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

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the populat ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

on the

Fruška Gora Fruška gora ( sr-Cyrl, Фрушка гора) is a mountain in Syrmia, with most of the mountain being part of Serbia and its westernmost edge extending into eastern Croatia. The Serbian part of the mountain forms the country's oldest National p ...

mountain in the

Syrmia Syrmia (Ekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srem, Срем, separator=" / " or Ijekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srijem, Сријем, label=none, separator=" / ") is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is div ...

region, northern

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, in the province of

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...

. 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, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Srem, and his mother Saint Angelina of Serbia. Original idea to be turned into the mausoleum of the Branković family. Initially, the monastery enjoyed the financial support of

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

(who was married to Serbian princess Milica Despina of Wallachia), and Grand Prince

Vasili III of Russia Vasili III Ivanovich (; 25 March 14793 December 1533) was Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1505 until his death in 1533. He was the son of Ivan III and Sophia Paleologue and was christened with the name Gavriil (). Following on t ...

. In 1708, it became the seat of the Metropolitanate of Krušedol. 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, also known as Saint Andrew 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 ...

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

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

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 distinguished Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty durin ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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

Characteristics

The church was originally built in the Morava architectural school style. However, after the 18th century reconstruction, seven church windows were reworked in the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

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

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

. 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. 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 (, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, or an archpriest in the Coptic Orthodox Church, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of ...

Amfilohije from

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

in 1651. In 1662, the "Service and

akathist An Akathist, akaphist or Acathist Hymn (, "unseated hymn") is a type of hymn usually recited by Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic Christians, dedicated to a saint, holy event, or one of the persons of the Holy Trinity. The name derives f ...

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

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

Burial sites

The whole Branković family, as well as two patriarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church, are buried in Krušedol. The Patriarchs buried in the monastery are

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

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 Habs ...

. Graves of other historical figures include Princess Ljubica Obrenović, the wife of the Serbian Prince Miloš Obrenović, Serbian king Milan Obrenović, count

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

(no connection to the Branković family),

voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

Stevan Šupljikac, metropolitans and bishops Isaija Đaković,

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 Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Kar ...

and Nikanor Melentijević.

Importance

It has been described that "what Studenica was for the

Medieval Serbia The medieval period in the history of Serbia began in the 6th century with the Slavic migrations to Southeastern Europe, and lasted until the Ottoman Serbia, Ottoman conquest of Serbian lands in the second half of the 15th century. The period i ...

, Krušedol Monastery was for the Serbs in

Podunavlje Podunavlje is the name of the Danube river basin parts located in Croatia (Slavonia, Syrmia, and Baranya) and Serbia (Vojvodina, Belgrade and Eastern Serbia). Podunavlje is located on the southern edge of Pannonian Basin. In its wider meaning, ...

". 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. Author Dejan Medaković wrote about Krušedol, especially of the paintings. Krušedol Monastery was declared a Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1990 and it is protected by the Serbian state. It is shown on the 5

Dinar The dinar () is the name of the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, with a more widespread historical use. The English word "dinar" is the transliteration of the Arabic دينار (''dīnār''), which was bor ...

coin. The monastery is a recipient of the Order of St. Sava 1st grade and held a status of Imperial lavra.

Gallery

References

External links

Monasteries of Fruška gora
- Fruškać
Krušedol monastery
- Fruškać
More about the monastery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krusedol 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