Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The
Church of the Holy Trinity
(Cerkev Sv Trojica; 031 432 231; adult/student & child €2/1; 8am-
noon & 1-5pm)
was built between the 12th and 14th centuries in the southern Romanesque style, with fortifications
added in 1581 in advance of the Ottomans. Its sombre exterior is disarming in the extreme.
The interior of the church is completely festooned with
narrative frescoes
painted by John of Kastav around
1490. The paintings helped the illiterate understand the Old Testament stories, the Passion of Christ and the lives of
the saints. Spare the 20 minutes it takes to listen to the taped commentary (in four languages, including English) that
will guide you around the little church.
Facing you as you enter the church is the 17th-century altar, the central apse with scenes from the Crucifixion on
the ceiling, and portraits of the Trinity and the Apostles. On the arch, Mary is crowned Queen of Heaven. To the
right are episodes from the seven days of Creation, with Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel on the right.
On the ceilings of the north and south aisles are scenes from daily life as well as the liturgical year and its season-
al duties. Christ's Passion is depicted at the top of the southernmost wall, including His descent into Hell, where
devils attack him with blazing cannons.
Below the scenes of the Passion is what attracts most people to this little church: the famous
Dance of Death
or
Danse Macabre, a fresco that shows 11 skeletons leading the same number of people forward to a freshly dug grave.
A twelfth holds open a coffin. The doomed line-up includes peasants, kings, cardinals, and even a money lender
(who attempts to bribe his skeletal escort with a purse): all are equal in the eyes of God.
Hrastovlje is 24km southwest of Divača off the main highway to the coast; Koper is 18km to the northwest.
Without a car or bicycle the only sure way of making it to Hrastovlje is by the daily early-morning trains from
Divača (€2.90, 35 minutes) or Koper (€1.75, 20 minutes); the church is about 1km to the northwest of the station.
