The Church of the Holy Salvation or Holy Saviour ( hr, Crkva Sv. Spasa) was a
Pre-Romanesque
Pre-Romanesque art and architecture is the period in European art from either the emergence of the Merovingian kingdom in about 500 AD or from the Carolingian Renaissance in the late 8th century, to the beginning of the 11th century Romanesqu ...
church in the
Dalmatian Hinterland
The Dalmatian Hinterland ( hr, Dalmatinska zagora; it, La Morlacca or ) is the southern inland hinterland in the historical Croatian region of Dalmatia. The name ''zagora'' means "beyond (the) hills", which is a reference to the fact that it is t ...
,
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
, whose ruins are now a historic site. It is located in the small village of
Cetina
Cetina () is a river in southern Croatia. It has a length of and its basin covers an area of . From its source, Cetina descends from an elevation of above sea level to the Adriatic Sea. It is the most water-rich river in Dalmatia.Naklada Naprijed ...
, near the spring of the river
Cetina
Cetina () is a river in southern Croatia. It has a length of and its basin covers an area of . From its source, Cetina descends from an elevation of above sea level to the Adriatic Sea. It is the most water-rich river in Dalmatia.Naklada Naprijed ...
, 8 km northwest from the town of
Vrlika
Vrlika is a small town in inland Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia. The closest large towns are Sinj, Knin, and Drniš. Vrlika was given the status of town in 1997. Vrlika is an underdeveloped municipality which is statistically classified as the ...
.
The remains of the church are of historical significance in Croatia, as it is the only
pre-schism church constructed with a
bell tower
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...
which is still standing.
Description
The church was once a one-longitudinal-nave structure with a
sanctuary
A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...
consisting of three apses, in the form of a
trefoil
A trefoil () is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings, used in architecture and Christian symbolism, among other areas. The term is also applied to other symbols with a threefold shape. A similar shape with four rin ...
on the eastern end. During later reconstruction, the middle apse was pulled down and substituted by a larger, rectangular one. An imposing
bell-tower
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...
was positioned in front of entrance along with the two-story
westwork
A westwork (german: Westwerk), forepart, avant-corps or avancorpo is the monumental, often west-facing entrance section of a Carolingian, Ottonian, or Romanesque church. The exterior consists of multiple stories between two towers. The interior ...
in front of the church's nave.
Westwork is a notable feature of
Carolingian architecture
Carolingian architecture is the style of north European Pre-Romanesque architecture belonging to the period of the Carolingian Renaissance of the late 8th and 9th centuries, when the Carolingian dynasty dominated west European politics. It was ...
, which was at its peak in Europe during the 9th century.
The church is vaulted with five pairs of strong semi-circular
buttresses
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (si ...
and by the
tufa
Tufa is a variety of limestone formed when carbonate minerals precipitate out of water in unheated rivers or lakes. Geothermally heated hot springs sometimes produce similar (but less porous) carbonate deposits, which are known as travertine. ...
which was found in the ground during an excavations. While the first pair of the buttresses lean diagonally against the edges of the westwork, the second pair reinforces the portion of the wall that separates the westwork from the nave, then the next two pairs support the walls of the nave, and the last pair support the side apses.
The vaults support a
gallery
Gallery or The Gallery may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Art gallery
** Contemporary art gallery
Music
* Gallery (band), an American soft rock band of the 1970s
Albums
* ''Gallery'' (Elaiza album), 2014 album
* ''Gallery'' (Gr ...
on the western side near the entrance, accessible by a staircase from the north and entering to a platform on the second story.
The gallery, believed to be reserved for the Count when he participated in the services, looked down upon the nave through three round openings, the central one being higher than the others.
History
Medieval times
The church was built near Vrlika, called ''Vrh Rike'' in the 9th to 10th century.
