hrastovlje

My wife and I were fortunate to have an old friend, an American expat living in Ljubljana, as a personal tour guide of Slovenia for 4 days. He showed us this little gem out in the middle of nowhere, and I mean that in a very good way -- the church is at the foot of a large hill and is surrounded by fields, a vineyard and a couple of restaurants (we ate a very nice lunch at Skrgat on a patio overlooking the church; highly recommended). We were truly and enjoyably far from the madding crowd. We visited the church in July and, with the exception of a staff person, had the church to ourselves for 20 minutes; as we were leaving another small group of 2 or 3 people were arriving. The church dates back to the 12th century and is surrounded by walls built in the 16th century to protect against Turkish invasions. The church is very small and rather simple in design. The major draw of the church is the astounding frescoes painted on the walls. The staff person gave us a fairly detailed tour/explanation in English of the frescoes, including the fairly famous Dance of Death. I believe there are audiotapes available as well if you need them. The frescoes are wonderful -- not the highest, grandest art you'll see from famous masters; rather, they are very good examples of what I imagine regular people saw as they worshiped 500 years ago in a small country church. I'm not particularly religious but I found them fascinating and quite moving.

An easy and worthwhile side trip when driving to the coast of Slovenia, or about 45 mins from Koper by car. Well preserved and unusual frescoes. This stop was one of the highlights of a month-long trip through Slovenia and Croatia.

As I am very fond of Art, I've seen many frescoes in my life. The frescoes in Hrastovlje are not Giotto's or Michelangelo's, of course, but I really recommend a detour to this lovely little village in the middle of a pretty lonesome countryside. On the gate that secures the site there was a phone number to call in order to make a visit; we called it with not many hopes, because it was lunchtime in August but...incredibly, a guy answered and came in exactly 5 minutes to open the site and make the visit possibile! It's definitely worth a visit.

Today we went for a trip to the village of Hrastovlje. Actually it is even before Koper, not around Piran (check it before!). The most important attraction is the church with fresques (Dance of the Death). You can get guide in Slovenian, English and German - for sure. Entrance fee is 3€. In the village is also TouristInformationCenter - TIC - where you can get more infos about surrounding or even buy combined ticket (guided tour around village, church, 2 galeries and some more...). There are also few places to eat & drink (they opened at 12 today - on Saturday). Not far from church is also a statue called Šavrinka (it is on a small hill and quite high, you will see it). - close to one tourist farm.

The frescos in this small church are unique and revolutionary even today but mainly for the time of creating them - end of the 15th. century.Everybody is equal - The king' the child. the soldier, the bishop, the nun and so on. When it comes to death they all share the same chance and they are equal.The fresco of the "death dance" is very impressive - Revolutionary idea in the Christian religion . Great frescos in a small church

We all loved this little church and its very interesting history. The guide who pointed to each of the pictures could not have been less enthusiastic and we could have done without her to be honest but the audio description on the voice over is necessary to get an idea of the meaning behind each of the sections. I would definitely recommend- no toilet near by that I could see so make sure you go before you leave.

Lovely frescoes, hurried audio guide in English and other languages (would be better if this could be re-recorded at a slower pace; even when English is your native language, it is a bit fast to be able to look and take in all the information) Small fee payable and postcards available to buy as photos are not permitted. Even our teens enjoyed the visit to this tiny church that looks like a castle. Local wine available too and we can vouch for the red, especially good at €3 a bottle!

As a local (originally from Koper) the last time I visited Hrastovlje was many years ago on a school trip. It was at my (British) husband’s insistence that we did a detour and went to see the Church of the Holy Trinity. And what a wonderful detour it was! The village itself and the surrounding areas are off the beaten track and untouched by the mass tourism, therefore retaining that genuine feel of Slovenian Istria at its best. The church itself is interesting enough in its own right, with its 17th century defence walls against the Ottoman raids, but nothing prepares you for the vividly coloured delicate frescoes inside! The most known of them is the “Dance Macabre”, depicting Death leading, Emperors, Popes, Bankers and Doctors alongside peasants in a rather egalitarian procession. Others represent the stories of the bible and the months of the year.Look out for the Glagolitic (old Slavic) script and I personally particularly enjoyed the 16 century “graffiti” - locals humorously commenting on the price of grain etc.If the church is not open (this is still a functioning village church), call the number on the board and an very pleasant local lady will come to open it for you. Entrance fee €2 (July 2013)In-depth audio commentary in many languages.

This out of the way chapel has an amazing art treasure in a homey atmosphere. They will play an audio description of the chapel (available in several languages) and the docent will indicate what the narration is describing wit a light pointer. The fee is very low and it is very non-commercial and charming. You can buy a few postcards and they have couple selections of local wine for sale. And on the way into the picturesque valley, stop and enjoy the view of the huge curved bridge.

Wonderful tiny church with stunning frescoes including "dance of death". Well worth the diversion from the Ljubljana-Koper freeway. Audio presentation describes the frescoes in great detail

We came upon this by chance on our way to the coast at Izola. We pulled off the main road looking for somewhere for lunch and ended up going down this valley.The scenery is delightful, and the setting of the fortified church special.The frescoes inside are amazing. There is a recorded audio tour in English (and other languages), that only takes about 10 mins - very interesting and only E2.We had lunch in the nearby 'agro tourismo'- a big platter of local cured meats and cheeses with ltheir own wine for less than E10 - highly recommended.

If you are a bit interested in history and/or architecture and you dont need all the tourism industry around, this is the right place for you! This fortified church is located in a quiet valley and offers almost complete fresco decoration (especially known for its scene "dance with death"). Visit takes only a short time, so it is a nice stop when travelling to/from Istria.

We liked the fortified church, its old frescoes and an entire area ful of natural and historical attractions. We were very happy that we included it in our itinerary.

When visiting Slovenia Karst region one do it best on a mountain bike on side roads. below the Kars ridge, an impresive rock line dividing the central Slovenia and the karst/coastal region offer wonderful views. Below it is a small medivel church with one of the most well known frescos, a death dance. Stop there it is worth visiting but no on a bus tour where you have 5 minutes and rush on. Enjoy it without the crowds and in no rush.

When there's no wind, this place is nice for walking, biking or just to seat around the lovely nature. We took a trip to nearby Zanigrad. It's small church seen from Hrastovlje towards the rocks uphills. It is accessible by car via Dol or better - about half hour walking. The small vilage is abandoned and very interesting to look around. There are many biking (MTB) tours around. Just hit the fire roads with your mountain bike and you are free for whole day.