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Please
disseminate attached proposal to all subjects in charge of the protection
of cultural heritage. Mentioned
proposal, initially prepared for UNESCO's Preliminary List for The List
of World Heritage, contains the data of the most significant monument sites
on the Kosovo and Metohija which MUST BE PROTECTED IMMEDIATELY !!!
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See
also http://www.heritage.org.yu/kosov.htm
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PROPOSAL
FOR THE PRELIMINARY LIST OF
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FEDERAL
REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA
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(To be added to the existing
List, submitted on 1993)
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NAME OF COUNTRY:
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Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
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LIST DRAWN UP BY:
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Institute for the Protection
and Preservation of Monuments of Culture of Republic of Serbia
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DATE: 23 February 1999
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NAME OF PROPERTY:
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HISTORIC MONUMENTS OF KOSOVO AND METOHIJA,
AUTONOMOUS PROVINCE OF REPUBLIC OF SERBIA (DISTRICTS: PEC, PRIZREN AND
PRISTINA)
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JUSTIFICATION OF "OUTSTANDING
UNIVERSAL VALUE":
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Criteria met: 24 (a) (ii), (iv), (vi)
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(b) (i), (ii)
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- Assurance of authenticity
or integrity:
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The immobile cultural property
of the Metohija Region is protected under the Law on
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Cultural Property adopted by
the Assembly of the Republic of Serbia (Official Gazette of
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the Republic of Serbia No. 71
from 1994), and is categorised according to the Decision on
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the Identification of Immobile
Cultural Property of Outstanding Value (Official Gazette of
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SR Serbia Nos. 25 and 16 from
1990).
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I DISTRICT OF PEC
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GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION:
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* Municipalities of Decani,
Pec, Klina, Istok, Srbica
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* Kosovo and Metohija
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* Southern Serbia
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DESCRIPTION
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The central part of the Metohija
valley which comprises the upper section of the Beli Drim river drainage
area is a fertile plain inhabited even in prehistoric times and Antiquity,
which came to prominence when at the end of the 13th century the seat of
the autonomous Serbian Church was transferred to Pec with the strengthening
of the Serbian medieval state and its expansion towards the southern parts
of the Balkan peninsula. The Pec Patriarchate and Decani have been in existence
since the 14th century as two major ecclesiastical seats in Metohija and
their building was accompanied by the erection of a large number of other
sacral monuments of outstanding value (Budisavci, Djurakovac, Crkolez,
the Belodrim monuments), mainly as the estates of the mentioned monasteries
which governed the monastic life of this region, or as foundations of the
Serbian nobility. Turkish rule in the Balkans did not affect construction
activity and painting which continued unabated led by Pec and Decani as
constantly active and powerful strongholds of Orthodoxy. A large number
of smaller churches and monasteries (the Belodrim monuments, Gorioc) were
erected or restored in parallel. The oldest examples of folk architecture
in Serbia - traditionally linked to the main centres of church life in
Metohija - have been preserved precisely in this area and date back to
the 18th century (Gorazdevac, Locane). In addition to numerous remains
of churches with graveyards, the extensive medieval architectural activity
in this region is illustrated by numerous fortifications and hermitages
located mostly in inaccessible caves of the Rugova gorge while the past
two centuries are characterised by a widespread and very specific type
of secular architecture adapted to the geographical features of Metohija
and the way of life of most of its inhabitants (residential towers).
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COMPARISON WITH OTHER SIMILAR
PROPERTIES:
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In historic-artistic and religious
terms, the region of Metohija is eminently under the influence of two exceptional
ecclesiastical centres, the Monasteries of the Pec Patriarchate and Decani.
As architectural and painting masterpieces (in 1994 Decani was nominated
for inscription on the World Heritage List) they hallmarked not only the
creative endeavour of their epoch but also of centuries to come, their
activity in the period under Ottoman rule making them renowned centres
of spiritual life around which not only the Serbian people but also members
of other confessions rallied.
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1. VIRGIN HVOSTANSKA MONASTERY
- The Monastery of the Virgin Hvostanska is located at the foot of Mokra
Mountain, near the village of Vrelo, 20 km north of Pec. The three-nave
basilica with narthex built by mid-6th century belongs the early Byzantine
period. In the third decade of the 13th century, the church dedicated to
the Assumption was built on its foundations where the bishopric seat was
located. This was an one-nave edifice with the dome and altar apse, semi-circular
inside and rectangular outside. Two small churches, parecclesions, were
on the northern and southern sides of narthex and were, from the outside,
masked by the flatly built surface. Two towers were erected above them
which surpassed the dome of the shrine. The church belongs to the Raska
architecture. In mid-14th century, it was enlarged by an one-nave building
with the semi-circular apse on the eastern side and semi-oval dome. The
Bishophry of Hvosno became the diocese of a metropolitan in 1381. The second
part of the 16th century was the period of flourishing artistic activities
in the monastery and the last Metropolit Viktor was mentioned in 1635.
The monastery was deserted and began to decay most probably at the time
of Velika Seoba (Big Migration) in 1690. The ruins of the monastery complex
were explored in 1930 and from 1966 to 1970 when conservation works were
carried out on the remains of church, dormitories of the monks and a part
of the fortification.
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2. THE PATRIARCHATE OF PEC,
MONASTERY - The Monastery of the Patriarchate of Pec is located at
the very entrance of the Rugova gorge near Pec. The complex of the Pec
churches is the spiritual seat and mausoleum of Serbian archbishops and
patriarchs. The temple of Holy Apostles was built by Archbishop Arsenije
I in the third decade of the 13th century. He was also responsible for
the painting of the church around 1260. Archbishop Nikodim built the temple
of St. Demetrios next to the northern side of the church of Holy Apostles
between 1321 and 1324, while Archbishop Danilo II built the churches dedicated
to the Virgin Hodegetria and St. Nicholas on its southern side. He also
built the monumental narthex in the shape of a magnificent open porch in
front of the western facades of the churches of St. Demetrios, Holy Apostles
and Holy Virgin Hodegetria. At the time of Patriarch Makarije, the elegant
openings with dual arcades were walled up. An entire history of the styles
of medieval wall painting can be seen on the walls of the Pec churches.
The church of Holy Apostles was also decorated around 1300, then around
1350 and 1375 and twice in the 17th century. The church of St. Demetrios
was painted for the first time at the time of Patriarch Joakinije, around
1345, and the new layer of frescoes was painted by Georgije Mitrofanovic
around 1619-1620. The church of the Holy Virgin Hodegetria was painted
before 1337, while its narthex was painted in the 14th and 16th centuries.
The church of St. Nicholas was painted by painter Radul in 1673/1674. The
Monastery is under permanent conservation protection.
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3. DECANI MONASTERY -
The Monastery is the endowment and mausoleum of King Stephen Decanski,
whose son Dusan continued works on it after his father's death. The catholicon
dedicated to Christ Pantocrator was built by Father Vita from Kotor between
1327 and 1335, who clothed the ground plan and structure of an Orthodox
temple in a Romanesque rendition of the facades with many sculpted ornaments.
The frescoes have been almost completely preserved and contain over 1000
individual figures and scenes grouped into over twenty cycles representing
the largest preserved source of data on Byzantine iconography. Especially
interesting is a series of historical portraits and iconography of the
ruling dynasty. The iconostasis with the throne icons is original as are
most of the church’s mobile property. The Decani Treasury is the richest
in Serbia with about 60 icons from the 14th century to the 17th century,
old manuscripts and other liturgical objects. Unlike the church, almost
all the other buildings of the monastery have lost their original appearance.
Conservation works in the whole complex has been going on since the 1930s
on a continuous basis, primarily involving the occasional cleaning of the
frescoes and repairs of the substantially damaged stone facade and sculpted
stone elements. In 1994, the monument was nominated for inscription on
the List of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.
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4. DJURAKOVAC, CHURCH OF
ST. NICHOLAS - The little Djurakovac Church has one nave, semi-oval
vault, apse which is three-sided from outside and semi-circular inside
and the wooden narthex. It was built with trimmed and broken stone and
limestone soaked in mortar and the roof is covered with stone blocks. It
was erected on the foundations of an older building from the 14th century
which is evidenced by the tombstone of a Danilo, possibly a founder, from
1362. It was completely renewed by the villagers headed by priest Cvetko
in 1592 and was painted by "sinful Milija zugraf (painter)" as evidenced
by the inscription above the entrance to the naos. The paintings are of
average value for that age and were renewed in 1863. The architectural
renewal also included the erection of wooden narthex with the door decorated
with shallow relief with the inscriptions of the names of founders and
engravers. The roofs of narthex and altar are lower than the naos and the
floor of exonarthex is considerably below the level of soil. The shrine
belongs to the group of cemetery churches similar to those in the Beli
Drim valley and represents a rare combination of stone and wood. In its
interior, imperial gates built during the transition from the 16th century
to the 17th century are kept as well as four big icons from 1630 and the
manuscript Bogorodicnik (the book of poems about the Virgin) from the 16th
century. In the graveyard surrounding the church, in its older part which
stretches to the new one, the tombstone with a deer can be noticed. Conservation
works on the architecture, paintings and iconography took place in 1968.
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5. CRKOLEZ, CHURCH OF ST.
JOHN - The Church of St. John, built by 1355 on the old graveyard above
the village of Crkolez, is the endowment of landlord Radoslav (John as
monk), buried in the shrine. It was mentioned in the charter of nun Jevgenija
(Duchess Milica) in 1395 by which it was confirmed that Duke Novak and
his wife Vidosava presented the Church of St. John as a gift to the Monastery
of St. Panteleimon on Mt. Athos (Holy Mountain). The building is a typical
village one-nave church with narthex and semi-oval vault. The apse is five-sided
from outside and there is a modest rosette on the western facade carved
in the level of the surface of the wall. The paintings from the 14th century
were repainted in 1672/1673 by a new layer of the well preserved paintings
painted by Serbian most famous painter of the second half of the 17th century
named Radul during the rule of Patriarch Maksim. This can be seen by the
fresco-inscription on the southern window. Particularly interesting is
the detailed representation of the Last Judgment with many sinners, who
by their social status belong to the village environment, as well as believers.
The inscriptions are written in the folk language which is rare and is
a special value of this fresco entity. Eight icons and imperial gates from
the old iconostasis are preserved. An exceptionally valuable old collection
of manuscripts on parchment and paper dating from the 13th century to the
16th century was kept at Crkolez by 1955 to be moved to the Decani Treasury.
Conservation and restoration works on the paintings took place in 1972/1973.
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6. BUDISAVCI, CHURCH OF CHIRST’S
TRANSFIGURATION - The church dedicated to Christ’s Transfiguration
was built in the village of Budisavci, 17 km east of Pec, in the 14th century.
It is not known whether it was the endowment of a landowner or the founder
was King Milutin as can be assumed on the basis of the partially preserved
inscription on a stone tablet built in the eastern side of the apse. The
tradition even relates this shrine to the sister of King Stephen Decanski.
The edifice has exceptionally harmonious proportions, with the foundation
in the shape of equally-legged cross with the apse three-sided from outside,
dome and narthex which, originally, was lower than the existing one from
the 19th century. It was built by the alternate use of stone and brick
which was arranged in a decorative manner on certain parts. The original
paintings were completely destroyed and the church was partially in ruins.
The monastery was renewed in 1568 under Patriarch Makarije. That time left
us frescoes whose characteristic is a sure drawing and rich colours, while
the representation of founder Makarije certainly falls within the most
beautiful portraits of the Serbian painting of the 16th century. During
the following centuries, various interventions were carried out on the
Budisavci church as the metochion of the Patriarchate of Pec Monastery,
both on the church and other monastery buildings. The special treasure
of the Budisavci treasury is the icon of the patron saint of the shrine
from the end of the 14th century and the beginning of the 15th century.
