The Modern Serbo-Byzantine architectural style, Neo-Byzantine architectural style or Serbian national architectural style is the style in Serbian architecture which lasted from the second half of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century. This style originated in the tradition of medieval Serbian-Byzantine school and was part of international Neo-Byzantine style.

History and characteristics

The beginning of the modern Serbian-Byzantine style lies in the romantic spirit, which was prevalent in Europe in the first half of the 19th century, and in the Serbian lands appeared by the mid-century and was alive to its last decades. The beginning of this style can be seen as "resistance" to newcomers' influences of the "western-style" (

Classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthe ...

, Neo-Baroque) in the

Principality of Serbia The Principality of Serbia () was an autonomous, later sovereign state in the Balkans that came into existence as a result of the Serbian Revolution, which lasted between 1804 and 1817. Its creation was negotiated first through an unwritten agre ...

. The style is characterized by forms and decorations from the Serbian-Byzantine architectural heritage. This architectural approach is not strictly tied to the church architecture; in fact, the style was prosperous in secular architecture. It is also closely linked to the influence of

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

. The Modern Serbo-Byzantine architectural style consists of three periods: the first or early period represents a combination of "western-style" with elements of

Byzantine architecture Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire, usually dated from 330 AD, when Constantine the Great established a new Roman capital in Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until the Fall of Cons ...

. A typical example is the Church of St. George in

Smederevo Smederevo ( sr-Cyrl, Смедерево, ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Podunavlje District in eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, about downstream of the Serbian capital, ...

, where the longitudinal basis (characteristic of the West) appears five domes in the form of so-called. "Greek cross". The second period is related to the expansion and strengthening of Serbia, now as a kingdom (1882–1914). During this period, the style is "determined". Numbers of churches are being built, rarely other forms of construction. Examples outside the territory of the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynast ...

are rare. The third and final period is related to the time between the two world wars, when there was a sudden expansion of the style across the whole of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, although its presence was much more dominant in the east, "Serbian" (mostly

Central Serbia Central Serbia (), also referred to as Serbia proper (), is the region of Serbia lying outside the autonomous province of Vojvodina to the north and the disputed Kosovo region to the south. Central Serbia is a term of convenience, not an administ ...

) part of the work of the Kingdom. Examples of the western part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia are rare and are mainly related to specific examples of church architecture of the Serbian Orthodox Church. In addition, there are examples related to the Serbs in the

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

, like the Church of St. Spyridon in Trieste, designed by Carlo Maciachini. Buildings in this period are equally religious and secular. The Second World War and after was a turning point; after the war with the advent of communism, all forms of

historicism Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying the process or history by which they came about. The term is widely used in philosophy, ant ...

in Serbian architecture are discarded, including Serbo-Byzantine style. After the fall of socialist Yugoslavia, Serbo-Byzantine style returned through the construction of new religious buildings such as churches and monasteries.

Architects

Prominent architects of this style are (ordered by the time in which they were active): * Jan Nevole * Andreja Damjanović * Aleksandar Deroko * Momir Korunović *

Svetozar Ivačković Svetozar Ivačković (Serbian language, Serbian Cyrillic: Светозар Ивачковић) (December 10, 1844 – January 30, 1924) was a distinguished post-Romanticism, Romantic Serbs, Serbian architect; the most famous representative of the f ...

* Vladimir Nikolić * Jovan Ilkić * Dušan Živanović * Andra Stevanović * Branko Tanazević * Petar Popović *

Jovan Novaković Jovan may refer to: *Jovan (given name), a list of people with this given name *Jovan, Mawal, a village on the western coastal region of Maharashtra, India *Jōvan Musk, a cologne *Deli Jovan, a mountain in eastern Serbia *Róbert Jován (born 196 ...

* Dragutin Maslać * Dragutin Inkiostri Medenjak * Vasilije Androsov * Grigorije Samojlov * Brothers Krstić

Examples

Early period (around 1850-1880)

*Cathedral of Saint George in

by Andrey Damyanov *Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...

by Andrey Damyanov *Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in

Vranje Vranje ( sr-Cyrl, Врање, ) is a city in Southern Serbia and the administrative center of the Pčinja District. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population of 55,214 while the city administrative area has 74,381 inhabitan ...

by Andrey Damyanov * Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in Sarajevo by Andrey Damyanov * Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in

Mostar Mostar () is a city and the administrative centre of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is situated on the Neretva Riv ...

by Andrey Damyanov *Church of the Ascension in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

by Pavle Stanišić and Jovan Ristić

Middle period (1880-1914)

* Saint Spyridon Church in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

by Carlo Maciachini *Old church in

Pančevo Pančevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Панчево, ; ; ; ; ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the South Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is located on the shores of rivers Timiș (ri ...

