The Krka Monastery ( sr-Cyrl, Манастир Крка, sr, Manastir Krka, italics=yes; hr, Samostan Krka) is a
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 ...
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
dedicated to the
Archangel Michael
Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...
, located near the river
Krka, east of
Kistanje
Kistanje ( hr, Kistanje, hr, sr-Cyrl, Кистање) is a village and municipality in Šibenik-Knin County, Croatia.
Geography
Kistanje is located in the microregion of Bukovica, in Zagora. Kistanje is from county seat Šibenik, from Kni ...
, in central
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...
,
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 ...
. It is the best known monastery of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Croatia and it is officially protected as part of the
Krka National Park. It dates back to 1577.
History
Supposedly, the oldest extant mention of the monastery was in 1350, when it is listed as an endowment of
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
n
princess
Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince.
Princess as a subst ...
Jelena Nemanjić Šubić
Jelena Šubić (Serbian Cyrillic: Јелена Шубић; Jelena Nemanjić Šubić (Јелена Немањић Шубић)) was the daughter of Stefan Uroš III Dečanski of Serbia and the half-sister of Stefan Dušan. She was married to the ...
, half-sister of the
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
n
emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
Dušan
Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Душан) is a Slavic given name primarily used in countries of Yugoslavia; and among Slovaks and Czechs. The name is derived from the Slavic noun ''duša'' "soul".
Occurrence
In Serbia, it was the 29th most popular nam ...
and wife of
Mladen III Šubić Bribirski
Mladen () is a South Slavic masculine given name, derived from the Slavic root ''mlad'' (, ), meaning "young". It is present in Bulgarian, Serbian, and Croatian society since the Middle Ages.
Notable people with the name include:
* Mladen (vojvo ...
, Croatian duke of
Skradin
Skradin ( it, Scardona; grc, Σκάρδων) is a small town in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, with a population of 3,825 (2011 census). It is located near the Krka river and at the entrance to the Krka National Park, from Šibenik and ...
and
Bribir. The claim has been met by skepticism and the source described as a forgery, due to the lack of verified proof of the claims. The monastery was built on top of a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
site, and Roman burial
catacombs
Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire.
Etymology and history
The first place to be referred ...
exist beneath a part of the church. The
Romanesque belfry suggest that the Orthodox monastery was previously home to a Catholic church, as the style was uncommon in other Serbian Orthodox churches of the time.
The Orthodox monastery was built in 1577. Other monastery buildings (18th–19th century), the church, and the belfry are situated around a rectangular
cloister
A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...
with arcades.
In mid-17th century monks were forced to flee from the
Ottomans
The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922).
Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
and found shelter in
Zadar
Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serv ...
, where
pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
Innocent X
Pope Innocent X ( la, Innocentius X; it, Innocenzo X; 6 May 1574 – 7 January 1655), born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj (or Pamphili), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 September 1644 to his death in January ...
in 1655 gave them two churches, that had previously been in possession of
Franciscans of the Third Order, named "Glagolitians" (, ) . In a subsequent agreement with the Franciscans, the monks declared that they "live in the service of the
eastern church
Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Northeast Africa, the Fertile Crescent and ...
, the old illyrian language."
[Vjesnik](_blank)
In one contract with the Franciscans, the monks of the Krka monastery declared "that they live in the service of the Greek Church of the old Illyrian language" ("''žive u službi grčke Crkve staroga ilirskoga jezika''").
After
Operation Storm
}) was the last major battle of the Croatian War of Independence and a major factor in the outcome of the Bosnian War. It was a decisive victory for the Croatian Army (HV), which attacked across a front against the self-declared proto-state R ...
in 1995 the monastery was looted, but not significantly, as it was protected by the
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 ...
n authorities, abandoned, and the seminary shut down and relocated to
Divčibare
Divčibare ( sr-cyrl, Дивчибаре; ) is a town and mountain resort situated on the mountain Maljen (1104 m) in western Serbia, south-east of Valjevo, at the altitude of 980 metres above sea level. The permanent population of the town i ...
and, later,
Foča
Foča ( sr-Cyrl, Фоча, ) is a town and a municipality located in Republika Srpska in south-eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the banks of Drina river. As of 2013, the town has a population of 12,234 inhabitants, while the municipality has 18 ...
. The monks returned in 1998, however, and the seminary reopened in 2001.
Architectural features
![Ikonostas Manastira Krka1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Ikonostas_Manastira_Krka1.jpg)
The
belltower
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 ...
of this monastery was built in the
Romanesque style
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this later ...
.
[Enciklopedija likovnih umjetnosti, 3, Zagreb, 1964., p. 251] The complex also includes a chapel of
Saint Sava
Saint Sava ( sr, Свети Сава, Sveti Sava, ; Old Church Slavonic: ; gr, Άγιος Σάββας; 1169 or 1174 – 14 January 1236), known as the Enlightener, was a Serbian prince and Orthodox monk, the first Archbishop of the autocephalou ...
built in the 19th century, under the tutelage of 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 ...
Bishop of Dalmatia Stefan Knežević, as well as a new building of the seminary and an additional dormitory building. The monastery has its
archives
An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located.
Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...
and a
library
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
with a variety of ancient books and valuable items from the 16th to the 20th century, a collection of wooden
icon
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...
s (
St. John the Baptist from the 14th or 15th century, work by the so-called ''Master of the Tkon Crucifix''),
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
ware and
embroideries.
See also
*
List of Serb Orthodox Monasteries
This is a list of Serbian Orthodox Christian monasteries in Serbia and near areas (Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, and Kosovo), also Romania, Hungary, Greece, Germany, United States of America, Canada, and Australi ...
*
Serbs of Croatia
The Serbs of Croatia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Срби у Хрватској, Srbi u Hrvatskoj) or Croatian Serbs ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", хрватски Срби, hrvatski Srbi) constitute the largest national minority in Croa ...
Literature
*dr. Marko Japundžić: ''Tragom hrvatskoga glagolizma'', KS, Zagreb, 1995., p. 51-54, 978-953-151-060-1
References
External links
Website of the Monastery (in English)*
Pravoslavni manastir sv. Arhanđela Mihaila na rijeci Krki sagrađen je na temeljima katoličkoga samostana
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krka Monastery
Serbian Orthodox monasteries in Croatia
Buildings and structures in Šibenik-Knin County
Christian monasteries established in the 14th century
Romanesque architecture in Croatia
Fortified church buildings
14th-century Serbian Orthodox church buildings
15th-century Serbian Orthodox church buildings
Medieval sites in Croatia