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Library
Five thousand volumes of historical holdings, twenty-one incunabula and shelves of leather-bound spines, lit only by daylight from a single window.
On the library
Five thousand volumes, quietly breathing
The monastery has had a library from its very beginnings. It grew significantly in 1786, when the books of the recently dissolved Capuchin monastery in Kranj were added. Today it holds about 5,000 volumes of historical holdings with the status of a cultural monument and 21 incunabula; the oldest dates from 1473.
Among its most precious printings are Dalmatin’s Bible (1584), Megiser’s quadrilingual dictionary (1592), Valvasor’s Glory of the Duchy of Carniola (1689) and the Sacred Manual of Janez Svetokriški.
“Many of the books are bound in leather, others in parchment with Latin manuscripts — among them even a few in Glagolitic.”
On the Church of St. Anne
Humility as a principle
The Church of St. Anne is a typical example of Capuchin building: a simple single-nave space with two chapels, a monastic choir behind the main altar and an atrium with a cloister in front. Everything must remain within the bounds of simplicity; the altars are wooden, made from materials that were close at hand.
After the latest restoration (1996–1998) the altars are once again in their original natural oak and walnut with gilded capitals. In the Marian chapel you will see a copy of the famous Cranach Mary, Help of Christians, whom the people of Škofja Loka chose as patroness of their town in 1750.
On the monastery and the Passion Play
From these walls a passion play arose
From the devotion of the Loka Capuchins and the Confraternity of the Most Holy Sacrament was born the celebrated Good Friday Passion procession. Its text was written in 1721 by the Capuchin Father Romuald Marušič — today the oldest surviving dramatic text in the Slovene language.
The original manuscript of the Passion is a precious treasure of the monastic archive and the foundation of the modern Škofja Loka Passion Play, inscribed on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage. In the exhibition rooms you can see it together with the reliefs by Vinko Mohorčič and a documentary film.
Modern performances
Every six years the town comes alive
The modern Škofja Loka Passion Play was revived in 1999, with subsequent productions in 2000, 2009, 2015 and 2026. The 2026 production was the first to take place as part of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list, on which the play has been inscribed since 2016.
Nearly 1,000 actors and more than 1,300 volunteers took part in the 2026 production. A circular procession through the old town led past four venues where 20 scenes were performed. The performances ran from 21 March to 12 April, directed by Marcelo Brula.
The next performance will take place in 2032 — productions now follow a six-year cycle.