*Church of St. Elias in

Leskovac Leskovac ( sr-Cyrl, Лесковац, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Jablanica District in Southern Serbia (Geographical Region), southern Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a p ...

by Svetozar Ivačković *Church at the New Cemetery in

by Svetozar Ivačković *Saint Peter's Church in

Jagodina Jagodina ( sr-cyrl, Јагодина, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Pomoravlje District in central Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Belica (river), Belica River, in the geographical region of � ...

by Svetozar Ivačković *The chapel at the cemetery in

Sremski Karlovci Sremski Karlovci ( sr-Cyrl, Сремски Карловци, ) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka Districtautonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Danube, from Novi Sad. According to the 202 ...

by Vladimir Nikolić *Holy Trinity Church in

Paraćin Paraćin ( sr-Cyrl, Параћин, ) is a town and municipality located in the Pomoravlje District of central Serbia. Located in the Velika Morava river valley, north of Kruševac and southeast of Kragujevac, the town had a population of 22,349 ...

by Jovan Ilkić *Saint George's church in

Kruševac Kruševac ( sr-Cyrl, Крушевац, ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Rasina District in central Serbia. It is located in the valley of West Morava, on Rasina (river), Rasina river. According to the 202 ...

by Dušan Živanović *Church of St. Archangel Michael in

Herceg Novi Herceg Novi (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Херцег Нови, ) is a town in Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro located at the Western entrance to the Bay of Kotor and at the foot of Mount Orjen. It is the administrative center of ...

*St. Sava Church in

Kosovska Mitrovica Mitrovica (Albanian language, Albanian Definiteness, indefinite Albanian morphology#Nouns (declension), form: ''Mitrovicë''; sr-Cyrl, Митровица, Mitrovica), also referred to as Kosovska Mitrovica ( sr-Cyrl, Косовска Митр� ...

by Andra Stevanović * St George's Church in Oplenac by Andra Stevanović *The building of the old telephone exchange in Belgrade by Branko Tanazević *Home of Vuk's Foundation in Belograde by Branko Tanazević *District offices in

by Petar Popović

Late period (1914-1941)

*Grammar school in

Čačak Čačak ( sr-Cyrl, Чачак, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Moravica District in central Serbia. It is located in the West Morava Valley. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population ...

by Dragutin Maslać *Grammar school in

Sremska Mitrovica Sremska Mitrovica (; sr-Cyrl, Сремска Митровица, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city in Serbia. It is situated on the left bank of the Sava, Sava river. , the city has a total population of 36,764 inhabitants, while its adminis ...

by Momir Korunović *Church of the Ascension of Christ in

Krupanj Krupanj ( sr-cyr, Крупањ, ) is a town and municipality located in the Mačva District of western Serbia. The municipality has a total population of 14,399 inhabitants, while the town has a population of 4,134 inhabitants (2022 census). Ge ...

by Momir Korunović *Ministry of Post in Belgrade by Momir Korunović *Sokol home in

Bijeljina Bijeljina ( sr-cyrl, Бијељина) is a city and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the provincial center of Semberija, a geographic region in the country's northeast. As of 2013, it has a population of 107,715 ...

by Momir Korunović * Old Post Office in

by Momir Korunović *

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (, ) is a Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox cathedral in Moscow, Russia, on the northern bank of the Moskva River, a few hundred metres southwest of the Kremlin. With an overall height of , it is the ...

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city in Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is the tr ...

by Dušan Živanović *

Church of Saint Sava The Church of Saint Sava ( sr-Cyrl, Храм Светог Саве, Hram Svetog Save, lit='The Temple of Saint Sava') is a 79 m high Serbian Orthodox church, which sits on the Vračar plateau in Belgrade, Serbia. It was planned as the bishopric ...

by Bogdan Nesterović and Aleksandar Deroko * White Palace in Dedinje, Belgrade by Živojin Nikolić, Viktor Lukomski and Nikolay Krasnov *House of Elezović in Belgrade by Aleksandar Deroko * Building of the Patriarchate in Belgrade by Viktor Lukomski * St. Mark's Church in Belgrade by Branko and Petar Krstić *Church of St. Constantine and Helen in Požega by Vasilij Adrosov *Sokol home in

Sombor Sombor ( sr-Cyrl, Сомбор, ; ; ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the West Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The city has a total population of 41,814 (), while its adminis ...

by J. Bazler and V. Sabo * Banski Dvor in

*The mausoleum in

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

by Nikolay Krasnov *Đorđević's House on Topčider in Belgrade by Branislav Kojić *Hotel in Sopoćani near Novi Pazar by Dragiša Brašovan

History and characteristics

Architects

Examples

Early period (around 1850-1880)

Middle period (1880-1914)

Late period (1914-1941)

See also

References

Further reading