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7. BELI DRIM MONASTERIES
AND CHURCHES - The part of the Beli Drim valley (whose administrative
seats today are Klina of Metohija and Malisevo) is an area whose material
traces of life can be reliably followed throughout the entire middle age
and the period of the Turkish rule in the Balkans. One of the first Serbian
local ascetics of the early 13th century, saint Petar Koriski, was born,
entered the monastic order and began his ascetic life precisely in that
area. In the Beli Drim basin, the monastic life in mid-14th century was
organized under the auspices of Decani (Dobra Voda, Dolac), while the rich
district villages (Cabici) belonged to the Decani lands. The mention of
their names in hrisovuljas (official documents with a gold seal), which
remained unchanged to the present date, is the best proof of the continuity,
intensive and creative life in this part of Metohija. Later on, in the
changed political and historical conditions, those activities did not lose
in their intesiveness. Adjusted to the new conditions, they were expressed
in more reduced forms and more modest artistic achievements of the local
founders, most frequently villagers of those villages (Drsnik, even two
churches in tiny Pogradje, as well as Kijevo and Mlecane, today in the
municipality of Malisevo). It is a noble task to preserve them, in their
diversity, for future generations.
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8. DOBRA VODA, MONASTERY
- The hardly accessible crest near the village of Dobra Voda (Unjemir)
over the Klina river is most probably the place where ascetic Petar Koriski
became a monk in the 13th century. An one-nave stone church of Sts. Peter
and Paul as a metochion of the Decani Monastery was erected there in the
1340s. It had the dome on free columns and the pairs of built semi-circular
niches on the lateral walls. Sculptural ornaments of stone basis and capitals
in the late Gothic style as well as the way it was built testify that it
was built by coastal masons. Painted fragments of three standing figures
are enough to claim that they were painted by the painters of such stylistic
orientation that represents the paintings of the Decani church. During
the great renewal in the second half of the 16th century the old church
was converted into narthex and enlarged by a modest one-nave church with
semi-circular apse, while a spacious storeyed exonarthex was added on its
western side. Wall paintings decorated only the apse and lunettes. At a
certain period of time, a monastery was built around the church which is
evidenced by the remains of massive walls, towers and entry gate. This
magnificent edifice with the layers representing many ages is today in
ruins and minor conservation works took place in 1966-1967.
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9. DOLAC, CHURCH OF THE PRESENTATION
OF THE VIRGIN - According to archeological data, there was a monastery
on the elevation above the village of Dolac already in the 14th century.
The Turkish census of 1455 mentioned the names of its three monks. The
great renewal of the monastery at the end of the 16th century and in the
first decades of the 17th century is evidenced by the stone remains of
the fence wall, tower, entry gate and the fountain, while the storeyed
dormitories of the monks are certainly of a later date. A small one-nave
church with semi-circular apse is located in the centre of the churchyard.
Its only architectural decoration is the arch leaning against consoles
which have the contour of the dome on the transversal facades. It has been
recently noticed that there are even three chronologically different groups
of wall paintings within the church. The oldest, in the zone of standing
figures on the western and northern walls, could date back to the transition
from the 14th century to the 15th century and, according to the stylistic
characteristics, they are attributed to the famous Zrze workshop of monk
Makarije. The frescoes in the eastern part of the church date back to the
end of the 15th century or the beginning of the 16th century, while the
third phase is dated back to 1619/1620. There is no usual founder’s inscription,
but the names of contributors are written besides the frescoes whose painting
they paid. Minor archeological excavation was carried out in the complex
in the 1993-1995 period and necessary conservation works on frescoes took
place in 1991.
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10. DRSNIK, CHURCH OF ST.
PARASKEVE - Today, a small church is located in the centre of the village
dedicated to popular skoropomocnica (one who helps immediately) St. Paraskeve.
Its outer facades are mortared. The church has the stone socle of the roughly
arranged stone and the two-guttered roof covered with stone blocks. The
one-nave shrine with undivided space is vaulted by the semi-oval vault
along its length. The alter apse having the outer irregular semi-circular
shape represents from within a deep semi-circular niche which took over
the function of the holy throne. Diakonikon and prothesis have niches of
rectangular shape on the walls along its length besides semi-circular niches
on the eastern wall. Two narrow windows - one on the southern and the other
on the apse wall - provide light to the interior. Wall paintings are preserved
only on lower surfaces including - besides the standard altar contents
- the zones of the socle, standing figures, frieze with saints’ busts on
medallions and the scenes from the cycle of Great Feasts with added chosen
pictures from the cycle of Passion of Christ. As to the style, the frescoes
show a sure drawing and the variety of colours and since they are technologically
at an enviable level they were the work of an experienced art workshop.
Since there are no historical data about the church, it is dated back to
the 1570s on the basis of the characteristics of the wall paintings.
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11. POGRADJE, UPPER CHURCH
- At least three construction phases can be recognized among the remains
of a big temple at Pogradje called by the villagers Holy Anargyroi (doctors
who healed free of charge). The oldest part is the church in the narrow
sense of the word - one-nave naos with arches leaning against the longer
walls and the apse preserved in traces. The narthex built subsequently
has almost square foundation and is preserved to the height of the beginning
of the vault. The remaining wall paintings present unmarked standing figures
of saints in the richly decorated clothes. Although small, the fragments
lead to the possible conclusion that they were painted by the same painters
who painted in the nearby Lower Church, so that this phase could date back
to the second half of the 16th century. The third construction phase is
represented by the part of wall with rectangular niche leaning against
the western corner of the northern facade of narthex. Since the wall has
not been archeologically explored, nothing can be said for certain about
its original shape and use.
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12. POGRADJE, LOWER CHURCH
- The cemetery church, today dedicated to Holy Anargyroi Cosmas and Damian,
most probably originally had St. Nicholas as its patron, while, subsequently,
the villagers gathered there on the holiday of St. Demetrios. Modest one-nave
and semi-oval vaulted space is without narthex and with semi-circular niches
which mark the prothesis, altar apse and diakonikon. From the outside,
the altar apse is semi-circular. The only entrance with arch and lunette
is on the western wall, while the three remaining facades have a small
window without ornaments. The architectural characteristic of this church
is the elevated floor to the level of solea (elevated part in front of
the altar) by one stair. The preserved fresco fragments indicate that the
approximate time of its building can be considered the second half of the
16th century. Today, wall paintings include the zone of standing figures
and some compositions from the cycle of Great Feasts. As to the style,
drawings and the bright colours of paintings are of a standard quality
and indicate to the average talent of an anonymous painter. Having been
ruined for a long time, the church was renewed during extensive restoration
works in the 1964-1967 period, domed and covered with two-gutter roof with
stone blocks, while the wall paintings underwent conservation and were
cleaned from the layers of soot and salt.
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13. CABICI, CHURCH OF ST.
NICHOLAS - The medieval settlement of Cabici was the biggest village
of the Decani estate mentioned in hrisovulje (official documents with a
gold seal) in mid-16th century. A modest, one-nave, semi-ovally vaulted
church built with trimmed stone and covered by stone blocks on two-guttered
roof was erected there at the end of the 16th century or at the beginning
of the 17th century. The only ornament decorating the eastern and western
facades is a slightly raised arch marking the contour of the dome. The
altar apse is three-sided from outside and semi-circular in its interior,
while prothesis and diakonikon are replaced by the pairs of niches. The
iconostasis was built subsequently with two passages to the altar. It was
built to the height of the dome and had icons on a board. There is one
narrow window on the apse and on the southern wall. The interior is decorated
by frescoes with the repertoire which, above the zone of standing figures,
represents the cycles of Great Feasts and the life of patron. Judging by
bright colours, insecure drawing and miniature proportions of figures,
the paintings were painted by a painter of modest talent, more inclined
to iconography, in the first decades of the 17th century. Icons, which
were kept in the church until recently, are of higher artistic value than
the wall paintings. Narthex which was built subsequently is today in ruins.
Architectural conservation works and the cleaning of paintings were carried
out in 1968.
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14. KIJEVO, CHURCH OF ST.
NICHOLAS - It is located in the spacious churchyard beside the village
cemetery and it belongs to the group of monasteries and churches in the
Beli Drim valley that were erected after the renewal of the Pec Patriarchate.
The one-nave building was successively enlarged by narthex and belfry.
This small church vaulted along its length was certainly built in the second
half of the 16th century. The apse, semi-circular by shape from outside,
is a niche inside. The church has no wall paintings. The narthex is a spacious
building with rectangular foundation and is somewhat lower than the church,
has semi-oval dome, is lit from a southern narrow window and has the entrance
on the west. It has the completely preserved wall paintings from 1602/1603.
The standard but exceptionally rich contents includes chosen Serbian saints,
holy warriors and doctors in the zone of standing figures, developed composition
of the Last Judgment, ten scenes from the cycle of Passion of Christ and
the same number of scenes from the cycle of Christ’s activities and miracles
as well as the decorations on the top of the vault. A large group of villagers
as a collective founder did not succeed in engaging a talented painter
so that the narrative wall paintings of the Kijevo narthex has careless
drawing and unskillful composition. However, some rare iconography details
deny the judgment about their self-taughtness. A solid storeyed belfry
was built in front of narthex in the 19th century. Today, the church continues
to keep the important collection of chronologically and stylistically different
icons.
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15. MLECANE, CHURCH OF ST.
NICHOLAS - The village as the collective founder built this shrine
with narthex and one-nave semi-circularly vaulted naos around 1600. Naos
is separated from the altar space by a pair of pilasters linked by a semi-circular
arch between which there was the iconostasis partition. Although the apse
is constructed as a deep niche, its outer shape is semi-circular as usual,
while the niches of prothesis and diakonikon are constructed within the
width of the wall. There are no windows on the northern wall and the windows
on the southern and eastern walls are high and narrow from the outside.
The simple wall surface of trimmed stone is decorated only by a spacious
niche on the southern facade of the narthex. Fragments of wall paintings
dating back to 1601/1602 are preserved mainly in the zone of standing figures.
Detailed presentation of the Last Judgment on the western wall of narthex
stretches partially to the longer walls. Bright colours, sure drawing and
inclination towards decorativeness are most prominent on the horse presentations
of St. George and St. Demetrios in narthex and the basic characteristics
of painters who decorated the temple. After being in ruins for a long time,
conservation and restoration works were carried out in 1968 and the church
assumed its original shape.
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16. GORIOC MONASTERY
- The Gorioc Monastery (Gorioca, Ogorioc), metochion of the Decani Monastery
with the Church of St. Nicholas, dormitories of the monks and belfry, is
located on Bela Stena (White Stone) above the little town of Istok. According
to the folk tradition, it was built by King Stephen Decanski who devoted
it to St. Nicholas as a sign of gratitude for healing his "burned" eyes
on that place. However, since the same tradition is linked to a number
of other toponymys it is not possible to establish for sure which place
was really the endowment of the healed King. The old church of St. Nicholas
at Gorioc, most probably from the 14th century, is not preserved. It was
renewed in the 16th and 18th centuries and at the beginning of the 20th
century. The church of St. Nicholas is a modest one-nave semi-ovally vaulted
building without wall paintings. It keeps 11 icons painted during the 16th,
17th and 18th centuries. The Monastery used to keep a rich collection of
Serbian medieval books, including several Serbian manuscripts from the
14th and 15th centuries which the Russian Consul and historian A. Gilferding
took from the Monastery. Today, they are kept in the Public Library in
Petrograd. During World War Two, the Monastery was used by Albanian fascists
as a prison for mass arrests of Serbs and Montenegrins. In the churchyard,
dormitories of the monks, belfry and the fountain were restored.
