The Carthusian monastery at Bistra, in the pro-ximity of Ljubljana, acquired estates in Koper and in the Koper district in the years 1307–1353. Based on an analysis of documents from the archives of the Commune of Koper, which had not been available between 1944 and 2016, as well as on the basis of a collection of documents from the Bistra Carthusian Monastery and other sources, it was discovered that the estate in que-stion was one of at least nineteen similar estates of monasteries from the nearby dioceses, fi rst and foremost from the Venetian Lagoon. Having been a crossroads of routes between Venice, Carniola, and Hungary, Koper was a large, vibrant and prosperous commercial centre at the time. Its nobility had hegemonic tendencies in Istria in the 13th century. The Bistra Carthusian Mona-stery enjoyed the support of the nearby nobility and the Counts of Gorizia, with whom Koper had particular relations. Following the Venetian submission of Koper in 1279, the introduction of the Bistra Carthusian Monastery to the Koper district was a political project of the highest ranks of Koper’s nobility, who sought to introduce the Carthusian order from their local environment, the Aquileian ecclesiastical province, alongside other numerous monasteries from elsewhere.
|
