Leskovec above Višnja Gora

Succursal church of St Oswald

Heritage record number: 2667

List of paintings

Stage 1 (Leskovec above Višnja Gora) right-arrow

The first reference to the village of Leskovec allegedly dates back as far as 1152,[1] but according to more recent research, it was first mentioned in 1178.[2] The oldest information about the church is from 1581, while the year 1633 can be found on the ceiling.[3] In 1667, the church was mentioned as a branch of the Church of St Giles in Višnja Gora, a vicariate of the parish of Šentvid pri Stični.[4] In 1324 and 1337, a court is also mentioned in the village.[5] In the Middle Ages, a monastic grange (grangium) or a monastery court (curia) where the administrator of this area lived was located in Leskovec, which had probably belonged to the Stična Cistercian Abbey already before 1178.[6] In 1411, the resigned Abbot Albert of Lindek allegedly took up residence here.[7]

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[1] MIKUŽ 1978, p. 255.
[2] HÖFLER 2017, p. 182; Historična topografija 2021, p. 708.
[3] HÖFLER 2017, p. 182.
[4] MLINARIČ 1995, pp. 839–841.
[5] Historična topografija 2021, p. 708.
[6] GREBENC 1973, pp. 157; MLINARIČ 1995, pp. 72–73, 76.
[7] GREBENC 1973, pp. 157, 199.

The correctly oriented church has a single nave with a flat, painted wooden ceiling dating from 1633 and a square vaulted chancel with an entrance to the sacristy, added in 1904, on the northern side of the church. The belfry leans against the western façade (the year 1830 is stated on the portal below). Light enters the chancel and the nave through rectangular windows. The nave, dating back to the Middle Ages, represents the oldest part of the church, as already established by Marijan Zadnikar based on the partially visible small pointed window opening on the southern wall of the nave.[1] The latest conservation research, completed in 2017,[2] revealed that the church probably had a west gallery with a special entrance from the southern part of the western wall, with light coming through a rose window. The chancel may have replaced the older one when the preserved nave ceiling was restored and installed in 1633.[3] During the latest conservation and restoration works, several layers with inscriptions of years referring to the 19th century were discovered in the nave, on the apex of the triumphal wall. Of these, the year 1826 is now presented.[4]

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[1] Informacijsko-dokumentacijski center za dediščino Ministrstva za kulturo Republike Slovenije, Ljubljana, Zapiski Marijana Zadnikarja, Leskovec, X, 1951, https://situla.gov.si/SI_INDOK_ZAP_z002-0504.html.
[2] SNOJ 2017; RAVNIKAR, SNOJ 2019.
[3] MIKUŽ 1978, p. 260.
[4] SNOJ 2017, p. 9.

So far, the older layer of murals has been dated only roughly to the 14th century.[1]

 

GREBENC 1973
Jože Maver GREBENC, Gospodarska ustanovitev Stične ali njena dotacija leta 1135, Stična 1973.

Historična topografija 2021
Historična topografija Kranjske (do leta 1500), Ljubljana 20212 (Slovenska historična topografija, 1), https://topografija.zrc-sazu.si/sht/files/SHT-Kranjska_web2.0.pdf.

HÖFLER 2001
Janez HÖFLER, Srednjeveške freske v Sloveniji. 3: Okolica Ljubljane z Notranjsko, Dolenjsko in Belo krajino, Ljubljana 2001.

HÖFLER 2017
Janez HÖFLER, Gradivo za historično topografijo predjožefinskih župnij na Slovenskem. Kranjska, Ljubljana 20172, http://www.viharnik.com/content.php?IDb=89.

MIKUŽ 1978
Stane MIKUŽ, Umetnostnozgodovinska topografija grosupeljske krajine, Ljubljana 1978.

MLINARIČ 1995
Jože MLINARIČ, Stiška opatija 1136–1784, Novo mesto 1995.

RAVNIKAR, SNOJ 2019
Sabina RAVNIKAR, Saša SNOJ, Leskovec nad Višnjo Goro. Leskovec – cerkev sv. Ožbolta. EŠD: 2667, Varstvo spomenikov. Poročila, 53, 2019, pp. 105–107.

SNOJ 2017
Saša SNOJ, Leskovec – cerkev sv. Ožbolta. Poročilo o konservatorsko-restavratorskemu posegu na srednjeveških stenskih poslikavah severne in slavoločne stene, Ljubljana 2017 (typescript).

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[1] SNOJ 2017, p. 7; RAVNIKAR, SNOJ 2019, pp. 105–106.

The church was last renovated between 2015 and 2017. In 2006, the wooden ceiling from 1633 was urgently removed. During that time, Vlado Fras from the Restoration Centre of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia carried out the initial sampling. In 2015, the entire church interior was sampled by Tjaša Pristov from the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, Ljubljana regional unit. The murals on the northern wall, the nave part of the triumphal arch wall, and a part of the southern wall were then uncovered by Saša Snoj. The works were completed in 2017.[1]

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[1] SNOJ 2017, p. 7; RAVNIKAR, SNOJ 2019, p. 105.

Gallery

Floor plan with paintings

Leskovec above Višnja Gora, Succursal church of St Oswald, 2024 (last updated 30. 8. 2024). Corpus picturarum muralium medii aevi, https://corpuspicturarum.zrc-sazu.si/en/spomenik/church-of-st-oswald/ (3. 12. 2025).
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