It was dated to the time of
Duke Branimir
Branimir ( la, Branimiro) was a ruler of Croatia who reigned as duke ( hr, knez) from 879 to 892. His country received papal recognition as a state from Pope John VIII on 7 June 879. During his reign, Croatia retained its sovereignty from both F ...
of
Dalmatian Croatia
The Duchy of Croatia (; also Duchy of the Croats, hr , Kneževina Hrvata; ) was a medieval state that was established by White Croats who migrated into the area of the former Roman province of Dalmatia 7th century CE. Throughout its existence ...
through comparative analysis of an altar beam with other artefacts carrying Branimir's name by in 1980 and 1984. It is one of the oldest and best preserved larger monuments of the early pre-Romanesque sacral architecture.
It was commissioned as a private church by the local ''
župan
Župan is a noble and administrative title used in several states in Central and Southeastern Europe between the 7th century and the 21st century. It was (and in Croatia still is) the leader of the administrative unit župa (or zhupa, županija). ...
'' (district-prefect) Gastika of Cetina, at the recommendation of
Pope Stephen VI
Pope Stephen VI ( la, Stephanus VI; died August 897) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 22 May 896 to his death. He is best known for instigating the Cadaver Synod, which ultimately led to his downfall and death.
Family ...
, in memory of his family. This is confirmed by inscriptions from a beam taken from the altar, which notes in Latin: AD ONOREM D(omi)N(u)M N(ostri) IESU CHR(ist)I EGO GASTICA HUPPANUS D(onavi)
..I ET ANIMATE MEE ET MATR(i)S MEE NOMINE NEMIRA ET F(i)LIIS MEIS NOMINE.
It translates that the church had been dedicated to Christ and built on the order of the prefect Gastika, the son of Nemira.
The beams are held along with other artifacts found at the site at the
Archaeological Museum in Split.
Destruction
In the early 15th century,
Hrvoje Vukčić
Hrvoje is a Croatian male ethnic first name derived from "Hrvat" meaning "Croat". Notable people with the name include:
* Hrvoje Čale (born 1985), Croatian football back
* Hrvoje Horvat (born 1946), Croatian handball back
* Hrvoje Klasić (bo ...
strengthened the
Prozor Fortress
Prozor Fortress ( hr, Tvrđava Prozor or ) is a medieval fortress situated in the continental part of Split-Dalmatia County, in inland Dalmatia, just above the town of Vrlika in Croatia. From its origin as a small stronghold built by the ancient ...
, and most of the inhabitants moved out of Vrh Rika into Vrlika. After a 1492 invasion by the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
, the church and the settlement sustained heavy damage and a substantial part of the inhabitants fled to
Turopolje
Turopolje () is a region in Croatia situated between the capital city Zagreb and Sisak. The administrative center of the region Turopolje is the town of Velika Gorica.
Geography
Turopolje forms a part of Posavina, a region to the south of Za ...
.
The church subsequently fell to ruin. The ruins of the church and surrounding tombs were described by the Archbishop of Split Stjepan Cupilli during his tour of his archdiocese lands in 1708, as well as
Alberto Fortis
Alberto Fortis (1741–1803) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian writer, naturalist and cartographer.
Life
His real name was Giovanni Battista Fortis (his religious name was ''Alberto'') and he was born in Padua on either 9 or 11 of November 1741 ...
during his travels in 1774, and
Ivan Lovrić in 1776.
Despite its damaged state, the church ruins were still viewed as a sacred site by the local population. Franciscan archaeologist
Stjepan Zlatović described the pilgrimage local Catholics continued to make every year on
Ascension Day
The Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus Christ, also called Ascension Day, Ascension Thursday, or sometimes Holy Thursday, commemorates the Christian belief of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into heaven. It is one of the ecumenical (i.e., shared b ...
, where the Vrlika parish priest would hold a special mass within the church ruins.
In the late 19th century, Franciscan friar
Lujo Marun of the
Knin
Knin (, sr, link=no, Книн, it, link=no, Tenin) is a city in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, located in the Dalmatian hinterland near the source of the river Krka, an important traffic junction on the rail and road routes between Zagr ...
parish became the first person to conduct an excavation of the site, the findings which he published in 1895 and 1896.
Marun took the first known photograph of the church in 1894, which turned out to be immensely valuable for future researchers, as the photograph depicts parts of the church wall which no longer exist.
