A single-nave stone pilgrim Church of Saint Mary of the Snows, which was built (on the foundations of the previous church) by the masters Tomaž Škorja and Kiče in 1665 can be viewed on the Gradišče Hill. The church was supposedly constructed on top of a prehistoric fort and this is also the place where a pagan temple stood before.
Many legends revolve around the construction of this church.
One legend is similar to the story of the construction of the church in Rome in the 4th century: the Pope and a rich Roman Ivan supposedly dreamt on the same night that Mary ordered them to construct a church on the spot where snow would fall on the 5th of August. Legend goes that on that day it did indeed snow on the spot in which the church is located today and this is the reason locals constructed the church in this spot.
A different legend tells the story of the Holy Mother walking through Podgorje Karst, when she stopped on the hill and made herself known to the people. In memory of this event, a footprint supposedly remained imprinted in the stone on the road in the middle of the hill – this footprint is visible to this day.
The church played an important role during the time of the Turkish invasions, when locals surrounded it with a defensive wall. In 1663, a presbytery was added to the church and two years later another church nave was added.
You can also admire the Baroque single-nave Church of St Paul (built in 1663) at the graveyard, surrounded by a stone wall and a Baroque portal. The church has a chapel, a vestry with a Gothic arched presbytery and an Aquileia-type bell tower. A panel with the inscription 1663 is featured on the wall of the presbytery.
