Svetvinčenat, Chapel of St. Catherine

The Chapel of St. Catherine was built in the 15^th century at the southern entrance to Svetvinčenat. This single-nave church with an inscribed rectangular-plan apse ends in a flat end wall. The nave of the church is covered with a wooden roof structure, while the apsidal space is vaulted with a pointed vault. The facade of the church is adorned with a bell gable and a porch, which was added in 1704.

The interior of the church is covered with frescoes dating from the first quarter of the 15^th century. The Annunciation scene is placed on the triumphal arch, while the Imago Pietatis scene stands out on the end wall. The vault of the sanctuary is decorated with depictions of saints set within niches. The lateral wall surfaces are filled with a cycle of the Legend of St. Catherine, which begins with the scene of her conversion on the southern wall. The lower zone of the walls is decorated with a series of half-length depictions of prophets in medallions with a painted velarium beneath them.

Conservation and restoration research identified the activities of two painting workshops. The older one executed the paintings on the northern wall, while the more recent one took over the previously established iconography and arrangement of scenes. During this process, it was also determined that the Imago Pietatis depiction covers an older, currently barely legible layer.

The frescoes were discovered by Anton Gnirs in 1911, and in the same year, he reported on them in the Vienna yearbook for the research and preservation of artistic and historical monuments.

Iconographic program:

Eastern wall: 1–2 Annunciation, 3 Two Female Saints, 4 Two Saints, 5 Imago Pietatis. Southern wall: 6 The Conversion of Saint Catherine, 7 The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine, 8 Saint Catherine in the Temple Arguing Against the Worship of Idols, 13 Prophets. Northern wall: 9 Saint Catherine Tortured on the Wheel, 10 The Beheading of Saint Catherine, 11 Scene from the Legend of Saint Catherine, 12 Prophets.