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17. GORAZDEVAC, ST. JEREMIAH
CHURCH-LOG CABIN - The church-log cabin of St. Jeremiah, near Pec,
is the oldest church of that kind in Serbia. It was dated back, on the
basis of the imperial gates, to the end of the 16th century or the beginning
of the 17th century. According to the folk tradition, it was built by Srbljaci,
the oldest tribe in that area. Since this was the name for the inhabitants
in the upper course of the Lim river who were expelled from their homes
and settled in Metohija in 1737/1738, this church might have been built
at the end of the fourth or the beginning of the fifth decade of the 18th
century at the earliest. The church has modest dimensions, with shallow
foundations and very simple architecture. It has the rectangular basis,
with two-sided apse as the result of cutting two acute sides. The roof
is low and covered with heavy stone blocks. The interior is divided into
narthex, main church and the altar area. Partitions are built in the walls
in the same manner in which the whole church is built. The floor is made
of irregular stone blocks, while the ceiling is flat and made of boards.
Attention is drawn by two small openings in the boards in the shape of
equally-sided cross and double six-leaf rosette. Movable property mentioned
in the literature is no longer in the church. By the time when it was built
this is the oldest church and by its location the only one church-log cabin
outside today’s main area. Detailed restoration and conservation works
were carried out in 1968.
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18. LODJANE, DANILOVICS’
LOG CABIN - In the vicinity of Decani, in the centre of the village
of Locane, there is a log cabin built most probably in the first decade
of the 18th century. Its age can be determined on the basis of the folk
tradition which says that the first fire in the Decani Monastery was brought
from the fireplace of this cabin. It is built on the flat terrain, it has
the rectangular foundation and a porch, four-guttered roof covered with
tiles. It was built in phases, enlarged by a room and a store room to the
original one-space log cabin intended for the residence of people and the
accommodation of livestock. By its enlargements, it was converted from
the archaic plain cabin to a peasant’s house. By reminding, originally,
of the biblical concept of residence and, after its conversion, of the
process of transforming rayah into peasants, Danilovics’ log cabin, as
the oldest preserved cabin in Serbia, represents the testimony to the social
and historical events and the position of the Serbian people in Kosovo
and Metohija endangered by the violence of foreign, heterodox and aggressive
Albanian settlers, which also found reflection in the said folk tradition
as the confirmation of its age, i.e. the long-standing existence of Serbs
in this territory and their rights to it. The log cabin is still functioning
today. Despite its exceptional value, no conservation works were carried
out.
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19. PEC, BAJRAKLI MOSQUE
- It is located in the town centre. The precise time of its construction
is not known, but it is supposed that it was built already in the first
decades of the Turkish occupation, i.e. in the second half of the 15th
century. It is called the main mosque in the town since by flying its banner
on the minaret it determines the time when other mosques should begin their
prayers. It is a monumental edifice with octangular dome, 11.65 m in diameter,
leaning on pandantiphs above the central area. The top of calotte is high
13.5 m from the floor. A high open porch with three cupolas leaning on
lateral walls and four columns linked by arches is in front of the entrance
to the central area. The high and slender polygonal minaret is leaning
on the main dome. The high mihvil (gallery), elevated above the entrance,
is leaning on the columns with capitals and is stretching along the entire
wall. Its fence is richly decorated by ornamental carvings, while the supporting
arches are painted with floral ornaments. Mihrab (central preaching niche)
is marked by a shallow niche, while mimbar (pulpit), in the southern-eastern
part of the mosque, is built of marble and has monumental dimensions. Especially
interesting is the fountain with carved floral medallion and the symbols
of Moon and stars as well as the tablets with Arabic inscriptions. The
cemetery also has interesting carved sights. Of particular importance is
the sarcophagus of Hajri-beg Miralaj with the relief of heraldic meaning,
floral ornaments and the representation of weapons and object-symbols.
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RECOGNIZED CULTURAL MONUMENTS
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-
MUNICIPALITY OF ISTOK
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-
1. Banjica - remains
of the classical and early christian basilica, 6th century
-
2. Belica - church of St. George,
14th-15th century; remains of the church with the old cemetery, 14th-16th
century
-
3. Dobrusa, Vucar - remains
of the church with the cemetery, 14th century
-
4. Zac - stone bridge over the
river Istok on the road to Budisavci, 17th century
-
5. Istok - corn crib in the
house of Radoje Djuric, 20th century; church of Sts. Peter and Paul, 1929.
-
6. Kalicani - mosques from the
19th and 20th century
-
7. Kos - villlage residential
building with the granary and residential tower, 19th century
-
8. Ljubovo - church of St. Basil
from Ostrog, 19th century
-
9. Suvo Grlo, Gradina or Gradiste
- two fortifications on two hills, 13th-14th century; remains of the fortified
town with mine shafts, 14th century
-
10. Crni Lug - remains of the
church with the old cemetery, 16th-19th century
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MUNICIPALITY OF SRBICA
-
1. Banja Rudnicka - landowner
Rodop's church of St. Nicholas, before 1432, reconstructed in the 20th
century
-
2. Gornji Obilic - Roman necropolis
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3. Leocina - church of St. John,
14th century; "Preobraska" (Transfiguration) church, 14th century; engraved
cross in the Zdravko Smigic's house, 14th-16th century
-
4. Rudnik - church of St. George
with cemetery, 16th century
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MUNICIPALITY OF PEC
-
1. Belo Polje - church of the
Virgin, 16th-18th century
-
2. Bucane - old cemetery of
the Stojkovic family, 18th century
-
3. Vranovac - archeological
site from the late Iron Age and early Byzantine period, 8th century B.C.
and 6th century A.D.
-
4. Dobri Do - archeological
site from the late Iron Age and early Byzantine period, 8th-V century B.C.
and 6th century A.D.
-
5. Krusevac - archeological
site from the classical and early Byzantine period, 2nd-6th century
-
6. Krusevo - church with the
tombstone, 14th century
-
7. Ljevosa, Idvorac - remains
of the fortress, 13th-14th century; remains of the church of St. Demetrios
in Metina livada, 14th century;Zdrelnik - remains of the fortified site
with the well, 13th-14th century; remains of the church of St. George,
14th century; remains of the church of St. Mark, 14th century; remains
of the church of St. Nicholas, 14th century; old cemetery in "Savova livada",
17th century
-
8. Ljutoglava - on the hill
near the village - remains of the fortified town, 13th century
-
9. Paskalica - remains of the
Paskalija church, 13th century
-
10. Pec - archeological site
Gradina from the late classical period, 3rd-4th century; Bajrakli - Ruzica
Mosque, 16th century; Halil-beg's tombstone, 16th century; old patriarchate
cemetery, 16th-19th century; old city center, 19th century; Jasar-pasha's
house, 19th century; old city tower and haremluk (women department in the
muslim house), 17. novembar st., 19th century; Tahir-beg's house, 19th
century; residential towers of Camil Limani in 28 Bore Vukmirovic st.,
in 61 Bore Vukmirovic st., of Janicije Jokic in 24 Borisa Kidrica st. and
of Mihailo Jovanovic in 7 Djure Salaja st., 19th century; Seremet tower
and the Tower-water mill, 19th century; complex of the Hadzi Zeka's mill,
19th century; Ali pasha Gusinje's tombstone, 19th century; collection of
the folk costume of the Begoli family, 19th-20th century; Hadzi-Zeka's
tombstone, 20th century;
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11. Plavljane - old cemetery,
16th-18th century
-
12. Radavac - caves of Radavac,
prehistorical archeological site
-
13. Rugovo's gorge - caves hermitages,
13th-14th century
-
14. Siga - church of St. George
(Demetrios), 16th century, reconstructed in the 20th century
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-
MUNICIPALITY OF KLINA
-
-
1. Veliki Djurdjevik - remains
of the church, 14th century
-
2. Dolac - remains of the church
from the 15th century with the old cemetery
-
3. Drsnik, locality Gradine
- classical and early Byzantine fortified site, 2nd-6th century; locality
Podvodno polje - villa rusticae from the Roman period; locality Celije
- classical period; locality Zucajsko groblje, medieval necropolis
-
4. Klinavac, locality Gradina
- remains of the medieval fortified town
-
5. Pogradje, Gradiste - remains
of the fortified town, 14th century
-
6. Svrhe Volujacke - remains
of the church, 14th century
-
7. Sicevo - church of St. Nicholas,
16th century
-
8. Uljarice - hermitage with
the church, 13th-14th century
-
9. Stupelj - remains of the
church of the Virgin, 14th-15th century
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-
MUNICIPALITY
OF DECANI
-
-
1. Gornji Streoc - Saban Curi's
tower, 19th century
-
2. Gornji Crnobreg - residential
towers of Ljah Seljmanaj and Ljah Ljosaj, 19th century
-
3. Decane - Belaje's hermitage,
14th century; residential towers of Ram Dobruna, Redz Aljija, Mus Iber
Hisaj and Zimer Hima, 19th century
-
4. Istinic - Hadzi Os Miftari's
residential tower, 19th century
-
5. Papracane - Ram Sabani's
residential tower, 19th century
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II DISTRICT OF PRIZREN
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-
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION:
-
-
* Municipalities of Prizren,
Orahovac, Suva Reka, Strpce and Urosevac
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* Kosovo and Metohija
-
* Southern Serbia
-
-
DESCRIPTION:
-
-
The Sara - Drim River Valley
(Podrima) region encompasses the northern slopes of Mt. Sara, Mt. Jezerska
and the southernmost part of the Metohija valley and coincides with the
northern section of the Sara National Park. In its territory there are
a large number of monuments of exceptional value, concentrated primarily
in Prizren (a fortress, construction of which first started in the 11th
century; the churches of the Mother of God Ljeviska, St. Nicholas, St.
Saviour and the Monastery of the Holy Archangels; the Sinan Pasha mosque
and Turkish bath (hamam) from the 17th century), in the territory of two
medieval districts established as early as in the 13/14th century - the
districts of Sirinic and Sredska - with churches from the 16th and 17th
centuries, churches, monasteries, hermit cells and castles from the time
of the Serbian medieval state during the rule of the Nemanjic dynasty (Velika
Hoca, Musutiste, Recani, Korisa, Nerodimlje), as well as a number of archaeological
localities from the Early Iron Age to the Middle Ages, numerous examples
of lay and sacral architecture from the 14th to 20th centuries, as well
as an older facility of technical culture in Serbia, the Prizrenka hydroelectric
power plant. The construction of the majority of the mentioned monuments
of culture chronologically coincided with the period of rule of the Nemanjic
dynasty over the independent Serbian state and they were built mainly as
foundations of members of the ruling class or nobility, representing outstanding
architectural and painting achievements of late Byzantine art. The concentration
of a large number of monuments from prehistoric times to the 20th century
in the territory of the Sara-Podrima district attests to the historic continuity
of life in this region, which flourished between the 13th and 14th centuries
when its largest urban centre (Prizren) was established along with several
very important ecclesiastical-monastic centres and hermitages (Korisa,
Velika Hoca, Musutiste, District of Sredska and District of Sirinic).
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COMPARISON WITH OTHER SIMILAR
PROPERTIES:
-
-
The Sara-Podrima region is a
unique cultural and natural monumental complex reflecting historic and
artistic trends at the time of the greatest rise of the Serbian medieval
state and belongs to the territory which represented its core. Intensive
urban and religious life in this area was sustained even during the period
of Turkish domination in the Balkans and continues to this day, enriched
by a series of lay and sacral architectural achievements demonstrating
the impact of turbulent historic developments of the past two centuries.
