Ptujska Gora

The church on the hill at Ptujska Gora was built around 1400 and fortified against Ottoman raids, and its high altar holds the work everything else is arranged around: a stone relief of the Virgin of the Cloak, carved about 1410, in which some eighty small figures shelter under a mantle held open by angels. The faces are individual, ranging from donors and clergy to ordinary townspeople, and the piece is among the most important surviving Gothic sculptures in central Europe. The church is a minor basilica and one of the best-known pilgrimage churches in Slovenia.

Highlights

• The Virgin of the Cloak - a relief of about 1410 with some eighty figures under the mantle.
• The individual faces - donors, clergy and townspeople carved as distinct portraits.
• The Gothic interior - a hall church of around 1400 with net vaulting.
• The defensive works - walls added against Ottoman raiding.

When to go

Year round; the church is open daily but closed during services. The relief is behind the altar and best seen in bright daylight. Pilgrim feast days bring crowds.

What to expect

The relief is behind the altar and cannot be approached closely; binoculars help. Services interrupt viewing and photography is restricted. There is little else on the hill.

Nearby

Ptuj is northeast, and Haloze is southeast.