A Romanesque predecessor was first mentioned in 1262 and refurbished in Gothic form after a fire in 1361. The church became a cathedral when the Diocese of Ljubljana was founded in 1461. The Baroque rebuilding was planned from 1700 and built from 1701 to 1706, with consecration on May 8, 1707.
The original plan was by the Capuchin friar Florentianus Ponnensis, and the Jesuit Andrea Pozzo revised it in 1701 as a domed basilica. Pozzo did not supervise construction, and builders including Francesco Bombasi changed the design significantly. The two belfries, built in 1705 and 1706, resemble those of Salzburg Cathedral. The octagonal dome is listed at 79 feet (24 m) high.
Giulio Quaglio painted frescoes in 1703 to 1706 and again in 1721 to 1723, and Matevž Langus painted the dome in 1843 and 1844. The bronze doors of 1996 mark 1250 years of Christianity in Slovenia.
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