Parish of St. Elijah the Prophet
Description
The Parish Church of St. Prophet Elijah dominates Kiseljak from the hill on which it stands - and that view of the town and surroundings says everything about the importance this parish has had for the Catholics of Kiseljak since 1876. The first church, built in 1895 to the design of the famous architect Josip Vancaš, served the faithful for almost a century, and in 1984 it gave way to the modern church by architect Antun Karavanić - an attractive building of 450 m², with a crypt, a religious education hall, and a bell tower with three bells.
The interior is decorated with the Stations of the Cross made by Karavanić himself, and in 2004 stained-glass windows by academic painter Dražen Trogrlić were installed, depicting the Nativity and the Annunciation. The parish, which had only 768 believers in 1877, now numbers almost 5,500 - the living and growing heart of the Catholic community in Kiseljak.
The church and its location
The Church of Saint Elijah the Prophet is one of Kiseljak's most recognizable landmarks. Located on a hill above the town, its attractive modern architectural forms — the work of Antun Karavanić — are visible from all over the area and make it an easy landmark for visitors.
The modern church was built in 1984 on the foundations of an older building from 1897, designed by Josip Vancaš, the author of a number of important sacred and public buildings in Bosnia and Herzegovina from the late Austro-Hungarian period.
Interior and artistic heritage
The church interior has been enriched with works by contemporary Bosnian artists. In 2004, academic painter Dražen Trogrlić installed stained-glass windows depicting the Nativity and the Annunciation, giving the church a new artistic identity that continues the tradition of the earlier altar from the Tyrolean workshop of F. Stuflesser.
The Way of the Cross in the church is the work of Antun Karavanić (1998/99), the architect who also designed the church itself, making it a complete and unified work by a single author.
