Church of Saint Egidius

There are seven churches preserved from the past in the Osilnica Valley, and each one is something special. The oldest church is the Church of Saint Egidius in Ribjek, whose main altar bears the year 1681. The church was built at the turn of the 16th to 17th century in the late Renaissance style. As the construction was gradual, the interior decoration is mostly Baroque. The main altar was erected at the time of the church’s construction, while the two side altars were built later, in 1697.The exterior of the church is richly decorated with sewn borders, painted window spandrels, consecration crosses and remains of frescoes. The fully preserved late Renaissance architecture is enriched by high-quality early Baroque furnishings such as Baroque altars, a pulpit and a painted coffered wooden ceiling in the nave. The church is also adorned with a bell tower on a horsetail roof covered with shingles, which is quite unusual for this area. There is also a cemetery next to the church. As a curiosity, the church stands on the line connecting the petrified Man at the foot of the Loška Wall and the Mother of God on the Holy Mountain. The church, with its patron Saint Egidius, reminds us of the fear, trembling and threats of the time (the Turkish threat, folk tales about the petrified Man – a hunter and his family who went hunting on the feast of the Mother of God…).

The tour takes about 15 minutes and costs € 1 per person.

The Legend of the Man and Baba

A person who is at home here or who comes here as a tourist, gazes at the mighty and majestic Loška Wall, which rises like an outgrowth of Knez’s tail above Ložec. The locals will tell you a lot about the individual parts of the wall (such as the Clock), but most of all, of course, about the Man. The following story is about him. Once upon a time there was a family in Ribjek: a husband, wife and three children. The husband was a passionate hunter who often went hunting. The wife was at home, looking after the family, the home and the small farm. So one day, it was a Sunday, a big holiday, and the husband went hunting early in the morning. He had been watching, stalking and waiting for game for quite some time. He had already climbed high up the wall, but he had not tracked anything, let alone shot. It was as if it was not the right day to hunt, as if something had conspired against him. There is not an animal in sight, everything has gone into hiding. He grew impatient and his anger grew. How could he get home without prey? It would be too great a shame for him. The morning was already running out, the sun was high, and he had not yet fired a shot! Meanwhile, his wife, who had tidied up everything at home in the morning and taken care of the children, was already hurrying along the ridge above Ribjeko, carrying food for her husband so that he would not go hungry. The bigger children also got tired of being alone and followed their mother. Only the smallest one stayed in the cradle. In the silence and beauty of the valley, one could feel the festivity of the day when other people went on pilgrimage. Only our family ignored it. The sun was highest in the sky, the clock in the wall showed noon and then the bell on the Holy Mountain rang. The familiar sound of the St. George’s bell could be heard far away, all the way to our hunter, who could no longer control his anger. When he heard the bell of the Church of Our Lady of the Holy Mountain, he grabbed his rifle and pointed it at the Holy Mountain and fired. For the first and last time that day. Why, in an instant, he was petrified, his faithful wife, who brought him food, and the two children, who wanted to be with their parents. God’s punishment for man’s vices and pride, folk wisdom says. The stone pillars – the needles that have survived to this day – bear silent witness that this was indeed the case. A man is on a ledge below the top of the Loka Wall. It has become one of the symbols of the valley. In the middle of the ridge, starting above Ribjeko, in the middle of a pine grove, there is a woman (popularly Baba) and below her a child. Only the baby in the cradle escaped perdition. Going along the road from Stari Malnovi towards Ribjek, a beautiful view of the Loška Wall opens up before us, with the Man taking us all over. With a little imagination, the legend of the Man will come to life.