St. Leonard's Church

The parish church of St. Leonard in Kropa is thought to have been built on the order of Lenart Kazianer, the purchaser of the Radovljica Waldenburgh estate (now, Lipnica Castle). The church can be reached from a number of directions. The easiest access is on the path that leads steeply up the slope opposite the Vigenjc vice forge.

The exterior

The exterior appearance of the church is basically gothic, though it has been remodelled several times. The church's facade features high quality stone and cast iron tombstones as well as a memorial plaque dedicated to the victims of World War I. Next to the church is a cemetery that is adorned by wrought iron crosses and numerous wrought iron and stone gravestones.

The interior

The church boasts five altars. The niche of the main altar features a statue of St. Leonard, as well as a picture of him dating from 1874, the work of Henrika Langus. The altar painting of the Immaculate Mary was painted by the best-known female Slovene painter, Ivana Kobilica, in 1895. The side altars of St. Joseph and Ecco Homo contain pictures by Matevž Langus from nearby Kamna Gorica, whose paintings also feature in the niches of the altars and the painting on the altar table.

There are a further two altars in the side chapels. The painting on the altar of St. Cross is the work of the Tyrolean artist Ferdinand Stuffesser. The painting in the altar of the Mother of God was painted by Jožef Šubic in 1898. The late-Baroque pulpit with a painting of the Sermon on the Mount is the work of the Layer workshop from Kranj.

The church also contains paintings by Leopold Layer, Janez Potočnik, Matija Bradaška and Miha Maleš. The interior of the church has numerous wrought iron features, the work of the local blacksmiths Joža Šolar and Joža Bertoncelj.