Cisterscapes, cultural landscape of the Cistercians

About the international Cisterscapes project and the award of the European Heritage Label:

In 2019, with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, the Božidar Jakac Art Museum in Kostanjevica na Krki and the Slovene Museum of Christianity from Stična have joined the international project Cisterscapes – Cistercian Landscapes Connecting Europe, which aims to connect and preserve the cultural landscapes and heritage of the Cistercians in Europe. The project involves a network of seventeen participating institutions in active or former Cistercian monasteries from six European countries: Germany, France, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia. The criteria for participation in the project were the scientific comparability and the coherence of the monasteries towards the eastern extension of the Morimond and Clairvaux lines and their early foundation (12th or early 13th century). The decisive factor was the preservation, at least in part, of the cultural landscape with visible structures around the individual monasteries, and sufficient access to historical sources and archival documents. The existing tourist infrastructure and the openness of the monasteries to the public were also important criteria.

Cistercian landscapes are a special example of a historic cultural landscape, defined as the joint work of man and nature, created throughout history. Cultural landscapes represent the most comprehensive level of tangible cultural heritage in terms of heritage conservation, as they can also include all other heritage groups: monuments, villages, towns and open countryside. Cistercian landscapes reflect the settlement policy of the Cistercians, the forms and techniques of land use for agricultural and economic purposes, and their adaptation to natural conditions and spiritual guidelines.

Historic cultural landscapes are also a vehicle of history and identity for the local people of these areas today, even if these traces are often not recognised and no longer associated (by the locals) with the Cistercian monasteries. The subjugation of space by the Cistercian Order is still clearly visible today in many related elements of landscapes across Europe and forms an interesting historical memory of past centuries when, before the emergence of politico-economic alliances such as the European Union, it was the networks of contemplative religious orders and their outposts that linked Europe transnationally.

The goals of the project are to promote knowledge of the Cistercian cultural landscape through a common database, a website and an application for a transnational hiking trail.

The exhibition will also be on display at the Museum of Christianity in Slovenia next year from 18 September to 21 December 2025.

About the exhibition:

The joint panel exhibition at the Božidar Jakac Art Museum – Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art offers an insight into the cultural landscape of both Cistercian monasteries, the former one in Kostanjevica na Krki and the still functioning one in Stična. After a general introduction on the history of the Cistercian Order and the two monasteries in Slovenia, the main features of the Cistercian cultural landscape are presented in thematic sections: farm and defence buildings, viticulture, granges, milling, manors and castles, churches, ponds and forestry. Data on the elements of the cultural landscape were collected over the years and entered into an international online database, which served as the basis for the thematic clusters. The exhibition is complemented by museum objects and replicas related to the two monasteries. The exhibition will also be on display at the Slovene Museum of Christianity next year from 18 September to 21 December 2025.

The organisers of the exhibition are the Božidar Jakac Art Museum – Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and the Slovene Museum of Christianity.

Exhibition curators: Kristina T. Simončič, Simon Vidic