Explore Slovene Museum of Christianity
Exhibition Organizers:
Museum of Christianity in Slovenia and Božidar Jakac Gallery – Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art
Exhibition Curators:
Kristina T. Simončič, Simon Vidic
Venue:
Museum of Christianity in Slovenia
Opening:
Thursday, September 18, 2025, at 6:00 PM
Exhibition Duration:
September 18 – December 21, 2025
In 2019, with financial support from the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, the Museum of Christianity in Slovenia (Stična) and the Božidar Jakac Gallery (Kostanjevica na Krki) joined the international project Cisterscapes – Cistercian Landscapes Connecting Europe, which aims to connect and preserve the cultural landscape and heritage of the Cistercians across Europe.
The project includes a network of seventeen institutions based in active or former Cistercian monasteries across six European countries: Germany, France, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovenia. Criteria for participation included scholarly comparability, links along the eastern expansion routes of the Morimond and Clairvaux lines, and early foundation dates (12th or early 13th century). A key requirement was the partial preservation of the cultural landscape with visible structures surrounding individual monasteries, as well as access to historical sources and archival documents. Existing tourism infrastructure and public accessibility of the monasteries were also important factors.
Cistercian landscapes are a unique example of historic cultural landscapes, defined as the joint work of humans and nature shaped through history. In terms of heritage preservation, cultural landscapes represent the most comprehensive level of tangible cultural heritage, as they can encompass monuments, villages, towns, and open countryside. Cistercian landscapes reflect the settlement strategies of the order, their land-use practices for agricultural and economic purposes, and their adaptation to natural conditions and spiritual principles.
Today, these historic cultural landscapes remain carriers of identity and memory for local communities, even if residents often no longer recognize or associate them with the Cistercian monasteries. The order’s control and transformation of the landscape still visibly resonate across many similar landscapes in Europe, forming a living historical memory of centuries past—when transnational networks of contemplative orders linked Europe long before the emergence of political and economic unions such as the European Union.
The project aims to popularize knowledge about Cistercian cultural landscapes through a shared database, website, and a transnational hiking trail app. After years of research and joint efforts, all project partners were awarded the European Heritage Label by the European Commission in April 2024.
The joint panel exhibition at the Museum of Christianity in Slovenia offers insight into the cultural landscape of the two Cistercian monasteries in Slovenia: the still-active monastery in Stična and the former one in Kostanjevica na Krki.
Following a general introduction to the history of the Cistercian order and both Slovenian monasteries, the key characteristics of the Cistercian cultural landscape are presented through thematic sections: economic and defensive buildings, viticulture, granges (outlying farms), milling, manor houses and castles, churches, fishponds, and forests.
Information on these landscape elements was collected over recent years and entered into the international online database https://cisterscapes.geoway.de, which served as the foundation for the exhibition's thematic content. The exhibition was first presented in 2024 at the Božidar Jakac Gallery – Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, and this year it is being shown to the public in Stična.
