Krka monastery

The Krka Monastery ( sr-Cyrl, Манастир Крка, sr, Manastir Krka, italics=yes; hr, Samostan Krka) is a Serbian Orthodox monastery dedicated to the Archangel Michael, located near the river Krka, east of Kistanje, in central Dalmatia, Croatia. It is the best known monastery of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Croatia and it is officially protected as part of the Krka National Park. It dates back to 1577.

History

Supposedly, the oldest extant mention of the monastery was in 1350, when it is listed as an endowment of Serbian princess Jelena Nemanjić Šubić, half-sister of the Serbian emperor Dušan and wife of Mladen III Šubić Bribirski, Croatian duke of Skradin and Bribir. The claim has been met by skepticism and the source described as a forgery, due to the lack of verified proof of the claims. The monastery was built on top of a Roman site, and Roman burial catacombs exist beneath a part of the church. The Romanesque belfry suggest that the Orthodox monastery was previously home to a Catholic church, as the style was uncommon in other Serbian Orthodox churches of the time.

The Orthodox monastery was built in 1577. Other monastery buildings (18th–19th century), the church, and the belfry are situated around a rectangular cloister with arcades.

In mid-17th century monks were forced to flee from the Ottomans and found shelter in Zadar, where pope Innocent X in 1655 gave them two churches, that had previously been in possession of Franciscans of the Third Order, named "Glagolitians" (, ) . In a subsequent agreement with the Franciscans, the monks declared that they "live in the service of the eastern church, the old illyrian language."Vjesnik
In one contract with the Franciscans, the monks of the Krka monastery declared "that they live in the service of the Greek Church of the old Illyrian language" ("''žive u službi grčke Crkve staroga ilirskoga jezika''").

After Operation Storm in 1995 the monastery was looted, but not significantly, as it was protected by the Croatian authorities, abandoned, and the seminary shut down and relocated to Divčibare and, later, Foča. The monks returned in 1998, however, and the seminary reopened in 2001.

Architectural features

The belltower of this monastery was built in the Romanesque style.Enciklopedija likovnih umjetnosti, 3, Zagreb, 1964., p. 251 The complex also includes a chapel of Saint Sava built in the 19th century, under the tutelage of the Serbian Orthodox Bishop of Dalmatia Stefan Knežević, as well as a new building of the seminary and an additional dormitory building. The monastery has its archives and a library with a variety of ancient books and valuable items from the 16th to the 20th century, a collection of wooden icons ( St. John the Baptist from the 14th or 15th century, work by the so-called ''Master of the Tkon Crucifix''), silverware and embroideries.

See also

* List of Serb Orthodox Monasteries
* Serbs of Croatia

Literature

*dr. Marko Japundžić: ''Tragom hrvatskoga glagolizma'', KS, Zagreb, 1995., p. 51-54, 978-953-151-060-1

References

External links

Website of the Monastery (in English)
*
Pravoslavni manastir sv. Arhanđela Mihaila na rijeci Krki sagrađen je na temeljima katoličkoga samostana

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krka Monastery
Serbian Orthodox monasteries in Croatia
Buildings and structures in Šibenik-Knin County
Christian monasteries established in the 14th century
Romanesque architecture in Croatia
Fortified church buildings
14th-century Serbian Orthodox church buildings
15th-century Serbian Orthodox church buildings
Medieval sites in Croatia