Parish church in Ljutomer and Early Baroque sacral architecture in Prlekija

Abstract

The article presents the Baroque architectural phase of the parish church in Ljutomer, the nave of which was constructed between 1688 and 1690 by the very prolific master mason from Leibniz (Lipnica), Jakob Schmerleib. The church has a three-nave structure, with its origins in Late Gothic architecture. The master mason was probably sent to Ljutomer by the owner of the seigniory Branek, Thomas Ignaz Maurer von Mauerburg, a member of the highest elite in Graz. Although the church is not the first Early Baroque sacral building in Prlekija, it boasts the most complex architecture amidst the predominantly single-nave, multi-bay counterparts. Early Baroque sacral architecture in the area emerged at a relatively late stage, about 1674 (churches in Cezanjevci, Velika Nedelja, and Stara Gora at Sveti Jurij ob Ščavnici). By the end of the seventeenth century, nearly all of the important sacral buildings in Prlekija were rebuilt or newly constructed in the Baroque style.