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1. PRIZREN, KALJAJA FORTRESS
- The fortified town of Kaljaja is located above the present-day Prizren,
on the hill of great strategic importance. The ramparts of the fortress
are parallel with the edge of hill - the foundation has the shape of irregular
ellipse, 190 m x 150 m. The main entrance to the fortress, divided into
the Upper and Lower Town, was on the western rampart. The Upper Town encompassed
the elevated area in the southern-eastern part of the fortress and was
protected by separate ramparts stretching to the west and north. The Upper
Town was entered through the gate in the western part of the internal rampart.
Since it was used for centuries, the fortress changed its masters several
times who pulled it down, repaired and enlarged it. Archeological excavations
indicate two main periods of construction (medieval and Turkish), each
having several phases of development. The medieval period consists of three
phases: Byzantine Prizdrijana from the 11th century, the period of the
12th and 13th centuries and the objects built at the time of the rule of
Emperor Dusan (southern tower, internal rampart, part of the eastern rampart
to the underground passage and lower parts of the western rampart). The
Turkish period consists of five phases and most objects belong to the second
one dating back to the 17th century. These are: southern town, vaulted
corridor built next to the southern rampart of the Upper Town, upper parts
of the western rampart of the Lower Town with the main gate, eastern rampart
with semi-circular tower and the underground passage leading to the Bistrica
river.
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2. PRIZREN, VIRGIN LJEVISKA
- The Prizren cathedral dedicated to Virgin Mary was built by King Milutin
in 1306/1307 on the remains of a church from the 13th century which had
been built on the foundation of a basilica from the middle Byzantine period
(9th-11th century) built on the foundation of an early Christian shrine.
Mason Nicholas, who most probably came from Epirus, managed to build an
architecturally very successful edifice whose centre is the five-dome church
with the developed cross-in-square, surrounded by the lateral nave and
narthex with open porch (today, its passages are walled up) and with a
tower on the western side. Turks converted it into mosque and, in order
to adjust it to their needs, chiselled the frescoes and repainted them.
Very damaged paintings are of exceptional value and fall within the most
successful fresco wholes from the time of the Byzantine dynasty of the
Palaeologus. They were painted by the main painter Astrapa from Salonica
together with his associates around 1310-1313 who, judging by modest remains
of paintings, made an exceptionally original choice of compositions and
individual figures and their iconographic solutions both in details and
as a whole. Of particular importance are the portraits of founders and
the procession of Nemanjics, ancestors of King Milutin, who are of supernatural
size. Conservation and restoration architectural works were carried out
in the 1950s, while the paintings were discovered under the layers of lime
in 1950-1952 to be subsequently cleaned and retouched several times in
the 1969-1979 period.
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3. PRIZREN, CHURCH OF ST.
NICHOLAS - The small church of landlord Dragoslav Tutic (Nicholas as
monk) and his wife Bela is located in the centre of the present-day Prizren.
According to the stone inscription, preserved only in fragments but of
known contents on the basis of the transcript from the 19th century, it
was built in 1331/1332 and most probably painted immediately after that.
Subsequently, it became a metochion of the Decani Monastery. The one-nave
church is of small dimensions, surpassed by the dome of octangular tambour
with windows. A semi-circular apse with two semi-circular niches for prothesis
and diakonikon is on the eastern side. It was built simply with stone and
brick. Not many paintings are preserved. According to the subjects, arrangement
and style, fresco paintings are related to those from the first phase of
the church of St. Savior and in the church of St. George at Recani, so
that it is considered that one workshop painted all three shrines. The
same painters are considered to have painted two icons - Virgin Hodegetria
from the iconostasis of the Virgin Ljeviska (in Cathedral church in Prizren)
and the dual Ljubizda icon with the Annunciation and the Meeting between
Ioakim and Anne (in the National Museum in Belgrade). Conservation and
restoration works on architecture and paintings were carried out in the
period between 1967 and 1970 when the entire dome underwent restoration.
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-
4. PRIZREN, CHURCH OF ST.
SAVIOR - The endowment of landlord Mladen Vladojevic with his parents,
at the time of Dusan’s rule, was built around 1330 and in 1348 given as
a gift to the nearby monastery of Holy Archangels. The Vlach community
in Prizren, which had the right to use this little church from the second
half of the 18th century, built, in 1836, high walls of a future shrine
which was never completed and the church of St. Savior thus became only
a part of its northern nave. The medieval church is of small dimensions,
with the foundation in the shape of the shortened cross-in-square with
octangular dome and the apse three-sided from outside. It was decoratively
built with neat alternate layers of limestone and brick and with ceramoplastic
ornaments. The paintings were painted in two phases: firstly in the altar
around 1335 and the paintings are of poorer quality and then in the rest
of the church until 1348 when a part of the altar area was repainted. The
original paintings on the altar were painted by one painter, a member of
the workshop which also painted the church of St. Nicholas, endowment of
Dragoslav Tutic. Small dimensioned frescoes from the second phase were
painted by local painters educated by the good traditions of the Byzantine
art who had a sure and prominent drawing. A third painter painted Christ
and the Virgin Paraklisa in narthex most probably after 1348. The paintings
were greatly damaged and a fire in the 19th century changed their palette.
Conservation works on architecture and frescoes were carried out in the
1953-1963 period.
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-
5. PRIZREN, HOLY ARCHANGELS'
MONASTERY - In the canyon of the Bistrica river, 3 km south-east of
Prizren, there is the monastery with the church of Holy Archangels which
is the endowment and mausoleum of the most powerful Serbian medieval ruler,
king and - from 1346 - emperor Dusan. The representative monastery complex
is surrounded from two sides by the river banks and from the third side
by the steep hill with the fortified town Visegrad. It consisted of the
monumental church in the center, with the emperor's tomb, a refectory and
the small church of St. Nicholas. Beside these buildings that are freely
disposed in the churchyard, there was a number of quarters of different
purposes leaned on rampart walls, such as dormitories of the monks, library,
hospital. The monastery was built on the ancient multi-layer site. It was
mostly completed between 1343 and 1352, under the supervision of the prior
Jacob, who was later the bishop in Serres. Catholikon with the foundation
in the shape of the cross-in-square was extremely luxuriously built and
plated with marble; it was decorated with sculpture which was the extension
of the tradition of the so-called Raska style, wall paintings of high quality
on the golden background and the mosaic floor with floral or zoomorphic
motives. Although the upper part of the church cannot be completely reconstructed
- even the number of the domes (one or five) is unknown - it is possible
to recognize some of the features of the new, so-called Morava architecture
model that was developed several decades later. The refectory represents
an outstanding example by its cross-shaped foundation. From the mid-15th
century, whith the arrival of Turks, the destruction of the monastery began.
In the 17th century the demolition was accelerated for the reason that
the building material was used for the construction of the Sinan Pasha’s
mosque in Prizren. Rich sculpted and fresco program and - in Serbian architecture
- unique mosaic floor are only fragmentary preserved. Between two World
Wars certain archeological excavations were carried out; the monastery,
that had been ruined for centuries and now reduced to an archeological
site, today has an appearance which is the result of the archeological
and conservation works that were carried out in the 1960s. The restoration
both of the monastery and the monastic life began in 1990s with the partial
archeological excavations as well as with the construction of the new residential
quarter on the former foundations, east of the catholikon's altar apse.
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-
6. PRIZREN, SINAN PASHA’S
MOSQUE - It was built in 1615, i.e. in 1026 according to the Hegira
Islamic system of measuring time. In the interior on the wall there is
an inscription "Jennet - misali" - Paradisiacal. It was built using the
material from the previously torn down monastery of the Holy Archangels
near Prizren. The diameter of the cupola is about 14.5 meters. According
to its architecture, it belongs to the so-called classical style of Osmanli
art, although it is a rather rare example in terms of its spatial concept.
The ground plan consists of two areas: the main prayer area and the area
containing the mihrab (central preaching niche). It was built of neatly
dressed stone blocks. The mosque has a tall and slender polygonal minaret.
The porch was torn down in the past so that its present-day appearance
does not correspond to the original one. The interior features a sculpted
gallery (mahvil). Ornamental decorations were painted on the internal walls
on several occasions of which the oldest layer in the cupola calotte were
painted in 1628.
-
-
7. PRIZREN, HAMAM (TURKISH
BATH) - In the old part of the town of Prizren, the Turkish bath is
dominant as a building which is proportionally shaped and which was built
by Gazi Mehmed-pasha in the 17th century. It is a dual bath, meaning that
one half was used by men and the other by women. The halves are divided
by the central lateral wall to almost identical wholes. Within each half,
the rooms are strictly divided according to their use. These are: the entrance
area with dressing room and fountain in the centre, room for rest, bath,
steam room, water reservoir and water heating room. The bath was built
with stone and brick alternatively. The construction and spatial concepts
of the building speak of a very good mason who showed special skill in
the construction of dome and cupolas. Conservation works were carried out
in 1968.
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-
8. SIRINIC DISTRICT, CHURCHES
- The medieval district of Sirinic was located in the stretched Lepenica
ravine on the northern slopes of Sara Mountain. It was mentioned already
in the fourth decade of the 14th century in the charters released first
by King and subsequently Emperor Dusan to the Hilandar Monastery confirming
the possession of its lands. Inhabited by cattle breeders, the district
could hardly have a shrine made of a more lasting material. Therefore,
despite its very old age, the continuity of spiritual life in this district
was followed from the second half of the 16th century on the basis of the
material evidence. The aspiration can be noted that every village should
have its own shrine, sometimes not only on cemeteries but also within settlements
so that, at the end of the 19th century, a traveller counted eleven shrines
in eight Sirinic villages. Today, only four of them have kept some authentic
architectural elements after the renewal of the Pec Patriarchate in 1557.
Simple, one-nave, vaulted and without narthex, the churches of the Sirinic
district are characteristic by their leaning columns which are almost obligatory
as an architectural ornament on the outside polygonal apses. Fragments
of the preserved paintings are the works of local, village painters and
primarily have cultural significance.
-
-
9. BITINJA, GORNJA (UPPER)
AND DONJA (LOWER) - The church of St. George at Gornja Bitinja, built
most probably immediately after the renewal of the Pec Patriarchate, underwent
significant renewal in 1920. However, even during the renewal, the one-nave
structure of the naos was retained, as well as the small semi-circular
apse, in contrast to other apses, and a part of the floor originally made
of the blocks from the nearby, then already destroyed, Prizren monastery
of Holy Archangels. The fresco inscription which is lost today testified
that the founder of paintings was a certain Jelena, while another stone
inscription said that Nikodin Prtusin donated a water mill, forest and
a meadow to the church in 1592. The cemetery church of St. Theodore Tiro
at Donja Bitinja has a similar architectural structure to the shrine in
the neighbouring village, the difference being that the former has three-sided
apse from outside. Only fragments on the western wall and in the altar
area have left from the paintings painted in the 1560s. Having an average
quality for the paintings of that time, a limited palette and certain roughness
in drawings, the frescoes are the work of a village painter whose expressiveness
cannot be denied. The fact that he used somewhat rare motives is testified
by the composition of the Assumption which, besides the earthly events,
includes the assumption in heaven. The church keeps the icon representing
the vision of prophet Eliah from 1635/1636 which could be a throne icon
by its dimensions.
