The Socerb Castle

We will begin our trip by visiting Socerb Castle which is situated near the homonymous village and offers a beautiful view of the Gulf of Trieste. Due to its excellent strategic position, the castle was very important already in the Middle Ages. Nearby there is also a cave, known as Holy Cave, which in the entrance hall contains the only underground shrine in Slovenia. A legend says that the cave was once inhabited by a hermit, Saint Servulus, who after becoming a Christian lived there for two years.

Hrastovlje Church of the Holy Trinity

We will then continue our trip towards the Mediterranean village of Hrastovlje, best known for the Church of the Holy Trinity, which contains a late-medieval Danse Macabre fresco. The church was built in the 13th century and is embraced by the encampment wall and two fortified towers from the 16th century. During Ottoman and Uskoks invasions the settlement represented a safe retreat for the local people. The interior of the church is decorated by frescoes and Glagolitic inscriptions. The frescoes depict the creation of the world, the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden, the Passion of the Christ, people working on a farm, and the most famous sequence called the Dance of Death. The church was painted in 1490 by the inscribed artist Janez of Kastav and the images were discovered in 1951 by the local painter Jože Pohlen. The church is inscribed in the World Heritage List.