Monastery of the healers St. Kosmas and Damian

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The rebuilt monastery church

The Monastery of St. Healers Cosmas and Damian ( Serbian Манастир Св. Козме и Дамјана Manastir Svetih Vraca Kozme i Damjana ) or Zočište Monastery ( Serbian Манастир Зочиште Manastir Zočište , Albanian  Manastiri i Zoçishtës ) is a Serbian Orthodox monastery of the eparchy Raszien- Prizren in the village of Zočište ( Albanian  Zoçisht ) about five kilometers southeast of Rahovec , Kosovo . The 13th century church was remodeled in the 16th century. After being burned and destroyed in 1999, it was rebuilt in 2008. The monastery is famous for its relics of Saints Cosmas and Damian and was also named after them Holy Healers ( Serbian Манастир Св. Врача Sveti Vrači ). The holy shrine was intended to provide relief from eye diseases and mental or psychosomatic problems.

A special protection zone was created around the monastery , which was built to protect Serbian places of worship. It is a cultural monument of the Republic of Kosovo.

Location and building

Monastery courtyard

The monastery is located on a hill on the outskirts of the village. The old church was a small, rectangular, single-nave building with a barrel vault surrounded by an old cemetery with tombstones from the 15th and 16th centuries. There is a small apse on the east side .

history

It is believed that the church, originally dedicated to St. Nicholas , was built in the 13th century; The monastery was first mentioned in 1327. After the invasion of the Ottomans  , it was reopened and redesigned in the 16th century. The monastery was known for its icons, books and the school founded in 1871. The church was renovated in the 1960s,  but only fragments of the frescoes remained until 1999. It was a place of pilgrimage that before 1989 was said to have been visited more by Muslim Albanians than by Serbs.

In the summer of 1998 the KLA occupied the  facility and temporarily took a nun , some monks and a few Serbs seeking protection there hostage. In the summer of 1999, after the end of the Kosovo war , the monks were expelled from the monastery and the monastery was destroyed a few months later. The relics were brought to the Sopoćani Monastery in Serbia.

In October 2004, the reconstruction of the monastery began. Wherever possible, old stones were reused.

Web links

Commons : Zočište Monastery  - collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Cultural Heritage in South-East Europe: Kosovo. (PDF) In: unesco.org. UNESCO Office Venice, March 2003, p. 33 , accessed on November 13, 2016 (English).
  2. ↑ a b c Gerlachlus Duijzings: Religion and the politics of identity in Kosovo . C. Hurst, 2000, ISBN 978-1-85065-392-9 , pp. 71–76 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  3. ^ Law on Special Protective Zones. (PDF) In: Kosovar Parliament. February 20, 2008, accessed November 13, 2016 .
  4. ↑ Lista e trashëgimisë cultures për mbrojte të përkoheshme. (PDF) Republika e Kosovës: Ministria e Kulturës, Rinisë dhe Sportit, p. 2 , accessed on November 13, 2016 (No. 20).
  5. ↑ a b c d Kosovo: Prioritized Intervention List (PDF, page 77 f.) ( Memento from March 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ↑ Centar Mnemosyne: Monastery of Holy Doctors Cosmas and Damian ( Memento from April 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  7. ^ SS. Cosmas and Damian Monastery, "Sveti Vraci Monastery". In: kosovo.net. Retrieved November 13, 2016 .

Coordinates: 42 ° 22 ′ 31 ″  N , 20 ° 42 ′ 8 ″  E