Sveta Gora is situated where the Vipava Valley and Soča Valley meet and where the Goriška plain joins the Friuli Plain. With an altitude of 682 m above sea level, it offers a magnificant view of the Julijske alpe (Julian Alps), Trnovski gozd (Trnovo Forest), Kras (Karst) and the countryside leading to the sea; to the west lie the Brda hills, the Friuli lowlands, Karnijske Alpe and the Dolomites.
Evidence that Sveta Gora was already a holy place in the Middle Ages can be found from sources written in the years 1368, 1378, 1382 and 1383. However, more is known about the second church which was built between 1514 and 1544. It is believed that during this period, the Virgin Mary appeared to Urška Ferligoj from Grgar. These visions prompted believers from all neighbouring countries to make a pilgrimage to Svet Gora. Sveta Gora's Basilica built in the first half of the 16th century was a precious monument, both culturally and historically. It was built as a triple-nave building combining late-Gothic and Renaissance style elements. It was destroyed along with the other buildings on the mountain (monastery, catering facilities and a place designated for pilgrims) in June 1915, during the First World War.
The present basilica was built in 1928 according to Silvan Baresi's (Barich) design. It was constructed as a triple-nave building with a transept. It has a length of 72m and a width of 22m. Its most valuable object of art is the well-known image of Mater božja (Mother of God) which hangs above the main altar. It was given by the Patriarch Marino Grimani of Oglej (Aquileia) in 1544 and it is believed that the Venetian artist, Palmo the Senior, painted it. In 1717, the painting was ceremoniously crowned; and of all the images of the Virgin Mary in Slovenia, it is the most prominent. The present main altar was constructed in 1932 and behind it are buried two archbishops of Gorica; Archbishop Frančišek Borgia Sedej and Archbishop Mihael Toroš, the apostolic administrator for Yugoslavia.
Of the church's furnishings, it is especially worth mentioning the stained glass windows which date from 1939. In the same year the church received a pipe organ of renowed quality. Also remarkable are its bells dating from 1921. The stations of the cross, painted in 1765 in baroque style, were placed in the church in 1977. Behind the main altar, a 14th century stone slab, a remnant of the former Sveta Gora church, was built into the wall on the left side of the entrance leading into the winter chapel. In the winter chapel, there is a late-Gothic statue of Mati Božja (Mother of God) with Jesus which was carved in the second quarter of the 16th century.
Evidence that Sveta Gora was already a holy place in the Middle Ages can be found from sources written in the years 1368, 1378, 1382 and 1383. However, more is known about the second church which was built between 1514 and 1544. It is believed that during this period, the Virgin Mary appeared to Urška Ferligoj from Grgar. These visions prompted believers from all neighbouring countries to make a pilgrimage to Svet Gora. Sveta Gora's Basilica built in the first half of the 16th century was a precious monument, both culturally and historically. It was built as a triple-nave building combining late-Gothic and Renaissance style elements. It was destroyed along with the other buildings on the mountain (monastery, catering facilities and a place designated for pilgrims) in June 1915, during the First World War.
The present basilica was built in 1928 according to Silvan Baresi's (Barich) design. It was constructed as a triple-nave building with a transept. It has a length of 72m and a width of 22m. Its most valuable object of art is the well-known image of Mater božja (Mother of God) which hangs above the main altar. It was given by the Patriarch Marino Grimani of Oglej (Aquileia) in 1544 and it is believed that the Venetian artist, Palmo the Senior, painted it. In 1717, the painting was ceremoniously crowned; and of all the images of the Virgin Mary in Slovenia, it is the most prominent. The present main altar was constructed in 1932 and behind it are buried two archbishops of Gorica; Archbishop Frančišek Borgia Sedej and Archbishop Mihael Toroš, the apostolic administrator for Yugoslavia.
Of the church's furnishings, it is especially worth mentioning the stained glass windows which date from 1939. In the same year the church received a pipe organ of renowed quality. Also remarkable are its bells dating from 1921. The stations of the cross, painted in 1765 in baroque style, were placed in the church in 1977. Behind the main altar, a 14th century stone slab, a remnant of the former Sveta Gora church, was built into the wall on the left side of the entrance leading into the winter chapel. In the winter chapel, there is a late-Gothic statue of Mati Božja (Mother of God) with Jesus which was carved in the second quarter of the 16th century.