StiÄna Abbey is the oldest monastery in the territory of today's Slovenia. It is the only Cistercian one in the country that still operates. The abbey foundation charter was issued in 1136 by Pellegrinus I., Patriarch of Aquileia, although monastic conventual life had begun a year earlier, in 1135. The monastery at StiÄna quickly became important religious, cultural and economic centre.
As well as an ordinary school, the monastery had a music school as well, at which the Renaissance composer Jacobus Gallus is believed to have received his earliest musical education. The successful life of the monastery was hampered by the raids of the Ottoman Turks, and it twice fell victim to burning and looting. In 1784 Emperor Joseph II abolished the monastery, dissolved under the Josephine Reforms, but resettled again in 1898 by monks from Mehrerau Abbey on the shore of lake Constance. StiÄna abbey works undisturbed since.
Its scriptorium was already producing beautiful illuminated Latin manuscripts in the 12th century, and it was here that the famous StiÄna manuscript, written in Slovene, was produced in the 15th century.
In terms of architecture, abbey changed its image, so we can observe traces and shapes of romanic, gothic in baroque buildings, the eldest core of the abbey stayed preserved. Abbey has a Basilica, named after the Sad Mother of God, which serves as a parish church. Abbey and Romanesque basilica are now declared as cultural monuments of national significance.
References:Considered to be one of the most imposing Roman ruins, Diocletian’s palace is certainly the main attraction of the city of Split. The ruins of palace, built between the late 3rd and the early 4th centuries A.D., can be found throughout the city. Today the remains of the palace are part of the historic core of Split, which in 1979 was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
While it is referred to as a 'palace' because of its intended use as the retirement residence of Diocletian, the term can be misleading as the structure is massive and more resembles a large fortress: about half of it was for Diocletian's personal use, and the rest housed the military garrison.
Architecture
The palace has a form of an irregular rectangle with numerous towers on the western, northern, and eastern facades.