THE PRESENTATION OF MOST NA SOČI AND THE PARISH OF ST. LUCY THE HISTORY OF THE TOWN AND CHURCH

Dear visitors, Most na Soči is located on a rocky crest above the confluence of two rivers, the Soča and the Idrijca, and next to the accumulation lake for the Doblar Hydro Plant. The town has only been known as Most na Soči since 1952. Before that it was called Sveta Lucija (St. Lucy) after its patroness, who the church here is dedicated to. Some people disliked the name because it belonged to a Christian martyr from the 3rd century. As a result the name was changed into Lucija  first and then into Most na Soči, the name that is still used today.

Sveta Lucija was one of the most important prehistoric settlements in Slovenia, which is proved by rich archaeological finds. The settlement was established between the 8th and 4th century BC (Early Iron Age) and according to the finds it wasn’t a small one. The priest Tomaž Rutar was the first one to collect these remains of the past, keep them and write about them in the 19th century. Archaeologists started to explore the burial grounds systematically as early as 1884. Until this day, 6570 graves and 35 houses and workshops have been found. The stone foundations of a Roman house can be seen in the more recent part of Most na Soči.

The first church of St. Maurus (sv. Maver) was first mentioned in 1192 and is now a cemetery church. A desire to form their own parish, independent from the parish of Volče, grew as the number of inhabitants increased. In 1584 an application was filed to get the permission to build a new church in Most na Soči. They got the consent (the document is still preserved) and only 6 years later the first holy mass was said in the new church. It was dedicated to St. Lucy and consecrated in 1612 (as we can read on the stone built into the front of the church).

During the First World War, in September 1915, all of the interior and part of the ceiling were destroyed. After the war they renovated the altar, the organ loft, the benches and the organ. In 1927 the painter and sculptor Tone Kralj started planning the complete restoration of the church. He painted St. Valentine first (the right altar), continuing by painting a picture of Mary (the left altar) in 1928 and in 1929 a picture of St. Lucy for the main altar. He went on restoring and painting the church 10 years later, in 1939. He painted the glorification of the church’s patroness on the ceiling of the presbytery in the autumn of 1939. He went on to paint the 12 Apostles, the 4 Evangelists and the brothers Cyril and Method above the columns and the arches. The Italian authority didn’t like  the angels depicted in red, blue and white – the colours of the Slovene flag. To avoid being exiled Kralj went to Venice to study architecture and it was there that he painted 8 oil paintings from the life and martyrdom of St. Lucy (1940) and 14 paintings presenting the Way of the Cross. The statues in the church were also made by Kralj. There is a statue of the Good Shepherd above the left confessional box and a statue of the Merciful God above the right one. One the left side of the nave you can see a statue of St. Ana with Mary, while the Heart of Jesus is on the right hand side. Shortly before he died, Kralj remade the communion table into a new altar, ambon and a pedestal for the Easter candle with the crussified and risen Jesus. After the painter’s death in 1975 the paintings were restored.