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-
10. GOTOVUSA, CHURCH OF ST.
NICHOLAS - There are two churches at Gotovusa and the older one is
located on the village cemetery, today dedicated to St. Savior which is
also known as the church of St. Demetrios. However, the fact that it was
originally dedicated to St. Nicholas is beyond any doubt considering the
founder’s fresco inscription partially preserved on the western wall of
naos, above the entrance. Simple, small, one-nave building with the three-sided
apse from outside is vaulted with the semi-oval vault and covered with
the two-guttered stone-blocks roof. The facade decoration, besides the
niche above the entrance on the western facade and the prayers’ niche on
the northern facade, includes niches of particular shape on all sides of
the apse and the leaning columns connected by arch emphasizing the eastern
surface of the apse. Fragments of the preserved paintings include two zones
with the scenes from the Great Feasts cycle, decoration of the ceiling
with friezes each having ten prophets’ busts and on the top the medallions
with the figures of Christ Emmanuel, Angels of the Great Council, the Pantocrator
as well as the upper part of the Ascension composition. The paintings in
the altar area are best preserved and are reduced to the usual motives
and the most necessary figures, so that the Liturgy of Archpriests represents
only St. Basil the Great and St. John Chrysostom. Since similar paintings
can be found in the neighbouring churches of the Sredska district, at Bogosevac
and Gornje Selo, it is believed that the paintings date back to the 1570s.
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-
11. STRPCE, CHURCH OF ST.
NICHOLAS - On the basis of the transcription of the destroyed founders’inscription
it is known that the church of St. Nicholas was built and decorated with
paintings in 1576/1577 with the donations of many villagers. The old village
mentioned in a Turkish written source of 1455 as having 65 households got
a shrine of a lasting material. After the renewal in the 19th century,
only a part of the apse and of the northern wall were left showing a careful
building technique with the trimmed stone and the five-sided apse konha
from outside. The decorative element in the building is expressed in leaning
columns to the juncture of sides. The great quality of the original paintings
is testified by a figure of a deacon in the northern part of the altar
and several fragments in socle zone. During the great renewal, the western
wall was pulled down in order to enlarge the church while other walls were
made higher and arched. Furthermore, the church got a belfry and it seems
that painter Jevgenije from Galicnik, who painted the iconostasis for the
new church of the Virgin Mary at Gotovusa in 1888, painted the icons for
the renewed Strpce shrine.
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-
12. SREDSKA DISTRICT, CHURCHES
- East of Prizren, in the gorge of Prizrenska Bistrica, several mountainous
villages around the village of Sredska have been established as a district
ever since the middle age. It was mentioned for the first time in the donation
charter of King Dragutin to the Hilandar Monastery in 1276-1281; it became
more important at the time of Emperor Dusan through the building of the
monastery of Holy Archangels, while its increasing economic strength can
be followed in the Turkish documents from the beginning of the 16th century.
The material traces of such a rise are churches built in every village
and hamlet starting with around 1530 until mid-17th century. One-nave,
semi-ovally vaulted churches without narthex, with apses three-sided from
outside being only long niches inside, were built mainly with trimmed stone,
while the facades had niches as the only decoration. The villagers took
every effort to equip their churches, they engaged painters, ordered icons
for iconostases and items necessary for the service, noting their names
in the founders’ inscriptions. The second wave of the intensive construction
in the Sredska district, when old churches were repaired and new ones were
built, took place in the changed political conditions before the liberation
from Turks in the short period between 1865 and 1875. Although they, then,
lost part of their authenticity, the churches of the Sredska district illustrate
interesting changes in the district at the time of the re-establishment
of the Pec Patriarchate.
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-
13. BOGOSEVCI, CHURCH OF
ST. NICHOLAS - The one-nave semi-ovally vaulted church dating back,
on the basis of its architectural characteristics and paintings, to the
end of the 16th century or the beginning of the 17th century is located
on the village graveyard, on the terraced plateau falling sharply towards
the river bank. It will never be possible to determine when it was built
since the founder’s fresco inscription is damaged. The narrow interior,
lit by one window on the south and east, has only semi-circular niches
of the altar and prothesis. The altar niche is three-sided from outside
and the northern facade surface, with no openings, has two niches. The
preserved paintings indicate that they were used for prayers so that they
have - as fresco icons - the down-to-the-waist representations of Holy
Archangel Michael and St. Paraskeve. The well preserved whole of wall paintings
inside the church is the work of an unknown painter of sure drawing and
inclined to narration so that he managed to present the full usual contents
without summarizing it in this small temple. Judging by the preserved icon
of St. Barbara, he most probably painted the icons for the altar partition.
The church was enlarged by the poorly built narthex with wooden belfry
over it. Minor architectural conservation works took place in 1959-1960.
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-
14. GORNJE SELO, CHURCH OF
ST. GEORGE - The history of the cemetery church of St. George at Gornje
Selo (Upper Village) is not known, but its architecture and paintings belong
to the 1570s and the first decades of the 17th century. The church consists
of three successively built units. The eastern one is the oldest - the
original one-nave semi-ovally vaulted temple with the altar and prothesis
niches. By pulling down the western wall naos was extended and expanded
and two entrances in the church were made, one from the west and the other
from the south. A stone shallow-relief tablet with the blooming cross and
two birds on it is above the southern entrance. The third phase is represented
by narthex with wooden domed belfry. Paintings are preserved only in the
oldest part of the church, on its three remaining walls. Stylistically
very similar to the paintings at Bogosevci and Gotovusa from the Sirinic
district, wall paintings are attributed to the same painters characterized
by narrativeness, free drawing and live colours.
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15. DRAJCICI, CHURCH OF ST.
NICHOLAS - Shallow and semi-circular apse is the characteristic that,
architecturally, differs the Drajcici church from other churches belonging
to the Sredska group. It is also interesting that this one-nave semi-ovally
vaulted edifice has the floor with stone tiles lower in naos and elevated
at the level of solea and the altar area. The southern facade has a semi-circular
niche with the down-to-the-waist fresco painting of an archangel. The period
of the described first phase of the construction of the church is determined
on the basis of paintings as the last decade of the 16th century. The original
appearance was changed by the removal of the western wall and the significant
extension of naos in the 1630s. In addition to architectural changes, the
restoration also implied the repainting of the church so that the new paintings
covered or replaced almost the entire old ones. The quality of the original
wall paintings can be judged today only by the icons preserved in the iconostasis
in the throne series and the frieze making the Great Deesis which is supposed
to be the work of the same painter. Characterized by sure drawing and the
noble colours, these works are the expression of a mature painter who,
by wide strokes, defined the form and achieved magnificence that lacks
in other painters from the same region. Conservation works on icons were
carried out in 1960-1961.
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16. MUSNIKOVO, CHURCH OF
THE HOLY APOSTLES - The church originally dedicated to the Holy Apostles
Peter and Paul whose patron today is St. Paraskeve is located above the
village of Musnikovo. It was built and painted in 1563/1564 and extensively
renewed in the second half of the 19th century. That restoration included
the removal of the western wall, expansion of naos by the width of wall
and its extension to the west, the enlargement of windows and the changing
of the appearance of the front - instead of triangular it got a high sloping
gable. The original appearance of the church shows that it was built with
trimmed stone, without ornaments, and that it had an apse three-sided from
outside. In the interior, only two niches necessary for rites were built,
the altar and prothesis. Although only a small part of the original fresco
paintings was preserved, the work of a painter who gained knowledge in
one of the Cretan workshops is recognizable in the zone of standing figures
on the southern wall. Besides Greek inscriptions and style, recognizable
is also the rare iconography solution of the representation of St. Peter
and St. Paul in an embrace painted next to the original iconostasis. Another
painter from the same group who painted the altar is considerably less
talented. During the architectural conservation works carried out in 1962
the ruined church got the dome and the two-guttered roof covered by stone
blocks.
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17. MUSNIKOVO, CHURCH OF
ST. NICHOLAS - At the village cemetery, there is an old church considerably
surpassed, in size, by the subsequently built narthex which is wider and
higher than the small church on whose western facade it is leaning. The
original temple is one-nave, with undivided space, semi-ovally vaulted
and with three semi-circular niches in the altar area. Lateral niches are
built in the wall, while the altar niche is three-sided from outside. The
church was built with trimmed stone and its facades have one niche each.
There are three narrow and high windows on the southern wall, while a window
on the eastern side casts light on the holy throne. Pomenik (requiem book)
inscribed beside the prothesis niche cannot help in determining when the
church was built, so that, on the basis of the stylistic characteristics
of the preserved wall paintings, it is considered that the church dates
back to the second half of the 16th century. The usual contents, which
summarizes the cycles of Great Feasts and Passion of Christ, is also characteristic
for that time, while in the context of iconography the attention is primarily
drawn by the representation of St. Sava Nemanjic, characteristic for the
cap adorned with crosses. As to the style, the frescoes of this church
are of a considerably poorer quality in comparison with the works of an
unknown group which painted the nearby church of the Holy Apostles.
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18. SREDSKA, CHURCH OF THE
HOLY VIRGIN - At the hamlet of Pejcici, today north of the highway,
there is the biggest but also the youngest church in the group of churches
of the Sredska district, dedicated to the Holy Virgin. One-nave, semi-ovally
vaulted temple, with the altar apse which is shallow and three-sided from
outside and in the shape of niche in its interior, had been probably built
several years before it was painted, i.e. in 1646/1647. It was built thanks
to the contributions of a great number of villagers whose names are mentioned
in the founders’ fresco inscription. The well preserved paintings include
the zones of standing figures, saints’ busts in medallions, compositions
of the cycles of the Passion of Christ and Great Feasts arranged in two
separate columns and the standard decoration of the altar and vault areas.
With the gamut reduced to colour and the prominent drawing, the paintings
of this church are rather illustrative than having artistic value. In the
second half of the 19th century, a square storeyed narthex and a light
wooden belfry above it were built in front of the church.
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19. SREDSKA, CHURCH OF ST.
GEORGE - In the middle of the village of Sredska, by the village road,
there is a miniature church for which the villagers say that it was a family
chapel and which is certainly the oldest and the most interesting monument
of this district. This status of the church is ensured because of its simple
architecture (one-nave foundation with the apse hardly rounded from outside,
semi-oval vault and exterior dimensions of little over 5 m of length and
3 m of width) and the exceptionally high quality of its frescoes. An unknown
painter did not pay any attention to the dimensions of the building and,
already in the first zone below the painted arcades, he painted monumental
and exceptionally modelled figures of holy doctors and holy warriors clad
in lively aristocratic garments. He painted the Liturgy of Archpriests
and Virgin’s bust with angels in the small altar niche and archdeacon Stephen
in the prothesis niche. The light translucent colours and the inclination
towards decorativeness contribute to the fact that, out of the previously
offered years in the literature, we accept the year of 1530 as the most
acceptable. Finally, it should be added that these frescoes attract attention
also because of the painting technology since they were painted on the
mud mortar with coarse chaff.
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20. VELIKA HOCA - The
village of Velika Hoca is located in the picturesque hilly area full of
vineyards south of Orahovac in Metohija. Hoca was well known in the historical
sources already at the end of the 12th century by its cultivated vineyards
and wines. In 1198 Stephen Nemanja donated it to the Hilandar Monastery,
emphasizing that he himself established two vineyards. Nemanja’s descendants,
Serbian kings, confirmed his gift to Hilandar and, at the same time, enlarged
the Hoca lands. In the middle age, Velika Hoca developed into a strong
economic and important spiritual centre. The sources mention its 12 churches:
St. Nicholas from the 14th century, St. John from the 14th century, St.
Stephen from the 14th century renewed in the 16th and 19th centuries, St.
