Year of foundation: 1721

Last performance: 2021

Next performance: 2026

Playing interval: Every 6 years

Performances per interval: 8

Venue type: Outdoor

Number of contributors: 1200

Website: www.pasijon.si

E-Mail: info@pasijon.si

Škofja Loka Passion Play

The Škofja Loka Passion Play – PROCESSIO LOCOPOLITANA is an open air performance, which was, according to the records, staged for the first time in 1721 by the Capuchin Lovrenc Marúšič, with the religious name of Romuald. Almost 300 years later, it still conveys a relevant message about the transcendental meaning of human existence. The performance bears a distinct stamp of the Baroque style. The precious manuscript is preserved in the Capuchin Monastery Library at Škofja Loka, where a museum has been dedicated to the Škofja Loka Passion Play as well. This manuscript is the oldest fully preserved "director’s book” for any dramatic text in Europe, which sets the Škofja Loka Passion Play apart as unique.
The Škofja Loka Passion Play is a penitential Passion procession containing 13 tableaux, which tell the story of mankind from Adam and Eve to the Passion of Christ and his death on the cross. For the 1999 and 2000 performances, a reconstruction of the ancient procession was staged by the then director Marjan Kokalj, who arranged the original 13 tableaux into 20 scenes. From a liturgical perspective, the Škofja Loka Passion Play portrays Christ’s Passion, in word and action, as the course of events extending from Palm Sunday to the end of Good Friday.
The Škofja Loka Passion Play with the participation of almost 800 amateur actors, including over 80 horsemen, is simultaneously performed on four locations in the ancient town centre.