St. Nicholas’s Cathedral

You can’t miss Ljubljana’s cathedral, with its striking green dome and twin towers rising above the skyline. This is the city’s religious heart, and one of its most recognizable landmarks from the banks of the Ljubljanica. The site has a long and dramatic history. The first church here, Romanesque in style, was recorded as early as 1262. After a devastating fire in 1361 it was rebuilt in Gothic, and a century later, in 1461, Ljubljana became the seat of a bishop, elevating the church to cathedral status. But the reprieve didn’t last long: in 1469 it burned once more, in what many suspected was arson, perhaps even at the hands of the Turks. The Baroque cathedral you see today was finally built in the early 18th century. The Jesuit master Andrea Pozzo provided the plans, while Italian painter Giulio Quaglio created breathtaking illusionistic decoration. His vast illusionistic frescoes transformed the interior and even gave the impression of a great dome above. In 1841, the painted illusion was replaced by the real thing—the green dome that crowns the church today. Step inside and you’re surrounded by Baroque drama: frescoes and statues everywhere, designed to overwhelm the senses. This was the era of the Counter-Reformation, when the Catholic Church used spectacle and emotion to win hearts, in sharp contrast to Protestant austerity. To visit, expect a small entrance fee of around three euros, except during services when access is free but reserved for prayer. The best time is outside of mass, when you can enjoy the quiet and take your time gazing upward. And even if you don’t go in, stop to admire the great bronze doors added much later, in 1996, for the visit of Pope John Paul II. As you’ll see when you walk around to the other side, they recount the history of Christianity in Slovenia and honor the country’s most important church figures.