Biskupija ( sr-Cyrl, Бискупија) is a village and municipality in Šibenik-Knin County, Croatia. The seat of the municipality is the village of Orlić.

Etymology

The word ''Biskupija'' in Croatian means diocese, referring to the former estate and seat of Croatian bishops in this area. The place was also known as '' Kosovo'' from 11th til 18th century, after the Kosovo field. ''Kosovo'' is still used as name for the train station located in the municipality.

Geography

The municipality covers a

karst field Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the mine ...

called Kosovo field ( hr, Kosovo polje, sr, Косово поље) located between the mountains of Promina and

Veliki Kozjak Veliki Kozjak or just Kozjak is a mountain cliff in Croatia, located in inland of Dalmatian Zagora. It belongs to Dinaric Alps, and it stretches over small village Kijevo between towns of Vrlika and Knin. The highest peak of this cliff is ''Bat ...

. The village of Biskupija itself is located in the north of the municipality, just south of Knin. The D33 and D1 state roads and the Zagreb-Split railway pass through the municipality.

Languages

Along with Croatian which is official in the whole country, Serbian language and Serbian Cyrillic alphabet are co-official on the territory of municipality.

History and culture

The shrine of Our Lady of Biskupija, or

St. Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

of Croatia, is situated in the village of Biskupija, 5 km southeast of Knin, the former church and cultural centre of the Croatian state in the Middle Ages. Archaeologists have discovered the foundations of five churches in that village, dating from the period of Croatian rulers from the 9th to the 11th century. St. Mary's church was the residence of the

Bishop of Knin The Diocese of Knin ( la, Tininum, also ''Tinum'') was founded in 1050 and is today a titular see of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church. Its ''cathedra'' was located in Knin,''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), p. ...

, who was Bishop of Croatia from 1040 to 1522. The earliest known figure of Our Lady in Croatian art was discovered by archaeologists in that same church on a part of the stone partition wall, which separated the shrine from the church nave. It is still venerated as ''Our Lady of the Great Croatian Vow''. Today, on the foundations of the old Croatian church of the same name there stands a memorial church, decorated between 1937 and 1938 according to the designs of Croatia’s most famous sculptor, Ivan Meštrović. The church is a single-nave building (16 x 8.4 m) with a square niche for the altar, and a 12.5 metre-tall steeple before it. Ivan Meštrović also created the statue of Our Lady, depicting a Mother wearing a folk costume from Dalmatian Hinterland, with a child on her lap, and who is writing the book of life. Regrettably, however, the statue was destroyed by

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also

* * * Old Serbian (disambiguat ...

rebels. Above the niche containing the main altar the renowned Croatian artist,

Jozo Kljaković Jozo Kljaković (3 March 188910 October 1969) was a Croatia, Croatian painter. He studied in Prague and then at an Arts institute in Rome. He also studied fresco painting in Paris. Kljaković was professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb fr ...

, painted the fresco "

King Zvonimir Demetrius Zvonimir ( hr, Dmitar Zvonimir, ; died 1089) was a King of Dalmatia and Croatia from 1076 until his death in 1089. He was crowned as king in Solin on 8 October 1076. Zvonimir also served as Ban of Croatia (1064–1074), and was named ...

holding Court", which was also riddled by bullets fired by Serbian extremists. The church was thoroughly refurbished in 1966, when Meštrović's statue was restored. Since then, the main pilgrimage occurs on the last Sunday in September, when the Holy Virgin’s name is honoured. The church was once again destroyed during the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugosl ...

, and now awaits rebuilding.

Demographics

There are a total of 1,699 inhabitants in the municipality: 1,452 Serbs, 231 Croats and 16 others. By mother tongue, there are 589 Croatian speakers, 417

* * * Old Serbian (disambiguat ...

speakers, 687 speakers of Serbo-Croatian and 6 speakers of other languages.

Settlements

The municipality consists of following settlements: * Biskupija - population 406 * Markovac - pop. 63 * Orlić - pop. 302 * Ramljane - pop. 118 * Riđane - pop. 67 * Uzdolje - pop. 226 * Vrbnik - pop. 447 * Zvjerinac - pop. 70

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20061007063030/http://www.croatia.hr/English/TurizamPlus/Aktivnost.aspx?idActivity=11&idOrder=1 {{authority control Municipalities of Croatia Populated places in Šibenik-Knin County it:Vescovia