The first staircase was built in 1757 imitating the Holy Staircase in Rome. During World War I it was completely destroyed.

The present-day stairs were conceived by the architect Ivan Vurnik in 1931. In World War II the steps were damaged for the second time and restored in 1954.

In the centre of each of the 28 steps is embedded a relic. At the top of the steps there is a Holy Sepulchre with the statue of Jesus, an altar table, and a fresco of the insulted Jesus painted by Tone Kralj in 1966.