Explore Slovene Museum of Christianity
At the end of 2019, the Slovene Museum of Christianity joined the international project Cisterscapes - Cistercian Landscapes Connecting Europe.
The project brings together 17 monumental Cistercian monasteries in five different European countries: Slovenia, Germany, Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic. In addition to the Stična Monastery, represented by the Slovene Museum of Christianity, the project also includes the former Cistercian monastery Kostanjevica na Krki, represented by the Božidar Jakac Gallery.
The first Cistercian monastery was founded in 1098 in Citeaux, France. In the 12th century, the order flourished rapidly, and Cistercian monasteries spread throughout the lands of Christian Europe. In 1136, Stična was founded, being today the oldest functioning monastery in our country.
The Cistercian order is characterized by a specific centralized arrangement. This enabled an extraordinary flow of ideas, knowledge and also the uniform development of all monasteries regardless of the place where they were founded. The monasteries had to be self-sufficient, so they developed a wide economic network in their surroundings. Paths, regulated water resources, ponds, fields, forests, mills, farms, docks, settlements, roadside signs, chapels and churches… All this was created as a result of the Cistercian economy and culture.
The influence of the Cistercians on the cultural landscape is still visible today within a radius of 50 km around the monastery. We live in this landscape, but we may no longer recognize the traces of the Cistercian land management and the Stična monastery.
The purpose of the Cisterscapes project was to explore and present the Cistercian landscape to the general public. As part of the project, a common database, website, an interactive model, a virtualisation of the hiking trail and a mobile application for the transnational hiking and cycling route were created. To turn all of the mentioned into realiy we were collaborating with the Municipality of Ivančna Gorica and the wider local community. The type of Cistercian landscape has had such a significant impact on the development and structure of the European landscape that it is recognized as European cultural heritage.
The ultimate goal of the project was the candidacy of all participating institutions for the European Cultural Heritage Label in 2023. And in April 2024 we succeeded and we received the European Heritage Label award. It is the largest recognition of symbolic historical value within the European Union.
At the Museum of Christianity in Slovenia, we believe that participating in the project is an opportunity for a greater European visibility of both the Stična monastery and our museum. At the same time, we are very happy to have created a closer cooperation with the Božidar Jakac Gallery, which operates in the former Kostanjevica na Krki monastery, and the development of the new museum and tourist programs for our visitors is in progress.
