Oplenac

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Church of Saint George, Oplenac

Oplenac ( Cyrillic Опленац ) is a mountain near Topola in Serbia , on which the mausoleum of the Serbian royal dynasty Karađorđević is located. Prince Alexander Karađorđević founded the first vineyards here and King Peter I Karađorđević donated the Church of St. George with a historical memorial complex, which developed into the foundation of the Karađorđević on the Oplenac.

Today the complex consists of the Church of St. George, the mausoleum of the dynasty, the royal vineyards, the museum, the house of King Petar, the royal villa, the church and the statue of the dynasty founder Karađorđe .

The name of the hill comes from the Serbian term оплена , which means the wooden wheels of an ox wagon, which were made from the wood of English oak and turkey , which are the natural vegetation for the Šumadija and the Oplenac.

Church of St. George

In 1903, King Peter I Karađorđević chose Oplenac as the place of his foundation of the Church of St. George. Construction of the church began on May 1, 1910 and was directed by the architect Kosta J. Jovanović. As a result of the Balkan Wars and the First World War , construction work was stopped. When the Austrians conquered the hill in 1915, the church was badly damaged.

The church was completed in 1930 by King Peter's successor, King Alexander I Karađorđević .

  • Front with entrance

  • Karađorđević dynasty crypt

architecture

The church is a neo - Byzantine cross- domed building with five domes. It is clad in white marble and is 30 m long and 27 m high.

Mosaics

The special feature of the interior are the 725 mosaics made in Italy (513 in the Naos, 212 in the crypt). The total area of ​​the mosaics is 3500 m² and consists of 40 million glass stones in 15,000 color nuances. The mosaics are faithful reproductions of the medieval frescoes of Serbia.

crypt

The crypt is reserved for members of the Karađorđevićs . The founder of the church and the founder of the dynasty are buried in the nave of the church. There are a total of 39 coffins in the crypt. The chandelier in the crypt is made of melted down guns captured in the First World War, the Battle of Kajmakčalan in September 1916, and represents the upturned medieval crown of Serbia.

Web links

Coordinates: 44 ° 16 ′ 15.3 "  N , 20 ° 40 ′ 33.9"  E