Cyriace renewed in the 19th century, St. Paraskeve rebuilt in the 20th
century, St. Anne rebuilt in 1912, ruins of the church of St. Luke from
the 16th century renewed in 1985; the following churches are preserved
in ruins: Holy Archangels from the 16th century, St. Peter from the 16th
century, Holy Virgin Precista, St. Eliah; a church at Dugi Rid is also
mentioned in the folk tradition. The monumental wine cellar of the Decani
Monastery, with its vineyards in Hoca ever since the time of Emperor Dusan,
is in the Decani quarter in the centre of village. The ground floor of
this exceptional achievement of the folk architecture contains cellars
with barrels which are 5 m high and 4 m wide. The upper floor with a long
wooden trench has rooms for the rest of winegrowers.
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21. VELIKA HOCA, CHURCH OF
ST. JOHN - The church of St. John is located on the elevation near
the eastern entrance in Velika Hoca. It was probably built in the 14th
century which is confirmed only by fragments of frescoes from that time.
Architecturally unusual, the church has the shape of tetrakonhos with square
narthex. Lateral apses are lower than the ones on the east and west. Naos
and narthex are covered with semi-oval vault. The apses are polygonal from
outside and semi-circular inside. In the 1580s, the church was repainted.
The altar area has the paintings of Virgin Mary, Liturgy of Archpriests,
Communion of apostles and Annunciation, while in the first zone standing
saints are painted and in the narrow column above them there are down-to-the-waist
representations. The cycles of Great Feasts, Passion of Christ and Akathistos
Hymn are painted in higher zones of the temple. Iconographic contents of
the paintings in narthex, with the interesting choice of scenes, emphasizes
the message of prayers to Christ. On the eastern wall of narthex in the
Deesis composition, Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist address prayers
of the human race to Christ to be a mild judge on the Last Judgment painted
on the western wall. The portrait of St. John is painted in the niche above
the entrance in naos, while the scenes from his life are illustrated in
higher zones of narthex. Conservation works on the paintings were carried
out in 1975.
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22. VELIKA HOCA, CHURCH OF
ST. NICHOLAS - The church of St. Nicholas, at the graveyard above the
village, was built and painted by 1345. In that year, nun Marta was buried
in that church, mother of landowner Gradislav Susenica, which is inscribed
on her tombstone. It is supposed that the temple was built by the parents
of landowner Gradislav in the second quarter of the 14th century. The church
is an one-nave building covered with semi-oval vault, with the apse three-sided
from outside and semi-circular inside. The wall between narthex and naos
was removed. Part of the original wall paintings is preserved only on the
western wall which, by its style, belongs to the time of King Dusan. It
is supposed that the founder of paintings was Gradislav Susenica himself.
The scenes of the cycle of St. Nicholas include, inter alia, the composition
of St. Sava and St. Simeon Nemanja bowing to the icon of Virgin Mary with
Christ. After the renewal in the 16th century, the church was repainted.
Above the zone of standing saints, there are busts in medallions and the
cycles of Great Feasts, Passion of Christ and St. Nicholas, while the Akathistos
Hymn, Christ’s miracles and parables and the Last Judgment are illustrated
in narthex. Conservation works on the paintings were carried out in the
1970-1975 period.
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23. MUSUTISTE, CHURCH OF
THE VIRGIN HODEGETRIA - The endowment of the main accountant John Dragoslav
and his family is located above the village of Musutiste, 10 km south-east
of Suva Reka. It was built in 1315 which is evidenced by a long and neat
stone inscription above the western portal. The founder was one of the
first Serbian landlords who was in the position to build such a big church.
It was built with alternate layers of stone and brick, while the semi-circular
altar apse has a more complex decoration in the combination of brick and
mortar. Its foundation has the shape of the cross-in-square with the dome
supported by four free columns. Only fragments of paintings are preserved,
so that four archpriests painted in the altar area (including one of the
oldest representations of St. Kliment of Ohrid) and several individual
figures in the northern-western corner of naos (holy women, warriors Theodore
Tiro and Theodore Stratelates, angels and St. Panteleimon) speak about
the great skill and education of the painter. Although they have no direct
parallels, the Musutiste frescoes can be placed among the most beautiful
achievements of the epoch of King Milutin. Although their creation was
not mentioned in the founder’s inscription, it is supposed that they were
painted immediately after the completion of construction and by 1320 at
the latest. The church keeps two throne icons from 1603. The temple was
renewed in the second half of the 19th century. No conservation works were
carried out.
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24. RECANE, CHURCH OF ST.
GEORGE - In the village of Recane, east of Suva Reka, there is a small
church dedicated to St. George, the endowment of an unknown Serbian duke
who was buried there on 23 December 1370. The tomb with the carved, partially
damaged, inscription points to the period of the construction and painting
of temple as the seventh decade of the 14th century. The building has unusually
harmonious proportions and the foundation in the shape of the cross-in-square
with the dome on pilasters. It was built with stone; only the dome is built
with alternate layers of limestone and brick. Modest ceramoplastic decoration
is represented primarily on the southern facade. The interesting iconographic
contents of the Recane paintings includes, besides the usual subjects,
the cycle dedicated to the patron of the temple numbering about ten compositions
based on the Slav interpretation of the legend about St. George. The stylistic
characteristics of these paintings, severely damaged by fire and the temple’s
partial falling in mid-19th century, point to local painters, members of
a local workshop, most probably from Prizren. Inspired by the achievements
from the first half of the 14th century, they show some archaic characteristics
but, at the same time, certain features characteristic for the contemporary
trends and for the art of that time. The first protection works were carried
out already in 1926, while the complete conservation works on the architecture
and paintings were carried out in the 1956-1960 period.
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25. KORISA, MONASTERY AND
HERMITAGE OF ST. PETER KORISKI - The impressive ruins of the monastery
and hermitage in which ascetic Peter Koriski was buried most probably at
the beginning of the 13th century are located east of Prizren, near the
village of Korisa. The oldest part is the partially carved natural recess
in the rock with the remains of frescoes from around 1220. They are characterized
by light colours completed by sure drawing as well as by characteristic
iconography which reveals the cemetery character of the shrine. At the
end of the 13th century or at the beginning of the 14th century, a church
was built on the narrow plateau in front of the cave whose southern wall
was leaning on the arcades and massive columns which are still, even today,
the most impressive part of the complex. Nothing is left of the temple
itself; its northern wall was a rock on which fragments of paintings are
discernible, painted simultaneously with the second layer of frescoes in
hermitage. Severely damaged paintings dating back to around 1350 do not
allow a clearer image of their stylistic characteristics. The narrowness
of space resulted in placing the refectory, monks’ cells and other economic
premises in a multi-storey building erected between the rocks north-west
of the church. When the Prizren region was occupied by Turks, this monastic
community was deserted and the relics of its founder were moved to the
Crna Reka Monastery in 1572. Archeological excavations and architectural
conservation works were carried out in 1961.
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26. NERODIMLJE, COMPLEX OF
MONUMENTS - The toponymy dates back to the middle age and is connected
with two villages of different age primarily known by a great number of
church monuments. The oldest protected architectural remains in this area
belong to a Byzantine palace from the time before of the Serbian conquest
of this territory. An older settlement, Gornje (Upper) Nerodimlje, at the
foot of Nerodimska Mount 6 km west of Urosevac, was mentioned for the first
time in the Gracanica Charter of King Milutin (1311/1316) under the name
of Rodimlja. It was also named as Porodimlja, the place where the Decani
hrisovulja was written in 1330 in the palace of Stephen Decanski, as well
as Nerodimlja where Emperor Dusan and his son Uros had their palaces. This
place gained great historical importance since Serbian rulers from the
Nemanjic dynasty lived in the palaces they built there, beginning with
King Milutin who died in Nerodimlje. There are several churches in the
village: monastery of Holy Archangels, church of the Assumption or monastery
of St. Uros where, according to the folk tradition, King Uros died. Above
the settlement, there are the ruins of the Veliki (Big) and Mali (Little)
Petric fortifications. Donje (Lower) Nerodimlje is not far away from Gornje
(Upper) Nerodimlje. It is younger that the latter judging by the first
preserved mention in the Turkish census of 1455. In the village, there
are also the foundations of the church of St. Stephen, ruins of the church
dedicated to the Virgin Mary completely renewed in 1925 and the remains
of the church of St. Nicholas Letnji on which a new building was built
in 1938.
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27. NERODIMLJE, REMAINS OF
A BYZANTINE PALACE - A Byzantine basilica is located on the cemetery
between Gornje and Donje Nerodimlje, about 10 m north of the church of
St. Nicholas. Until archeological excavations in 1988, it was thought that
the remains of the palace of King Milutin lay there so that the monument
is protected under that name. The excavations uncovered parts of a monumental
edifice from the 6th century whose floor is decorated with mosaic and walls
with paintings. In the centre of the biggest room there is a round pool
in the axis of entrance and staircase leading to the corridor. Mosaic covered
the entire floor, outside and inner surface of the pool and the entire
staircase. Birds and floral motives are illustrated along the edge of the
floor, while the greatest part of the surface has geometrical ornaments.
On the western part of the floor there is an arcade with figures of seven
Greek wise men whose names and thoughts by which they were known were written
in Latin. The mosaic was made with multi-coloured cubes of marble and marl
and the faces of wise men with glass paste. The edifice was built in the
late classical period while the mosaic floor was made in the time of Iustinian.
Due to its representative appearance it was also used in subsequent epochs,
so that the possibility that it was a palace of Serbian rulers in the 14th
century cannot be ruled out. Some walls were built in the 17th century
and the site was last used in the 19th century as a cemetery. The mosaic
floor was moved to the Museum of Kosovo in Pristina where preservation
works were carried out.
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28. VELIKI AND MALI PETRIC
FORTIFICATIONS - The remains of medieval towns of Veliki Petric and
Mali Petric (Petric, Petrc, Velika and Mala Kaleja) are located near the
village of Gornja Nerodimlja, west of Urosevac. Both towns were built on
the tops of hardly accessible hills above the mouth of the Golema (Big)
and Mala (Little) Rivers. The purpose of the fortifications was to protect
the roads and the palace of Serbian rulers at Nerodimlje. Petric is mentioned
in the biography of King Stephen Decanski in connection with his conflict
with his son, King Stephen Dusan, which took place in 1331. It is not known
in which of the two towns the old king was captured. The basis of Veliki
Petric is oval; it has two towers on the western and southern ramparts
and one big round tower within the fortification. Some ramparts are preserved
even up to 4 m of height. Mali Petric is completely in ruins. Not many
remains of the southern rampart and traces of a possible gate can be seen
in the dense vegetation. Veliki and Mali Petric have not been explored
and no preservation works have been carried out.
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29. NERODIMLJE, CHURCH OF
THE HOLY ARCHANGELS - The monastery church of Holy Archangels from
the 14th century was renewed in 1700. This is an one-nave building with
narthex which was painted and repainted. On the western facade, there are
two large rectangular windows. Under the younger layer of frescoes from
the beginning of the 18th century and the painted surfaces there are still
uncovered paintings from the 14th and 15th centuries. There are several
icons from the 17th and 18th centuries in the church. There used to be
a black pine tree above the church which, according to the folk tradition,
had been planted by Emperor Dusan and which lasted until 1975.
