Cultural site: MONASTERY ĐURĐEVI STUPOVI, SERBIA

History

Đurđevi stupovi is a monastery of the Serbian Orthodox Church, dedicated to St. George, which is located on a hill above Novi Pazar, in Stari Ras. Đurđevi stupovi are one of the oldest Serbian monasteries. The monastery was built by the great prefect Stefan Nemanja in the first years after the accession to the throne of the great prefect (construction was completed in 1171),

and the church was painted around 1175. Founder's inscription of Stefan Nemanja in Đurđevi Stupovi from 1170/1171. is one of the few monuments of that time that is dated, and is an important testimony to the beginnings of Serbian literacy. The monastery is included in the World Cultural Heritage and is under the protection of UNESCO. The monastery has existed for over 845 years, of which 300 years are in ruins and 40 years are being renovated. Today, the monastery has been largely renovated. There are 4 monks and 2 novices living in the monastery.

Cultural site details

The choice of the position of the Đurđevi stupovi monastery has been very carefully determined. The entire monastery of Đurđevi stupovi rises from the highest hill that dominates the wider area of ​​today's Novi Pazar, which, according to historical sources, is "in the center of the Serbian land". The pillars are built in a characteristic style that represents a unique synthesis of two architectural concepts of the Middle Ages, Byzantine architecture in the East and Romanesque architecture in the West. The Church of St. George has an important place in the formation of this architecture, known as the Raska School, as a building that marks the beginning of this creative epoch in the architecture of medieval Serbia. Đurđevi Stupovi is a building with a series of architectural and architectural innovations in the construction of that time. These include characteristic towers - pillars, side vestibules, elliptical dome, irregular shape of the altar space as well as a specific solution of the central dome space of the church. The monastery church is a single-nave building with a dome and characteristic towers - pillars, after which it got its name. The importance of the monastery is evidenced by the fact that the relics of King Dragutin, another founder, rested in it, who expanded the church and had the narthex painted. The frescoes were mostly damaged, and after the Second World War, one part of them was transferred to the National Museum in Belgrade.

In front of the monastery, a small building was built, which is a museum that serves to protect and exhibit the most important fragments from the church and other buildings. Some of them have been assembled as a whole and reconstructed. Thus, the most important, western portal from the church was reconstructed in the lapidarium with all the fragments found during the works, including the inscription about its construction.