The Krušedol Monastery ( sr-cyr, Манастир Крушедол, Manastir Krušedol, ) 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 ...

on the

Fruška Gora Fruška gora ( sr-Cyrl, Фрушка гора; hu, Tarcal-hegység) is a mountain in Syrmia, administratively part of Serbia with a part of its western side extending into eastern Croatia. The area under Serbian administration forms the countr ...

mountain in the

Syrmia Syrmia ( sh, Srem/Срем or sh, Srijem/Сријем, label=none) is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia and Croatia. Most of the region is flat, with the exce ...

region, northern

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 ...

, in the province of

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...

. The monastery is the legacy of the last Serbian despot family of Syrmia - Branković. Dedicated to the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, it has been described as the "spiritual beacon" of Fruška Gora and "Second Studenica".

History

It was founded between 1509 and 1514 by Saint

Maksim Branković Maxim (also Maksim, “Maxym”, or Maksym) is a male first name of Roman origin. It is common in Slavic-speaking countries, mainly in Belarus, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine. The name is derived from the Latin fam ...

, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Srem, and his mother

Saint Angelina of Serbia Angelina Branković ( sr-Cyrl, Ангелина Бранковић, sq, Angjelina Arianiti,; ca. 1440–1520), née Arianiti, was the Albanian Despotess consort of Serbian Despot Stefan Branković (r. 1458–1459), and a daughter of Prince Gjergj ...

. Original idea to be turned into the mausoleum of the Branković family. Initially, the monastery enjoyed the financial support of

Neagoe Basarab Neagoe Basarab (; c.1459 – 15 September 1521) was the Voivode (Prince) of Wallachia between 1512 and 1521. Born into the boyar family of the Craioveşti (his reign marks the climax of the family's political influence) as the son of Pârvu Cra ...

(who was married to Serbian princess

Milica Despina of Wallachia Milica Despina ( sr-cyrl, Милица Деспина; ro, Milița Despina; – 30 January 1554) was the Princess consort of Wallachia by marriage to Neagoe Basarab (). She was regent of Wallachia from 1521 to 1522, on the behalf of her son Teo ...

), and Grand Prince

Vasili III of Russia Vasili III Ivanovich (russian: Василий III Иванович, 25 March 14793 December 1533) was the Grand Prince of Moscow from 1505 to 1533. He was the son of Ivan III Vasiliyevich and Sophia Paleologue and was christened with the name ...

. In 1708, it became the seat of the

Metropolitanate of Krušedol The Metropolitanate of Karlovci ( sr, Карловачка митрополија, Karlovačka mitropolija) was a metropolitanate of the Eastern Orthodox Church that existed in the Habsburg monarchy between 1708 and 1848. Between 1708 and 171 ...

. In 1670, it had the largest brotherhood of all monasteries on Fruška Gora: 90 monks and 12 elders. In 1690, during the Great Serbian Migration, the monks fled the monastery and moved to

Szentendre Szentendre () is a riverside town in Pest County, Hungary, between the capital city Budapest and Pilis Mountains, Pilis-Visegrád Mountains. The town is known for its museums (most notably the :hu: Szentendrei Szabadtéri Néprajzi Múzeum, Open- ...

taking valuables, relics and artifacts with them. They returned to Krušedol in 1697. When 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, ...

were retreating in front of

Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy–Carignano, (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736) better known as Prince Eugene, was a Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th a ...

during the Austro-Turkish War of 1716-1718, they ransacked the monastery and burned it, but it was rebuilt later. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the monastery wasn't burned, but was looted and damaged, nevertheless.

Characteristics

The church was originally built in the

Morava architectural school Morava architectural school ( sr, Моравска школа архитeктуре/Moravska škola arhitekture), also known as the Morava style (Моравски стил/Moravski stil), or simply as the Morava school (Моравска школа/M ...

style. However, after the 18th century reconstruction, seven church windows were reworked in the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style. Above one of the windows on the east side, there is a

sundial A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat ...

. It tells time from 6:00 to 17:00. The monastery has its own flower garden, loans and a park. It is gated, and the entry park gate is made in the shape of the church.

Interior

Today's icons and paintings have been symbolically adapted from the original, Medieval period, to the Baroque era. The iconostasis contains icons from different periods, from the 16th century to the 19th century. The original frescoes of the interior were painted in 1545, but they were overpainted in oil technique between 1745 and 1757. The 18th-century paintings are the works by Jov Vasiljevich and

Stefan Tenecki Stefan Tenecki (In Serbian Стефан Тенецки; in Romanian Ștefan Tenețchi; Lipova, Arad Lipova (; German and Hungarian: ''Lippa''; Serbian: Липова, ''Lipova''; Turkish: ''Lipva'') is a town in Romania, Arad County, locate ...

. The rich monastery vault has been looted several times. Part of the artifacts was returned later. The valuable either belongs originally to the Branković family, or to the other Serbian noble families. There is also a voluminous library. Old church books were brought by the

hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen ( el, ἡγούμενος, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called a hegumenia ...

Amfilohije from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

in 1651. In 1662, the "Service and

akathist An Akathist Hymn ( el, Ἀκάθιστος Ὕμνος, "unseated hymn") is a type of hymn usually recited by Eastern Orthodox or Eastern Catholic Christians, dedicated to a saint, holy event, or one of the persons of the Holy Trinity. The name ...

to the Saints" was written in Krušedol, so as a rich

annals Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction between ann ...

