The Serbo-Byzantine architectural style or Vardar architectural school (or "style"), is an ecclesiastical

architectural style An architectural style is a set of characteristics and features that make a building or other structure notable or historically identifiable. It is a sub-class of style in the visual arts generally, and most styles in architecture relate closely ...

that flourished in the Serbian Late Middle Ages (ca. 1300–1389), during the reign of the

Nemanjić dynasty The House of Nemanjić ( sr-Cyrl, Немањић, Немањићи; Nemanjić, Nemanjići, ) was the most prominent dynasty of Serbia in the Middle Ages. This princely, royal, and later imperial house produced twelve Serbian monarchs, who rule ...

. It was developed through fusing contemporary

Byzantine architecture Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire. The Byzantine era is usually dated from 330 AD, when Constantine the Great moved the Roman capital to Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until the ...

and the

Raška architectural school Raška architectural school ( sr, Рашка школа архитeктуре), also known as the Raška style (Рашки стил, ''Raški stil''), or simply as the Raška school, is an ecclesiastical architectural style that flourished in the ...

to form a new style; by the mid-14th century the Serbian state had expanded to include southern Macedonia,

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinric ...

and

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thess ...

up to the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...

. On these new territories Serbian art was even more influenced by the

Byzantine art Byzantine art comprises the body of Christian Greek artistic products of the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself emerged from the decline of Rome and lasted ...

tradition. The architectural school was also promoted as a counter to the dominance of Western styles such as Neo-Baroque.

Characteristics

The Serbo-Byzantine architecture is founded on the Byzantine tradition and this is demonstrated in the adoption of the concept of imperial art. Some note that even though there is no universal standard as to how a Byzantine architecture looks, there is still the conclusion that the Serbian variant was based on it. The elements that differed from the fixed tradition were specifically Serbian and it constituted the national style. For instance, there is the case of the so-called "Morava style", an architectural development that upgraded the Serbian architecture. It features fine and rich carved stone decoration as exemplified by the Morava church. Serbian architects also contributed innovations such as the way Branko Tanazević used motifs from Serbian folk heritage like ornaments from embroideries and carpets as well as elements of folk architecture. These can be seen in the Belgrade Technical Faculty building, which Tanazević designed with Nikola Nestorović. It features soaring spaces, a classical colossal

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

, rusticated flooring, symmetrical wings, and sculptural accents. The Serbo-Byzantine style is one of the widespread traditional architectural designs of the

Serbian Orthodox Church 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 ...

, alongside the earlier

and later Morava architectural school. A typical Serbo-Byzantine church has a rectangular foundation, with a major dome in the center with smaller domes around the center one. Usually, Serbo-Byzantine buildings are decorated with frescoes that depict biblical stories. It also often includes an exterior articulation and use of the oculi, which led to the formation of the rose window.

Examples

Our Lady of Ljeviš Our or OUR may refer to: * The possessive form of " we" * Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany * Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium * Our, Jura, a commune in France * Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a government utility regulato ...

, built in 1306–9 *Church of the King in

Studenica Monastery The Studenica Monastery ( sr, / ), ) is a 12th-century Serbian Orthodox monastery situated southwest of Kraljevo and east of Ivanjica, in central Serbia. It is one of the largest and richest Serb Orthodox monasteries. Stefan Nemanja, the fou ...

Gračanica Monastery Gračanica () may refer to: Places Bosnia and Herzegovina * Gračanica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, a town and municipality in Tuzla * Gračanica (Bugojno), a village in Central Bosnia * Gračanica, Gacko, a village in Republika Srpska * Gračanica, ...

Patriarchal Monastery of Peć Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of dominance and privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical anthropological term for families or clans controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males a ...

* Lesnovo Monastery

References

Serbian architectural styles Byzantine architecture in Serbia Medieval Serbian architecture Serbian Orthodox Church 14th century in Serbia Kingdom of Serbia (medieval) Serbian Empire Serbian design {{serbia-hist-stub

Characteristics

Examples

See also

References