Church of St. George the Great Martyr (Bečej)

The Serbian Orthodox Church of St. George the Great Martyr

The Church of St. Great Martyr George ( Serbian : Црква Светог великомученика Георгија Crkva Svetog velikomučenika Georgija ) in Bečej is a Serbian Orthodox church in Vojvodina , Serbia . The church was built from 1751 to 1758. It is dedicated to the Holy Great Martyr George . The church belongs to the Batschka eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church . There is also a Catholic church in the city .

location

The church is located in the center of the northern Serbian city of Bečej. The church is not far from the bank of the Tisza , a left tributary of the Danube . It is located at the intersection of Braće Tan Street , Zmaj Jovina Ulica and Zelena Ulica . Near the church are the Town Hall, the Catholic Church, the Bečej Municipal Theater, the Market Square, the town's commercial school, the hospital, the police station and the Bečej Sports Center.

History and architecture

The first Orthodox church was built in Becej in 1774, but it was destroyed in a Serbian uprising against the Turks in 1849. Construction of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Bečej began in 1851. After seven years of construction, the church was completed in September 1858. The builders and architects Andrija Šmaus and Jovan Somborski , who comes from Bečej, took a single-nave nave with a polygonal apse and choir rooms as the floor plan for the church , which are characterized by rich decorative elements in the typical Baroque style. Above all, this ornate architectural style is visible on the facade , which decoratively embellishes the rather flat longitudinal walls of the church. The church was built in the style of late classicism , while the three towers as a symbol of the Holy Trinity are built in the baroque style.

Bečej city center with the Serbian Orthodox and Catholic Church in winter

The main feature of the church are the three towers that were built on the west wall. The large, wide portal on the west side of the church is also from Baroque Serbia, a rather rare stylistic device. The main portal is built on free-standing columns , roughly in the middle of the nave. Of the three towers, the middle one is two-story, the two outer ones are smaller and built on the west wall of the church. Baroque features can also be seen on the external facades in the form of plastic, decorative elements. These are mainly concentrated on the impressive main entrance of the church and the four high columns of the entrance portal.

Iconostasis

The interior of the church is dominated by the iconostasis , which was made in 1868 by the master carpenter Kistner from Vienna . The Viennese artist Jaraj gilded the iconostasis, also in 1868. The iconostasis has 63 icons . From 1889 to 1893, Uroš Predić painted the icons of the iconostasis. The iconostasis is equipped with elongated and oval icons. The elongated icons include mainly Serbian Orthodox saints and the icon of the Holy Trinity on the Tsar's door . The main icon is the crucifixion of Christ. The oval icons show the images of the apostles and evangelists . Predić's achievements in icon and fresco painting in Bečej Church are among the best achievements in the early stages of the famous Serbian painter.

source

45.615004 20.049939Coordinates: 45 ° 36 '54 " N , 20 ° 2' 59.8" E