Burial sites

The whole Branković family, as well as two

patriarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church This article lists the heads of the Serbian Orthodox Church, since the establishment of the church as an autocephalous archbishopric in 1219 to today's patriarchate. The list includes all the archbishops and patriarchs that led the Serbian Ortho ...

, are buried in Krušedol. The Patriarchs buried in the monastery are

Arsenije III Čarnojević Arsenije ( sr-cyr, Арсеније; ) is a Serbian given name, a variant of the Greek name ''Arsenios''. Diminutives of the name include ''Arsen'', ''Arsa'' and ''Arso''. It may refer to: *Arsenije Sremac (d. 1266), second Archbishop of the Serbi ...

and

Arsenije IV Jovanović Šakabenta Arsenije IV Jovanović Šakabenta ( sr-cyr, Арсеније IV Јовановић Шакабента, ; 1698 – 18 January 1748) was the Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch from 1725 to 1737 and Head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Habsbu ...

. Graves of other historical figures include Princess Ljubica Obrenović, the wife of the Serbian Prince

Miloš Obrenović Miloš, Milos, Miłosz or spelling variations thereof is a masculine given name and a surname. It may refer to: Given name Sportsmen * Miłosz Bernatajtys, Polish rower * Miloš Bogunović, Serbian footballer * Miloš Budaković, Serbian f ...

, Serbian king Milan Obrenović, count

Đorđe Branković Đorđe Branković ( sr-Cyrl, Ђорђе Бранковић; anglicized as ''George''; also known as Saint Maksim; b. 1461 – d. 1516) was the last male member of the Branković dynasty, and titular Despot of Serbia from 1486 to 1497. The titl ...

(no connection to the Branković family),

voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...

Stevan Šupljikac Stevan Šupljikac ( sr-cyr, Стеван Шупљикац; 1786 – 15 December 1848), known simply as Vojvoda Šupljikac was a Serbian ''voivode'' and the first voivode of the Serbian Vojvodina. Life He was born in Petrinja, in 1786. He ...

, metropolitans and bishops

Isaija Đaković Isaija Đaković or Isaija I (Grabovac, near Stari Slankamen, Habsburg monarchy, 1635 – Vienna, Habsburg Monarchy, 20 July 1708) was elected to the rank of Metropolitan of Krušedol ( Karlovci) in 1708. Isaija is best remembered as the first S ...

Vikentije Popović-Hadžilavić Vikentije Popović-Hadžilavić ( sr-cyrl, Хаџи-Лавић или Хаџилавић, Janjevo, Ottoman Empire, c. 1650 – Sremski Karlovci, Habsburg monarchy, 23 October 1725) was metropolitan of the Serbiam Orthodox Metropolitanate of Karl ...

and Nikanor Melentijević.

Importance

It has been described that "what Studenica was for the

Medieval Serbia Serbia in the Middle Ages refers to the medieval period in the history of Serbia. The period begins in the 6th century with the Slavic migrations to Southeastern Europe, and lasts until the Ottoman conquest of Serbian lands in the second half ...

, Krušedol Monastery was for the Serbs in

Podunavlje Podunavlje ( sr-Cyrl, Подунавље) is the name of the Danube river basin parts located in Serbia (Vojvodina, Belgrade and Eastern Serbia) and Croatia (Slavonia, Syrmia, and Baranya). Podunavlje is located on the southern edge of Pannonia ...

". Many artifacts from the monastery vault are today kept in the Museum of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Because of the large library, many scholars used to visit and stay in the monastery, including the poet

Laza Kostić Lazar "Laza" Kostić ( sr-Cyrl, Лазар "Лаза" Костић; 12 February 1841 – 27 November 1910) was a Serbian poet, prose writer, lawyer, aesthetician, journalist, publicist, and politician who is considered to be one of the greatest ...

. Author

Dejan Medaković Dejan Medaković ( sr-cyr, Дејан Медаковић; 7 July 1922 – 1 July 2008) was a Serbian art historian, writer and academician. Medaković had served as President of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts from 1998 to 2003, as Dean ...

wrote about Krušedol, especially of the paintings. Krušedol Monastery was declared a

Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance Immovable Cultural Heritage of Exceptional Importance ( sr, Непокретна културна добра од изузетног значаја/) are those objects of Immovable cultural heritage that enjoy the highest level of state protection ...

in 1990 and it is protected by the Serbian state. It is shown on the 5

Dinar The dinar () is the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, and its historical use is even more widespread. The modern dinar's historical antecedents are the gold dinar and the silver dirham, the main coin of ...

coin. The monastery is a recipient of the

Order of St. Sava The Royal Order of St. Sava is an Order of merit, first awarded by the Kingdom of Serbia in 1883 and later by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It was awarded to nationals and foreigners for meritorious ach ...

1st grade and held a status of Imperial

lavra A lavra or laura ( el, Λαύρα; Cyrillic: Ла́вра) is a type of monastery consisting of a cluster of cells or caves for hermits, with a church and sometimes a refectory at the center. It is erected within the Orthodox and other Eastern Chr ...

Gallery

References

External links

Monasteries of Fruška gora
- Fruškać
Krušedol monastery
- Fruškać
More about the monastery
Cultural Monuments of Exceptional Importance (Serbia) Serbian Orthodox monasteries in Serbia Christian monasteries established in the 16th century Burial sites of the Branković dynasty Burial sites of Serbian Orthodox clergy {{Cultural-Property-stub