The CHURCH OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST is a succursal church and belongs to the Hrušica Parish. The stone vault of the presbytery bears the year 1646, indicating that the church was built in the second quarter of the 17th century. This is the oldest part of the church. The portal of the church bears 1693 which is the year the church was built.
The main baroque altar is made of white and grey marble. It is dedicated to St. John the Evangelist – the patron of the village. The main altar is flanked by statues of St. Peter and St. Paul.
The side altar is decorated with statues of St. Sebastian, whose body is pierced with arrows, and St. Roch in pilgrim's clothes, with a dog.
According to the oldest Javorje villagers, where the side altar stands today was once a side chapel which was demolished and whose stones were used for other purposes. The remains of the stone vault of the chapel are still visible. The church also features an ornate holy water font showing the year 1694.
The belfry was built by a master artisan from Pregarje (Šemkov) who also built several belfries in Brkini. The church had previously had a bell cote. The current belfry has three storeys. Unfortunately, the church witnessed the fate of many churches in the Littoral. The Italians confiscated two of the three bells. In 1996, the villagers bought a new bell and added it to the old one from 1920. The roof of the church was renovated and a new choir was built in the interior. A few years ago, we celebrated the church’s venerable 300th anniversary.
SIGNS (CROSSES OR »BUGCI«) AND SHRINES
• CROSS NEAR THE CEKOVI FAMILY HOUSE
• CROSS AT RAVNE
• CROSS NEAR THE URHOVI FAMILY HOUSE
• SHRINE IN JEZERINA (POGORANOVI'S SHRINE).
It was erected by the Pogoranovi family when their son went off to war.
MILLS IN THE JEZERINA BLIND VALLEY The village lies on flysch soil and is abundant with water. The Jezerina blind valley lies where the flysch meets limestone. Once the place was very lively as the valley had six homesteads and each of them operated a mill. The locals from this part of the valley are still called “Malnarji” (millers) today. In administrative terms, five homesteads belong to Javorje and one to the neighbouring village of Kovčice. The mills were named: Štefanov, Pogoranov, Pitančov, Torkov and Pešnov. The Krkovčev mill belonged to Kovčice. In the 1950s, all of the mills gradually ceased operating after the owners were unable to pay the high taxes imposed on them. Some homesteads are still standing but there are barely any traces of the mills.
VIDANCA WELL Older Javorje villagers are convinced that there is an underground lake beneath the church. That is where the icy cold water in the Vidanca well springs from, and it has never run dry. The Javorje villagers believe that the water from this well has healing properties and, in the summer heat, they often drink water from the well to quench their thirst. In 2007, the villagers renovated the well with a new stone wall. A trough for cattle was built a few metres from the well. A popular, non-registered walking trail leads past the well.
WELLS NEAR “LIPCA” AND IN “VRTIŠČA” They both feature a semi-circular stone vault. Water can be accessed after a few steps. The villagers used the wells to supply fresh water to their households.
CATTLE TROUGHS: A small and a large trough at the southern end of the village.
PERILO STREAM In the past, women did their laundry in the Perilo stream.
POND FOR CATTLE There used to be five ponds in the village and around it, which have all been filled. The ponds were always a lively place as the village cattle drank water or cooled down in them. On warm summer evenings, the croaking of frogs was a frequent sound around the ponds.