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30. NERODIMLJE, CHURCH OF
THE ASSUMPTION (MONASTERY OF ST. UROS - The church is located on the
slopes of the Neredice hill, west of the village of Gornja Nerodimlja,
near the village of Sajkovac (formerly Sarenik). Most probably, the church
was built at the end of the 14th century and, according to the folk tradition,
it was built by Empress Jelena, mother of Emperor Uros, above her son’s
grave after his death in 1371. The monastic life died in 1584 and Patriarch
Pajsije mentioned in the hagiography of Emperor Uros the making of a new
kivot (sarcophagus for saints’ relics) and the renewal of his church. In
the 17th century it was mentioned as the church of St. Uros. To protect
the relics from the Turks, a monk named Hristifor moved them in 1705 to
the monastery of Jazak on Fruska Gora where they lay until 1945 when they
were moved to the Cathedral Church in Belgrade. The church was destroyed
in the first half of the 19th century and Gilferding described it as a
ruin in 1858. The renewal of the church began at the end of the 19th century
but, because of the Turkish and Albanian obstruction, it was renewed up
to the vaults.
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RECOGNIZED CULTURAL MONUMENTS
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MUNICIPALITY OF ORAHOVAC
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1. Bela Crkva - Zrze - archeological
site Pozig, 2nd-4th century, 6th century, 12th century
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2. Brnjaca - church of St. Cyriace,
14th vek
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3. Velika Hoca - the house of
the Spasic family, 19th century; residential tower of Lazar Kujudzic, 19th
century; metochion of the Decani Monastery (monastic residential building
erected in 1851)
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4. Gedje - Gradis hill, south
of the village, near Svanjski most - archeological site from the early
Iron Age and early Midddle Ages, 8th century B.C. and 9th-10th century
A.D.
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5. Zociste - church of the Holy
Anargyroi, 14th-16th century
-
6. Opterusa - church of St.
George, 16th-17th century
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MUNICIPALITY OF SUVA REKA
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-
1. Kostrce, Gradiste - fortified
town, 14th century
-
2. Lesane - old Orthodox cemetery;
Jasar Pasha's residential tower, 19th century
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3. Musutiste - necropolis from
the early Middle Ages; locality Siroko - Illyrian ruins, 10th-8th century
B.C; Matos hermitages, 13th-14th century; Rusinica hermitage, 13th century;
Holy Trinity Monastery, 14th-19th century
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4. Pecane - church of the Presentation
of the Virgin, 1451/2.
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5. Popovljane - church of St.
Nicholas, 1626.
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6. Suva Reka - church of the
Virgin, 14th century; Holy Trinity Monastery, 14th-19th century; church
erected in 1938.
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MUNICIPALITY OF UROSEVAC
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1. Gornja Nerodimlja - remains
of the medieval town of Svrcin with the foundations of the small church
of St. John, 14th century
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MUNICIPALITY OF PRIZREN
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-
1. Visegrad - fortress, 14th
century; "Dusan's bridge" in the gorge of Prizrenska Bistrica, 14th-15th
century
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2. Jablanica - hydroelectric
power station "Prizrenka" 1926-28.
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3. Kabas, Cukalj hill - remains
of the medieval tower, 12th-13th century; remains of the church in Luka-mahala,
14th century; cemetery church near the school, 14th century
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4. Korisa, Gradiste hill - remains
of the fortified site, 2nd-6th century; Sukalje - remains of the tower,
13th century; Gradiste - remains of the fortified town, 13th century; remains
of the church of St. Nicholas, 14th century; remains of the church of Sts.
Peter and Paul, 14th century; remains of the church of Sveta Precista (Holy
Virgin), so-called "Church of the sister of St. Peter Koriski", 14th century;
old Orthodox cemetery; church of St. George, 14th century; St. Mark Monastery,
14th century; church of "The Most Holy Virgin", near Vrelo, 17th century
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5. Landovica - monument of the
War of National Liberation (Second World War)
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6. Lokvica - church of the Prophet
Elijah, 19th century
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7. Ljubizda - church of St.
Nicholas, 16th century; remains of the church of St. Cyriace, 16th-17th
century
-
8. Nasec - site of a former
church, 14th century
-
9. Novake - old house, 19th
century
-
10. Planjane - church of the
Virgin, 19th century
-
11. Prizren - hermitage of St.
Nicholas, 14th century; Prince Mark's church of the Presentation of the
Virgin, 14th century; stone bridge, 14th-15th century; church of St. Nicholas
(Rajkov), 14th-19th century; icon of the Virgin Pelagonitissa, in the Cathedral,
14th century; Clock tower, 15th and 16th century; Kirik Mosque "Namazdzali",
1455; church of St. George (Runovic), 16th century; Mehmed-pasha's Turkish
bath, 16th century; Mehmed-pasha's library, 16th-19th century; Mehmed-pasha's
Mosque, 16th century; Suzi Celebi's tombstone, 16th century; old Turkish
vakufname (endowment charters) in Vakufski odbor (Muslim Endowment Council),
18th-19th century; Tekija (dervish's building) Halveti, 19th century; Kadri
Tekija (dervish's building), 19th century; Clock tower, 19th century; Seh-zade's
house, 19th century; complex of Maras-mahala (Maras-quarter), 19th century;
Emin pasha's tombstone, 19th century; collection of the Pacarizi family's
old books, 19th century; complex of The League of Prizren, 19th century;
old city center on the right bank of Bistrica, 19th-20th century; complex
of "Potkaljaja", "Pantelija" and "Potok Mahala" (city quarters), 19th century;
Tabahana (tanning workshop), 19th century; building of the Ruzdija secondary
school in 82 Lenjina st.; Sedrvan (water fountain), Papaz-carsija and Terzi-mahala
(city quarters); fountain next to the Sinan-pasha's Mosque; Binbasi stone
fountain; fountain "Studenac Kosovo"; old Orthodox cemetery; Tas fountain
in the courtyard of the Clock tower, 20th century; Destan Kabasi fountain
in 5 Save Kovacevica st., 20th century; stone fountain Beledija on the
17. novembra Square, 20th century; complex of the gymnasium "Jovanka Radivojevic
- Kica", 20th century; cemetery of the Serbian soldiers from the First
World War, 20th century; Petar Kostic Monument, 20th century; Sima Igumanov
Monument, 20th century; building of The Orthodox Seminary, 20th century;
building of the Elementary school "Mladen Ugarevic", 20th century
-
12. Romaja - Dardanian necropolis
- tumuluses, 8th-V century B.C.
-
13. Sredska - church of St.
Nicholas, 19th century
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MUNICIPALITY OF STRPCE
-
-
1. Gotovusa - church of the
Virgin, 16th-19th century
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2. Brezovica, Gradiste - Cajlije
- remains of the fortress, 13th century
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3. Sevce - church of St. Nicholas,
1861; church of St. Athanasios, 1921.
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III DISTRICT OF PRISTINA
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-
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION:
-
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* Municipalities of Pristina,
Kosovo Polje, Lipljan, Gnjilane, Novo Brdo, Kosovska Kamenica
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* Kosovo and Metohija
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* Southern Serbia
-
-
DESCRIPTION
-
-
The region of Kosovo between
the upper stretches of the Sitnica, Binacka Morava and Kriva Reka rivers,
was an active province of the Roman Empire which got its episcopal seat
(Ulpiana) in the 4th century. Numerous archaeological localities show that
this area was densely populated during Antiquity while at the time of the
expansion of the Serbian state in the 14th century, it became the venue
of important historic events which were to shape the destiny of not only
the Serbian people but of the entire Balkan peninsula as well. It was here
that one of the most beautiful examples of late Byzantine architecture
was created, namely the magnificent church of the Gracanica monastery with
its murals constituting the last works of the master fresco painters of
the Renaissance during the rule of the Palaeologus dynasty, Michael and
Evtichius. At the same time, many noblemen erected votive churches in the
territory of Kosovo (Kmetovce, Vaganes, Ajnovce, Lipljan) and the largest
mining centre in Serbia of that time and a mint (Novo Brdo) were established.
They attest to the cultural and economic power of the Serbian medieval
state during the century which was to see its highest ascent but also its
greatest defeat at the hands of the Turks in 1389 (Gazimestan). After the
last barrier was dismantled, the Ottoman Empire came to threaten even Vienna,
while artistic pursuit in the region of Kosovo, which had for over a thousand
years been a lively juncture of trade routes and cultures practically died
down until a century ago when the urban centre of Pristina started developing
and new centres started cropping up. However, their artistic reaches fell
short of the medieval masters who erected upon the foundations of earlier
cultures the most impressive monuments of medieval architecture and fresco
painting.
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COMPARISON WITH OTHER SIMILAR
PROPERTIES:
-
-
The region of Kosovo is a juncture
at which intersect and cross-fertilise the main artistic and historic paths
in the Serbian medieval state. It mirrors the major aspects of the material
and spiritual life blossoming in the Orthodox East prior to its decline
and fall under Ottoman rule. Based on traditions of Antiquity which embedded
its roots deep in the soil of Kosovo, it is here that one of the most representative
examples of late Byzantine art was created, the Church of Gracanica Monastery
(on the preliminary World Heritage List).
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1. ULPIANA - The remains
of the Roman and early Byzantine Ulpiana occupy the area of 35 ha and are
located on the Gradina site near the present-day Gracanica. The cultural
layer of 4 m was discovered on this multi-layer site. The ramparts of the
Roman town had irregular quadrangle foundation. Necropoles were located
on the north and west of the town, while the fortress with square foundation
was on the northern-eastern side. The birth of the town is connected with
Trajan’s rule (98-118). The original small mining settlement became a town
with the status of Roman municipality. Ulpiana became the bishopric centre
early ; the synod at Serdica in 343 was also attended by its Bishop Makedonijus.
After the renewal of the town undertaken by Iustinian in mid-6th century
the town was called Iustiniana Secunda. The town was completely destroyed
in the attacks by the Avars and Slavs at the end of the 6th century and
the beginning of the 7th century. The sondage archeological excavations
begun in 1953 (followed by conservation works) discovered the following
parts of the classical Ulpiana: one-nave basilica with a crypt in the northern-western
part of the settlement; the remains of two spas; parts of the mosaic floor
of a building; part of stylobate of a classical temple; town gate with
towers and the beginning of the main street (cardo). In the northern necropolis,
built tombs, memory with a big marble sarcophagus and the remains of mosaic
floor with donor’s inscription were discovered.
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2. GRACANICA MONASTERY
- The church of the Assumption in the Gracanica Monastery, the endowment
of King Milutin, was built in the second decade of the 14th century. It
has the shape of five-dome building with the foundation in the shape of
the developed cross-in-square and, thus, belongs to the group of the first-class
architectural achievements of the epoch. The outside narthex was built
in mid-16th century. Mihailo and Evtihije, famous painters from Salonica,
completed the paintings by 1321. Divine Liturgy, prophets and evangelists
are painted in the central dome below the painting of Christ Pantoctrator.
The cycles of Great Feasts, Passion of Christ, Miracles, Parable, Christ’s
Comings after Ressurection, scenes from Virgin’s life, St. Nicholas and
Menologion are painted in naos. Eucharist and Old Testament subjects are
represented on the altar. Milutin and his wife Simonida, Byzantine princess,
are painted as rulers by the God’s will since the angels bring them crowns
from the heaven. The Nemanjics’ genealogical tree and the Last Judgment
are painted in narthex, while the fragments of frescoes painted in the
14th century and around 1570 are preserved in the outside narthex. In addition
to the compositions of the cycles of Ecumenical Synods, Akathistos Hymn
and Baptism, there are also the portraits of Serbian archbishops and patriarchs
and the painting of the funeral of the Gracanica Metropolit Dionisije.
The Gracanica treasury was destroyed in the fires between 1379 and 1383.
Today, the monastery keeps a significant collection of icons, the oldest
one being the icon of Christ the Merciful from the 14th century, unique
by its dimensions (269 cm x 139 cm). Continuous conservation works on the
architecture and paintings are carried out.
