Sticna Abbey

Stična was founded in 1136 and, apart from the closure under Joseph II and its refounding in 1898, has been a Cistercian house ever since, which makes it the oldest monastery still functioning in the country. The buildings are a layered heap of periods: a Romanesque church core under Baroque decoration, a Romanesque and Gothic cloister with carved capitals, and eighteenth-century ranges around it. The Slovenian Religious Museum occupies part of the complex, and the abbey is known for the herbal preparations of Father Simon Asic.

What you actually see

• The cloister - Romanesque and Gothic ranges with carved capitals.
• The abbey church - a twelfth-century core worked over in the Baroque.
• The Slovenian Religious Museum - manuscripts, vestments and sacred art in the ranges.
• The herbal tradition - the teas and preparations associated with Father Simon Asic.

When to go

Year round; the museum closes on Mondays and has shorter winter hours. Services and feast days limit access to the church. Early afternoon suits the cloister light.

Honest expectations

It is a working community and parts are closed without notice. The museum labelling is largely in Slovene. Guided tours in English need arranging ahead.

Nearby

Bogensperk Castle is north, and Zuzemberk is south.