Convent of the Forty Martyrs

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Ruins of the plant

The Monastery of the Forty Martyrs ( Albanian  Manastiri i 40 Shenjtorëve , Greek Ιερά Μονή Σαράντα Μαρτύρων Ierá Moní Saránta Martýron ) is a former Christian monastery near Saranda in southern Albania , which was dedicated to the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste . Only ruins remain of the monastery, which is part of Albania's national cultural heritage.

The monastery was built in the late 5th or 6th century. The ancient Onchesmos on the site of today's Saranda, the port of Phoinike , was the seat of a bishopric in the 5th century . The basilica , around 43 meters long and 23 meters wide, consists of the central nave and three apsidioles in each of the side naves. There was another apse on the east side and an exonarthex on the west . The crypt , in which ten chapels are arranged in a ring , is still well preserved . Older, hardly preserved frescoes in the crypt from late antiquity show architectural representations, new ones from the 9th century are figurative . In addition to the chapels, there was another cistern in the basement , which was later converted into another prayer room. Some ruins have been preserved from other monastery buildings. An elaborate system of cisterns and water pipes fed a fountain .

It is believed that the monastery was an important pilgrimage site . For the time, the building is referred to as a “huge church” ( Guntram Koch ). One realizes that such a large and elaborate building far exceeded the possibilities of the local elite of the time. The church was unique for its time due to its splendor, its dimensions as well as the architectural implementation and construction technology with large above and below ground rooms. It is therefore assumed that the monastery had a far supra-regional importance and was probably even commissioned by the Patriarch in Constantinople , even if inscriptions indicate other donors. It is comparable to other important pilgrimage shrines of late antiquity such as the monastery of St. George in Resafa , Syria , the monastery of Abu Mena in Egypt or the Simeon monastery of Qalʿat Simʿan in Syria. In the center of the pilgrimage cult should have been the cryptoporticus , which was practically lightless, but very well ventilated and therefore designed for many visitors. After visiting the chapels, the faithful turned to another corridor, where the relics , the center of the complex, were at the end in niches . It is unclear which saints were worshiped here - the name of the forty saints could have come about later.

The cryptoporticus may have had a different use before it was turned into a Christian pilgrimage site.

The monastery in 1913

The first destruction occurred as a result of Ostrogoth invasions in the region in 551. The building was renewed in the 9th century. At least until the middle of the 19th century, monks still lived around the church. The first destructive explosion occurred in 1878 when ammunition from Greek soldiers exploded. Photographs from the 1910s and 1920s show that the outer walls of the church were already badly damaged. The facility was still in use, however, and a small church had been built in the roofless interior of the basilica. The remains of the building, with the exception of the vaulted cellar, were destroyed by Allied bombs during World War II. The Albanian army later used the area, which was only accessible again after 1997. The restoration of the facility was announced in 2015.

The monastery hill on the left and the hill with the Lëkures castle on the right

The monastery is located on a hill ( 211  m above sea level ) above the city and the bay near the village of Gjashta. A little to the south there was a small settlement on the hill where Ali Pasha Tepelena later built the Lëkures castle, in the Middle Ages. The name of Saranda is derived from the Greek name of the monastery ( Greek Άγιοι Σαράντα Hagioi Saranta ).

In 1970, during the ban on religion in Albania, the monastery was declared a national cultural monument. The ruins within the restricted military area were not maintained, however, and the wall paintings are considerably damaged.

literature

  • John Mitchell: The Archeology of Pilgrimage in Late Antique Albania: The Basilica of the Forty Martyrs . In: William Bowden, Luke Lavan, Carlos Machado (eds.): Recent Research on the Late Antique Countryside (=  Late Antique Archeology . Vol. 2). Brill, Leiden / Boston 2004, ISBN 90-04-13607-X , pp. 145 ff .
  • Gazmend Muka: Bazilika që i dha emrin Sarandës . In: Instituti i Monumenteve të Kulturës (ed.): Monumentet . No. 44 . Tirana 2002, p. 7-40 .
  • John Mitchell, William Bowden: The Church of the Forty Martyrs: The Recovery of a Forgotten Master-Building from the End of Antiquity . In: Minerva . No. 13 , 2002, p. 31-33 .
  • Ylber Hysi: The Monastery of the 40 Holy Martyrs . Gent graphic, Tirana 2009, ISBN 978-99956-51-51-0 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Oliver Gilkes: Albania. An Archaeological Guide . IBTauris, London 2013, ISBN 978-1-78076-069-8 , pp. 256 .
  2. ^ A b c d John Mitchell: The Archeology of Pilgrimage in Late Antique Albania: The Basilica of the Forty Martyrs . In: William Bowden, Luke Lavan, Carlos Machado (eds.): Recent Research on the Late Antique Countryside (=  Late Antique Archeology . Vol. 2). Brill, Leiden / Boston 2004, ISBN 90-04-13607-X , pp. 145 ff .
  3. ↑ a b c Guntram Koch : Albania. Art and culture in the land of the Skipetars (=  DuMont art travel guide ). DuMont, Cologne 1989, ISBN 3-7701-2079-5 , p. 264-266 .
  4. ↑ a b Manastiri i 40 Shenjtorëve. In: Instituti i Monumenteve të Kulturës. Retrieved May 5, 2017 (Albanian).
  5. ↑ a b c d e f Ylber Hysi: The Monastery of the 40 Holy Martyrs . Gent graphic, Tirana 2009, ISBN 978-99956-51-51-0 .
  6. ↑ cf. also file: Kikötő a tenger felől nézve. Fortepan 8336.jpg .
  7. ^ Margarita Skenderaj: The Forty Saints Monastery will undergo a major restoration, 70 years after its destruction. In: Agjencia Telegrafike Shqiptare. June 12, 2015, accessed May 6, 2017 .
  8. ↑ Official map 1: 50,000 of the military cartographic office of Albania, sheet J-34-5-A, 2nd edition, Tirana 1983
  9. ↑ Oliver Gilkes: Albania. An Archaeological Guide . IBTauris, London 2013, ISBN 978-1-78076-069-8 , pp. 258 .
  10. ↑ Lista e monumenteve të Kulturës - Qarku Vlorë. (PDF) Instituti i Monumenteve të Kulturës, accessed on May 5, 2017 (Albanian).

Coordinates: 39 ° 52 '20.7 "  N , 20 ° 1' 17.2"  E