St. Stefan (Milentija)

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The ruins of the Stafan's Church in Milentija

The St. Stephen's Church of the Milentija Monastery is part of a former monastery from the early 15th century on the slopes of Kopaonik in the municipality of Brus in Serbia . No historical documents are known about the church, so neither reliable data about its builder nor the dates of its construction and final destruction are documented. During the first scientific excavations, which began in 1960, an extremely rich sculptural and artistically outstanding architectural decoration of the church was discovered, which makes it a major work of the Morava school and the Serbian stonemasonry. The floor plan of the church, which was excavated to a height of two meters, suggests a builder from the vicinity of the same workshops due to the almost identical floor plan to the Kalenić monastery church and the Lazarica , the court church of Prince Lazars .

Building decor

Reconstructed rose window, Milentija, late 14th or early 15th century.

Ornaments with animal and vegetable motifs are striking in the building decor of Milentija, the archivolts and rosettes were worked with the greatest precision in high stylistic quality and variety. The high level of skill in the stone carvings of the approximately 400 fragments of the building sculpture that have been preserved is particularly emphasized by their great plasticity and the wealth of individual motifs of plant ornamentation.

The rosettes were an integral part of Milentia's architectural decoration. In the ornamentation of these rosettes, the palmettes between the eight interwoven bands of the perforated stone sculpture, which were used for the first time in the stonemasonry of the Morava school, stand out. In the Serbian National Museum of Belgrade , a completely reconstructed rosette and several archivolts from Milentija found in the permanent exhibition.

Archaeological excavations and planned reconstruction

Another archaeological excavation was initiated in 2010 by Mirko Kovačević. A complete restoration of the church from 2013 is planned.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gordana Tomić: Једна вријанта у оквиру моравске школе . In: Vojislav J. Đurić (ed.): МОРАВСКА ШКОЛА И НЈЕНО ДОБА. Symposium de Resava 1968. Filosofski Facet Beograd, Belgrad 1972, pp. 249-262.
  2. ^ Marica Šuput: Rosette of the Church of Saint Stefan, Milentija. In: Helen C. Evns (Ed.): Byzantium faith and power (1261-1557). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Yale University Press, London 2004, ISBN 158839-113-2 , p. 84.
  3. ↑ Arheolozi otkrivaju ostatke Manastira Milentija kod Brusa. Blic , December 5, 2010.
  4. ↑ Uskoro pocinje obnova Milentije. Politika , June 17, 2012.

Coordinates: 43 ° 25 ′ 59 ″  N , 20 ° 58 ′ 57 ″  E