Church of the Holy First Martyr Stephen ( sr, Црква Светог Првомученика Стефана/Crkva Svetog Prvomučenika Stefana), better known as the Lazarica Church (Serbian: Црква Лазарица/Crkva Lazarica), is a

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...

church in

Kruševac Kruševac ( sr-cyr, Крушевац, , tr, Alacahisar or Kruşevca) is a city and the administrative center of the Rasina District in central Serbia. It is located in the valley of West Morava, on Rasina river. According to the 2011 census, t ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

. It was built in 1375-1378 as an endowment of prince

Lazar of Serbia Lazar Hrebeljanović ( sr-cyr, Лазар Хребељановић; ca. 1329 – 15 June 1389) was a medieval Serbian ruler who created the largest and most powerful state on the territory of the disintegrated Serbian Empire. Lazar's state, ...

. Lazarica, as an outstanding achievement of the Serbian medieval architecture, was declared a Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1979, and it is protected by the

Republic of Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

. Lazarica was built as a prototype of the Morava school of architecture, as a palace church associated with the Kruševac Fortress, the capital of Prince Lazar. Today, only Lazarica and parts of the keep remain from the vast fortress complex.

History

Information about the founding of the church can be found in the "Žitije despota Stefana Lazarevića" by Constantine of Kostenets.

built the church at the same time as the

fortifications A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

for the capital

. In 1455, Kruševac fell under

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

rule, and the church was abandoned and desecrated. Lazarica was used as a stable for horses, and the roof was torn down for use elsewhere. During the Russo-Austrian-Turkish War, from 1736 to 1739, Lazarica was partially reconstructed, and the interior was painted with frescos by Andra Andrejević. After that, Kruševac fell under Ottoman rule again. The first major reconstruction of Lazarica occurred after the establishment of the independent

Principality of Serbia The Principality of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Књажество Србија, Knjažestvo Srbija) was an autonomous state in the Balkans that came into existence as a result of the Serbian Revolution, which lasted between 1804 and 1817. Its creation wa ...

, with numerous modifications over the next hundred years.

Architecture

The church is in the form of a

trefoil A trefoil () is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings, used in architecture and Christian symbolism, among other areas. The term is also applied to other symbols with a threefold shape. A similar shape with four ring ...

, a variant of the

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly describe ...

plan, with three bays in length, a dome over the central area and

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...

, originally with open side passages. It has a semicircular apse on the inside, which is five-sided on the outside, with attached colonettes. The church is oriented five degrees from a perfect west–east orientation. The foundation of Lazarica is at an elevation of . Internal length, from the top of the altar apse to the west wall of the narthex, is . The western width of the nave is from and the radius of the apse ranges from . Internal height to the apex of the semicalotte main dome is . Wall thickness ranges from . The foundations were laid at a depth of . Lazarica's masonry is basically

Byzantine style Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire. The Byzantine era is usually dated from 330 AD, when Constantine the Great moved the Roman capital to Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until the ...

: continuity of horizontal rows of dressed white sandstone with three rows of brick joints associated with thick plaster, without insisting on randomly placed bricks. A peculiar process was used to draw thick mortar joints out from the wall.

External links

*
ЛАЗАРИЦА

Lazarica
at TO Kruševac

References

{{Cultural Heritage of Exceptional Importance 14th-century Serbian Orthodox church buildings Medieval Serbian architecture 1378 establishments in Europe Serbian Orthodox church buildings in Serbia Archaeological sites in Serbia Tourist attractions in Serbia Cultural Monuments of Exceptional Importance (Serbia)

History

Architecture

See also

External links

References