pit. The church tower woke the miners up at 3am to go to work. The crypt initially served as a grave, where they put the bones of the dead, and was closed with a stone plate. According to the folk tradition, there bones were transferred to the cemetery before the church of St Barbara was demolished. In the years 1944 and 1945, the church was damaged during the Anglo-American bombardment. The roof, the ceiling in the church aisle, all the altars and other wooden parts inside the church burned down. It was demolished in 1951. This changed the urban appearance of the town centre. The crypt was completely filled a year later.
Present use
The vault of the Church of St Barbara is being preserved, secured and presented as an important monument of Idrija mining heritage with exceptional universal values. The memorial plaque of the church of St Barbara is located on a part of the town square. On the floor there is a symbolically indicated floor plan of the church with memorial inscriptions, however, especially eloquent is the fountain, above which the cross is raised. The entrance to the vault of St Barbara is under the square and is located at the spot of the triumphal arch of the demolished church. A hallway, within which the gallery is arranged, leads into the vault. At the end of the hallway, there is a large lobby in front the crypt. On the right side of the crypt, there is an underground chapel with the settled charnel house. The crypt door open for visitors once a year, on St Achatius Day (22 June), when a holy mass takes place in it. However, the gallery with visiting art exhibitions is open and available for visitors practically all year long.
Original location
2357 Idrija – town, lot no. 1359/3 (part), 1359/5 (part).
Present location
No changes.
STATE OF CONSERVATION
History of conservation:
The Town Square was renovated in 2007, according to the plans of Boris Podrecce and with the help of Mark Lavrenčič.
Present state
good
Necessary activities:
Performing regular maintenance services by the programme, including status control and preservation, security and presentation of the heritage.
DOCUMENTATION
Addresses / collections / links etc. where further in-depth information is accessible:
- The Cultural Heritage Register of the Republic of Slovenia.