I have visited all of Slovenia’s major monasteries. Pleterje is hauntingly beautiful but closed to the public. Žiča and Jurklošter are atmospheric ruins. Olimje is lovely but small and quiet. Stična is something else entirely.
Stična is alive. Ten white monks and three abbots still live and work here, following the same Cistercian rule that brought the first monks to this valley in 1132. There is a museum, a herbal pharmacy, a shop, and a basilica that still serves as a parish church. Every time I visit — with my family or during a photography workshop — we leave feeling we experienced something real, not just a monument to the past.
The History of Stična Abbey
Founded in 1132, Stična Abbey is the oldest monastery in Slovenia. The first Cistercian monks arrived from Burgundy, France, and within a few years built what would become one of the most important religious and cultural centres of medieval Carniola. The monastery ran farms, fishponds, a winery, and a scriptorium producing illuminated manuscripts from the 12th century onward. The most celebrated of these, the Stična Manuscript of 1428, is one of the first written texts in the Slovenian language.
The monastery also operated a music school — the Renaissance composer Jacobus Gallus is believed to have studied here as a boy.
Ottoman raids burned and looted the complex twice in the 15th and 16th centuries. Then in 1784, Emperor Joseph II dissolved it entirely. For 114 years, the monastery stood empty. The White Monks finally returned in 1898 and have been here ever since.
The Cistercian Monk Order
The Cistercians — the White Monks — take their name from Cîteaux (Cistercium) in Burgundy, France, where the order was founded in 1098. Their guiding principle is Ora et Labora: pray and work. Less ornamentation, less wealth, more discipline than the Benedictines they split from.
The order spread rapidly across 12th-century Europe, and Stična was part of that wave. Today, it remains the only functioning Cistercian monastery in Slovenia. What I find compelling about the Cistercians is that balance between contemplation and hands-on work — the monks at Stična still keep bees, tend gardens, and produce the herbal remedies made famous by the legendary herbalist Father Simon Ašič, whose recipes are still sold from the abbey pharmacy today.
The Architecture of the Abbey
Stična is effectively a thousand-year walk through European architectural history. Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Plečnik — all layered on top of each other as the monastery was built, burned, rebuilt, and renovated across the centuries.
The basilica, consecrated before 1156, is the oldest part. Originally a three-nave Romanesque structure with tufa stone walls, it was thoroughly Baroquified in 1622 — vaulted ceilings, stucco decoration, frescoes on the dome. Fourteen Stations of the Cross by the painter Fortunat Bergant (1766) and a tabernacle by Jože Plečnik (1954) round out the interior.
The cloister is, for me, the highlight. Four vaulted Gothic passages around a peaceful garden, with 14th-century frescoes on the vaults depicting Old and New Testament scenes alongside mythological subjects. The stonework is extraordinary — one of the finest Gothic cloisters in the country.
The dining hall, entrance tower, old and new prelature, and the Rococo abbot’s chapel complete a complex that rewards slow exploration.
Visiting the Abbey
Stična is about 35 km southeast of Ljubljana — a straightforward 40-minute drive. A perfect half-day trip.
Always accessible: The outer courtyard, the basilica, and the herbal pharmacy and shop are free and open without booking. The pharmacy alone is worth the stop — honey, herbal teas, tinctures, and liqueurs made by the monks, all based on Father Simon Ašič’s centuries-old recipes. Everyone in my workshops ends up buying something.
Guided tour required: The cloister, chapter house, and museum interiors require a ticket through the Slovene Museum of Christianity. Two permanent exhibitions cover the abbey’s 900-year history and the story of Christianity in Slovenia. Entry is €7 for adults, free on the first Sunday of each month. If you are here for the architecture and art, the tour is absolutely worth it — the cloister alone justifies the price.
If you are lucky, the old dining hall is not regularly open to visitors, but occasionally, you get a glimpse. I have managed it twice. The vaulted ceiling, the long stone tables, the carved lavabo — it is one of those spaces that makes nine centuries feel very close.
Photos of Stična Abbey
Photography at Stična Abbey
Stična is a rewarding photography destination. The variety of subjects in a compact space is exceptional. Here are a few tips that will help you get the most out of your visit.
Go wide. The basilica is 62 metres long, and the cloister geometry rewards a wide perspective. I shot with a 14–30mm lens (full frame) for most interior work. Stand in a corner of the cloister and let the arches recede into the frame — that shot never gets old.
Shoot handheld. A tripod feels intrusive in a living monastery, and modern stabilized cameras handle the light levels easily. I shoot on a Nikon Z system and work comfortably at 1/30s or slower. Raise the ISO without fear.
Work the variety — wide architecture shots in the basilica and cloister, close details on Bergant’s Stations of the Cross and the fresco fragments, the human element if monks happen to cross the cloister. And do not forget the exterior — the fortified walls and entrance tower from a slight distance make a strong establishing shot.
Photography is permitted throughout the public areas and inside the basilica. Be respectful during services; put the camera down and just be there.
Final Thoughts
Stična is not just a photography location. The quiet here fills the soul, the history seeps in gradually — a fresco, a worn stone floor, the smell of beeswax and herbs — and by the time you leave, you have absorbed more than you realize. It is a perfect addition to exploring Slovenia, especially if you look beyond the obvious highlights and crowded viewpoints.
On my photography workshops in Slovenia and across the Balkans, we always make room for places like this — insider destinations that most tourists never find. Small groups, real places, unhurried pace. Have a look at esenkoworkshops.com.
