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

architectural style An architectural style is a classification of buildings (and nonbuilding structures) based on a set of characteristics and features, including overall appearance, arrangement of the components, method of construction, building materials used, for ...

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 Serbian dynasty of Serbia in the Middle Ages. This princely, royal and imperial house produced List of Serbian monarchs, twelv ...

. It was developed through fusing contemporary

Byzantine architecture Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire, usually dated from 330 AD, when Constantine the Great established a new Roman capital in Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until the Fall of Cons ...

and the Raška architectural school to form a new style; by the mid-14th century the Serbian state had expanded to include southern

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

and

Thessaly Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...

up to the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

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

Byzantine art Byzantine art comprises the body of 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, decline of western Rome and ...

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 cu ...

, 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-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodox Church#Constit ...

, alongside the earlier Raška architectural school 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 Lady of Ljeviš ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Богородица Љевишка, Bogorodica Ljeviška; ) is a 14th-century Serbian Orthodox Church, Serbian Orthodox church in the town of Prizren, in southern Kosovo. Since 2006, the church is part of the ...

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

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 * 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