Church in the middle of Serbia is unique in the world, it has one of the greatest mosaics: 28 members of the Karadjordjevic dynasty are buried here (PHOTO)
This church in the middle of Serbia is unique on the planet, the interior has one of the largest mosaics in the world, not from stone, but from Murano glass! One kilogram of Murano glass was worth a kilogram of gold
The Church of St. George at Oplenac, the mausoleum of the Serbian royal family, "hides" one of the largest mosaics in the world in its interior, unique because it was not made from stone, but from Murano glass. The historian's view is that this church is "absolutely unique in world scales", which is why it should be protected by the UNESCO.
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Dragan Reljic, historian and administrator of the King Petar I Karadjordjevic Foundation in Oplenac, explains that the mosaic extends to 3,570 square meters of internal walls.
- The church contains more than tens of millions of squares, placed into the mosaic by hand. They have around 15.000 thousand different shades of color. Everything that is yellow is 24-carat gold plating. There are even larger surfaces in the world that are under mosaic in religious temples, however, the squares that are brought in them are larger dimensions, and there is a larger gap between them. Mosaic of this quality can't be found anywhere in the world - Reljic stresses.
And the original plan for the church decoration was entirely different. Prince Aleksandar Karadjordjevic (Son of Karadjordje) left to his son, King Petar I Karadjordjevic, on his deathbed a legacy, to build the church on Oplenac. After the May's overthrow and the murder of King Aleksandar Obrenovic in 1903, King Petar came to Topola and he appointed a place for the church. The construction began seven years later and the church was completed in 1912.
- This one of the most beautiful churches where Serbian and Byzantine style were combined. The idea of King Petar was for this to be a mausoleum of the royal family and at the same time, a mausoleum of all Serbian warriors who died for the country in the previous wars. Their names were supposed to be written on the walls of the church. However, the World War I started and more than 25% of all Serbian citizens died, so the writing of all of the names became technically impossible - Reljic explains.
After the death of Petar I, his son Aleksandar I Karadjordjevic took care about the decoration of the Mausoleum. He decided to decorate the interior of the church in mosaics.
- He invited the best Russian artisans of the time, architects Nikolai Krasnov and his colleague Sergei Smirnov. Krasnov conducted an archaeological expedition and collected the most beautiful frescoes from more than 60 Serbian medieval monasteries. They were "transferred" on a cardboard and sent to the factory "Paul and Wanger" in Berlin where mosaic compositions were assembled. Then he brought them all to Topola and he imprinted them into the fresh plaster on the walls of the church. Our workers under the supervision of the Germans. The mosaic was done from 1921 to 1930 - Reljic explains.
It consists 725 compositions with 1.500 characters. The only one authentic, which was not taken from the medieval monasteries, is the portrait of King Petar I on the founder composition. It was made according to the design of our famous portraitist.
The material value of the mosaic cannot be calculated today. It can only be estimated with the fact at that time the kilogram of Italian murano glass was worth a kilogram of gold.
The crypt under the church of St. George on Oplenac is intended for the burial of the members of the Karadjordjevic dynasty. There are two sarcophagi in the temple itself - of the King Petar I who was the founder of the church and the sarcophagus of Vozd Karadjordje, the first ruler of restored Serbia and started of the dynasty. There are 39 tombs in the crypt. 28 family members of Karadjordjevic dynasty were buried there so far.
Mosaics decorate the walls, the temple, and the crypts beneath it.
Dejan Ristic, the historian and the expert in the in the field of cultural heritage protection and management, says that the church on Oplenac is entirely specific complex in multiple ways.
- That is something absolutely unique in the world scales and it meets all the conditions necessary to place it under the protection of the UNESCO - Ristic said.
This is how the part of the crypt looks like:
VIDEO: Marko's parents built a mausoleum, probably guided by Karadjordjevic example, but it has one bizarre thing:
(Telegraf.co.uk / Marija Raca)
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