History

The Memorial Church of the Holy Spirit in Javorca, dedicated to the fallen Austro-Hungarian defenders of the Tolmin battlefield on the Isonzo front (1915–1917), was constructed in 1916.

In 1934, the church in Javorca was renovated for the first time by Italian military units.

In 1962, the Institute for Preservation of Monuments from Nova Gorica implemented the first temporary measures in order to protect the building.

In 1963, the Municipal People’s Council of Tolmin formed a commission for the restoration of the church in Javorca.

After five years, the raised resources allowed somewhat extensive restoration activities to be performed under the leadership of architect Janez Suhadolc. Unfortunately, the resources were insufficient to perform all of the foreseen restoration interventions.

In 1976, the building was additionally damaged by the earthquake.

The second comprehensive renovation of the church, which was left to decay for a number of years, took place between 1980 and 1982.

When the renovation activities were finished, a special ceremony was organized in Javorca on May 29, 1983.

In 1998, the entire area was damaged by the Easter earthquake which did not spare the Church of the Holy Spirit in Javorca either.

In 1999, the Church of the Holy Spirit in Javorca was declared a cultural monument of national importance.

The post-earthquake restoration of the building took place in 2004 and 2005. This was the third comprehensive renovation of this memorial church.

As the most magnificent monument of World War I in the territory of the Republic of Slovenia, the Memorial Church of the Holy Spirit in Javorca received the European Heritage Sign in 2007 – the first recognition of European relevance.

The formal unveiling of the European Heritage Label took place on May 18, 2007.

In 2016, the church celebrated the one hundredth anniversary of its construction and received higher visibility.

In October, 2017, the bell tower had to be restored due to water damage.

In the beginning of 2018, the Memorial Church of the Holy Spirit officially joined other pearls of European heritage emphasising common European values because it officially received the European Heritage Label by the European Commission.