Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Go under the high arch, then take a close look at the remarkable side
door
on the left.
Buried deeply in the fecund soil of their ancient and pagan history, the nation's linden tree
of life sprouts with the story of the Slovenes. The ceramic pots represent the original Ro-
man settlement here. Just to the left, above the tree, are the Byzantine missionaries Cyril
and Methodius, who came here to convert the Slavs to Christianity in the ninth century.
Just above, Crusaders and Ottomans do battle. Near the top, see the Slovenes going into the
cave—entering the dark 20th century (World War I, World War II, and communism). At the
top is Pope John Paul II (the first Slavic pontiff, who also oversaw the fall of communism).
Below him are two men who are on track to becoming Slovenia's first saints; the one on the
right is Frederic Baraga, a 19th-century bishop who became a missionary in Michigan and
codified Chippewa grammar (notice the Native American relief on the topic he's holding).
In the upper right-hand corner is a sun, which has been shining since Slovenia gained its
independence in 1991. Around back of the cathedral is a similar door, carved with images
of the six 20th-century bishops of Ljubljana.
Thecathedral's
interior
isstunningItalianBaroque.Thetranseptissurroundedbysculp-
turesoffourbishopsofRomanLjubljana(whenitwascalledEmona,orAemon).Leftofthe
mainaltar,noticethedistinctivechair.ThiswasdesignedbytheveryreligiousJožePle
č
nik,