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3. KMETOVCE MONASTERY
- In the vicinity of Gnjilane, 1 km south-east of the village of Kmetovce,
there are the remains of the church of the old monastery of St. Demetrios,
today more known as dedicated to St. Barbara. Written sources do not mention
this cult place, while the folk (oral) tradition links the birth of the
monastery with the time of Emperor Dusan. The preserved remains of church
indicate the transitional type of building between the developed and shortened
cross-in-square which points to the similarity with the shrine of St. Nicholas
in the Holy Archangels’ Monastery near Prizren. One-nave vaulted building
with the dome over the central bay was leaning on the wall between narthex
and naos on the western side, while on the eastern side it was supported
by two columns. As to the altar space, the apse, three-sided from outside,
and the niche which marked prothesis are preserved. The church was built
with stone with the modest use of brick. The remains of fresco decorations
- fragments of ornaments and the busts of saints on red background - are
visible in the northern-eastern corner of the shrine. Stylistic characteristics,
both artistic and architectural, lead to the conclusion that it was the
endowment of a landlord, most probably from the sixth decade of the 14th
century. The church was partially ruined after the Kosovo Battle and completely
demolished in the 18th century. Conservation works were carried out between
1966 and 1968.
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4. VAGANES, CHURCH OF THE
HOLY VIRGIN - The church is located 15 km east of Novo Brdo. It was
built and painted in 1354/1355 and its founder was Serbian landowner Dabiziv
with his brothers and parents. Even three inscriptions are preserved (two
carved in stone and one in fresco technique) which provide basic information
about this endowment of modest dimensions. Naos is one-nave, vaulted, with
semi-circular altar apse and niches marking prothesis and diakonikon. A
high narthex was built next to the western wall for which it is supposed
that ended as a tower or a belfry. The church was in ruins for a long time,
so that the paintings are severely damaged. In naos, only the fragments
of the Liturgy of Archpriests, several standing figures and the composition
from the cycle of Passion of Christ are preserved. Standing figures are
recognizable on the southern wall of narthex, busts of martyrs are painted
in the medallions in the second zone and above them there is the scene
of St. George saving the Emperor’s daughter and most probably the portraits
of founders. The compositions from the cycle of Virgin’s life are presented
in the highest zone of wall paintings. Certain interventions were carried
out on frescoes in the 16th century, while the Virgin’s temple in Vaganes
was almost completely razed to the ground in mid-19th century. Conservation
works, carried out in 1963, restored its original appearance only partially.
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5. LIPLJAN, CHURCH OF THE
PRESENTATION OF THE VIRGIN - The church of The Presentation of the
Virgin was probably built in the second or third decade of the 14th century.
It is an one-nave edifice covered with semi-oval dome, with the apse three-sided
from outside and semi-circular inside. It is built in alternation of stone
and brick and the facades are decorated with shallow sculpted ornaments
and blind arcades. The built iconostasis was subsequently erected at the
time of the renewal of church in the 16th century. Another partition dividing
the interior of the church to the altar area, naos and narthex was also
built then in the western part of the temple, while the ruined upper parts
of the church were restored. The original paintings, partially preserved,
were also damaged in a fire. The founder of paintings, an unknown landowner,
is painted on the northern wall of naos. The paintings of high artistic
value date back to mid-14th century. After the restoration of church in
the 16th century, new frescoes were painted in the church and this process
lasted, with interruptions, until 1621. The compositions with Eucharist
symbols in the altar were renewed, individual saints’ figures and compositions
from the cycles of Great Feasts and Christ’s miracles were painted in higher
zones of iconostasis and naos, while the Last Judgment, individual saints
and the healing of the sight of Stephen Decanski were illustrated in narthex.
Conservation works on architecture and wall paintings were carried out
in the 1955-1958 period.
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6. UBOZAC (RDJAVAC) MONASTERY
- Do the impressive remains of the triconch monastery church and the complex
around it herald the birth of the Morava style and date back to mid-14th
century or are they one of representative examples of architecture in the
period of Turkish rule in the Balkans* The literature of a recent date
is trying to solve this problem using the arguments of similar weight,
but the problem has not been solved yet. On the basis of historical sources
the only thing known for sure is that Patriarch Pajsije, born in the vicinity,
returned, intended to give and endowed manuscript books to this monastery
in mid-17th century. The remains of the monastery are surrounded by the
pleasant landscape beside the village of Mocare, north-east of Kosovska
Kamenica. Partially explored, the complex consists of the monumental church
dedicated to The Presentation of the Virgin, refectory with cellar west
of it, two several-storeyed angled towers and buildings with porches which
probably served as monks’ cells and which stretch to the north and south
along the churchyard. The covering of walls with the neatly cut stones,
decorative use of brick (like cells with the use of stone on dormitories
of the monks or in the shape of fishbone on the western facade of the church)
and the interwoven stone relief ornament are the characteristics of this
architecture. The church itself, without narthex and with narrow west bay
and regular conches, had originally the dome leaning on free columns. Partial
excavation and conservation works took place in the 1963-1966 period.
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7. NOVO BRDO FORTRESS
- The medieval town of Novo Brdo is located on the top of Mala Planina
(Small Mountain), between Prilepnica and Kriva Reka, north of Gnjilane.
The fortified town and settlement date back to the beginning of the 14th
century. From mid-14th century, Novo Brdo became the biggest mining place
in Serbia and the most important urban centre. Silver exploited in the
Novo Brdo mines had the ingredients of gold. Besides the Serbian population,
people from Dubrovnik, Saxons, Greeks and Albanians also lived in the town.
At the time of Emperor Stephen Dusan, there was a mint in the town and
the coins with the name of the town started to be minted in 1349. The Turks
conquered the town in mid-1455 and its sudden decay began. It was completely
deserted at the beginning of the 17th century. The fortress is composed
of the dominant Upper Town of polygonal shape with six massive rectangular
towers. It was built with trimmed broken stone in almost regular layers.
The rampart of the Lower Town with two towers is stretching towards west
following the configuration of the terrain. The urban settlement with the
main town church of St. Nicholas was within the Lower Town and on a wider
space east of the fortress. 900 graves and tombs, built or carved in the
rock, were discovered in the church and its yard. The remains of a church
built by Saxons and the people from Dubrovnik, named Saska (Saxon) Church,
were discovered south of the town. Archeological excavations and parallel
conservation works in the complex of the fortified town, settlement and
the church at Novo Brdo were carried out in the 1952-1959 period, in 1962
and 1969.
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8. PRISTINA, GAZIMESTAN -
MEMORIAL COMPLEX - The historical area of the Kosovo Battle which took
place in 1389, i.e. the central place of clash between the Serbian and
Turkish armies, is a unique whole consisting of the monument to the Kosovo
heroes in the shape of medieval tower built in 1953 and designed by Aleksandar
Deroko, Murat’s turbeh and Gazimestan turbeh (Barjaktar’s (flag bearer)
turbeh). The area of the Gazimestan, Plandiste, Tresevina and Lazarevo
memorial complex is bordering, on the north, with the Baksija area; on
the north-east with the Brnjica river, on the east with the town of Donja
Brnjica and the Ravniste area; on the south with the Orlovic area and town;
and on the west with the Siroko Polje and Mazgit areas with the town of
Gornji Mazgit. The road to Pristina on the western side is partially bordering
with and partially passing through the area. The central place is the tower,
25 m high, whose interior is inscribed by the verses of the Kosovo Cycle.
There is a platform on the top of the tower overlooking the area of the
Kosovo Battle. On the occasion of the celebration of the sixth century
from the Kosovo Battle, art applications in cast bronze symbolizing the
jubilee years were made around the tower. A white monolith marble column
with the text by Despot Stephen Lazarevic was erected in the vicinity of
the monument.
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9. PRISTINA, IMPERIAL MOSQUE
- The mosque of Sultan Mehmed Fatih or the Imperial Mosque is located in
the town centre. The inscription above the portal says that it was built
in 865 according to the Hegira Islamic system of measuring time, i.e. in
1460/1461, eight years after the fall of Constantinople, i.e. the year
when the typology elements were taken from Aya Sofia which determined the
most frequent (Osmanli-Brus) type of the mosque building on our soil -
one-storey edifice with a dome. By its sharp and peaceful proportions,
with little decoration both outside and inside, with the dome with diameter
of 13.5 m, slender minaret, porch with three refracted arches and three
cupolas - it has all the values of monumental objects created in the early
period of the Islamic architecture in Serbia. It is built with stone blocks.
The simplicity of plastic works was fully expressed in the shaping of the
portal and windows and in the decoration of mihrab, mahvil and other elements
in its interior.
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RECOGNIZED CULTURAL MONUMENTS
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MUNICIPALITY OF PRISTINA
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1. Badovac - remains of the
Vojsilovica Monastery, 14th century; Novo Selo - remains of the cemetery
church, 16th century
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2. Veletin - old town, 14th
century
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3. Gornja Brnjica - old cemetery
with the church, 19th-20th century
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4. Gracanica, section Basce,
locality Gladnice - settlements from the neolithic, aeneolithic and Iron
Age, 6th-3rd milenijum B.C; late classical settlement, 3rd-4th century;
Slavic necropolis, 6th-8th century; Monument to the Old Serbian Warriors
1914/1918.
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5. Donja Brnjica - archeological
site "Polje Urni", necropoles from the Bronze Age, 15th-9th century B.C.
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6. Donje Maticane - Slavic necropolis,
10th-11th century
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7. Laplje Selo - Caca's water
mill, 19th century; church of St. Paraskeve, between two World Wars
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8. Mazgit - Murat's turbeh,
14th-20th century; Milos Obilic Commemorative Monument, 20th century
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9. Pomazatin - church of the
Prophet Elijah, 1937.
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10. Pristina - neolithic settlement
"Predionica"; Carsi-Mosque, 15th century; Pirinaz Mosque, 16th century;
old Turkish bath, 16th century; library of the Islamic religious community,
17th-20th century; Mitropolija (Archbishop's residence) and the building
of The First Serbian School, 2 Valjevska st., 19th century; church of St.
Nicholas, 19th century; old Jewish cemetery, 19th century; city fountain,
19th century; complex of the "Divizija" building with the park and the
fountain, 19th century; old city center, 19th-20th century; Clock tower,
19th-20th century; Sedrvan (fountain) in Miladina Popovica st., 19th century;
Jasar-Pasha's Mosque, 19th century; Emindziku complex, 30 Alekse Santica
st., 20th century; old Officers' Center, 2 Hajduk Veljkova st., 20th century;
City Library, 8 Kralja Milutina st., 20th century; Boxing Club building,
2-6 Marka Isaka st., 20th century; Municipal House, 14-16 Marka Isaka st.,
20th century; Tuberculosis Clinic, 18 Beogradska st., 20th century; building
of the Post-Office, 2 Zanatska st., 20th century; Lumber Camp building,
6 Zanatska st., 20th century; Municipal Archive, 25 Zanatska st., 20th
century; Social Security building, 1 Kralja Milutina st., 20th century;
building of the Omladina cinema, 1 Njegoseva st., 20th century; building
of the Provincial District, 2 Vidovdanska st., 20th century; "Union" building,
13 Vidovdanska st., 20th century; National Theater, 15 Vidovdanska st.,
20th century; Hotel "Bozur", 29 Vidovdanska st., 20th century; Geodesy
Office building, 3 G. Principa st., 20th century; Parliament building of
the city of Pristina, 2 Kralja Milutina st., 20th century; Commemorative
church - mausoleum, Dusana Bulaica st., 20th century
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11. Sofalija - settlements from
the aeneolithic period and Iron Age, middle of the 3rd millennium B.C.
and 8th-3rd century B.C; late classical settlements, 3rd-4th century A.D.
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