Despite his efforts, Marun was unable to complete his work and could not therefore offer conclusive evidence on the church's formation.
Modern
![The Legacy Heart](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/The_Legacy_Heart.jpg)
It wasn't until 1947 that a more scientific, archaeological excavation of the site was conducted by the Museum of Croatian Archaeological Monuments.
Led by renowned archaeologist Stjepan Gunjača, the team's work focused on excavating inside the church along with the surrounding area and preserving what was left of the existing structures.
It was Gunjača and his team who discovered the altar beam confirming district prefect Gastika as the donor for the church.
The team unearthed hundreds of old-Croatian graves, many containing jewelry, coins, belts, weaponry, and other artifacts now kept at the archaeology museum in Split.
With these findings, the Croatian archaeological group was able to put the age of the church at the late 9th century.
The
Serbian Orthodox
The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches.
The majority of the population in ...
Eparchy of Dalmatia
The Eparchy of Dalmatia ( sr, Далматинска епархија or ) is a diocese or eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church, having jurisdiction over the region of Dalmatia, in Croatia. Since 2017, Serbian Orthodox Bishop of Dalmatia is N ...
published a conflicting assessment of the origin of the Holy Salvation, originally published by Mirko Ležaić in 1939 in Belgrade, saying
Tvrtko I
Stephen Tvrtko I ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Stjepan/Stefan Tvrtko, Стјепан/Стефан Твртко; 1338 – 10 March 1391) was the first king of Bosnia. A member of the House of Kotromanić, he succeeded his uncle Stephen II ...
built it, and that it was destroyed by the Turks in 1512. This is refuted by the archaeological and historical evidence which conclusively dates the foundation of the church and surrounding graves to the 10th century at the latest.
The historical and spiritual ownership of remains of the church has long been a source of tension between the local Croatian Catholic and Serb Orthodox population, with both sides claiming ownership. After the archaeological excavations were completed in 1954, the Serbian Orthodox population began a campaign of burying their dead haphazardly throughout grounds in order to lay claim to the church.
In 1983 monks from the Serbian Orthodox Church erected iron barred gates at the entrance of the church and walled off the windows to keep to prevent Catholics from utilizing the church.
At the same time an ancient wall fragment depicting the
Croatian interlace
The Croatian interlace or Croatian wattle, known as the or in Croatian, is a type of interlace, most characteristic for its three-ribbon pattern. It is one of the most often used patterns of pre-romanesque Croatian art. It is found on and with ...
was also destroyed.
It was not until after the end of the war that Catholics were able to return to the church and continue their yearly pilgrimage to celebrate the Ascension.
Graves
![Crkva sv](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Crkva_sv._Spasa%2CCetina-pogled_straga0197-.jpg)
The graves found near the Church, dated from the 9th through 14th century, had a specific kind of textile that was found to be comparable in quality with 18th and 19th century clothing.
There are over 1,026 old Croatian
graves
A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as gravey ...
around the church of great archaeological interest.
Several tombs have been found in the church itself, most of which (more than 800) originally had
stećci, a specific type of medieval tombstone found throughout the western Balkans. The culture of that time was influenced by the
Frankish Empire
Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...
, which was noticed in the archaeological findings from the period and the structure of the church.
The excavations by Gunjača and his team unearthed over 1,000 graves over a 11,250m2 area, the majority estimated to have been buried between the 11th and 16th centuries along with some outliers. Several artifacts found in the graves include earrings, rings, buttons, fabric, tiles, and various coins.
See also
*
Architecture of Croatia
The architecture of Croatia has roots in a long history: the Croats have inhabited the area for fourteen centuries, but there are important remnants of earlier periods still preserved in the country.
Ancient heritage
Copper Age finds are from ' ...
References
Citations
General sources
*
*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Church Of Holy Salvation, Cetina
10th century in Croatia
10th-century churches
Archaeological sites in Croatia
Buildings and structures in Split-Dalmatia County
Churches in Croatia
Medieval sites in Croatia
Pre-Romanesque architecture in Croatia
Tourist attractions in Split-Dalmatia County