Oplenac
Oplenac | |
---|---|
St George's Church in Oplenac | |
Опленац | |
Црква Светог Ђорђа на Опленцу Crkva Svetog Đorđa na Oplencu | |
Morava School | |
Specifications | |
Number of domes | 5 |
Materials | Stone |
The St. George's Church in Oplenac (
Mausoleum
Apart from the two tombs inside the church (
- The first generation: Marica Živković, Karađorđe's mother.
- The second generation: Karađorđe (in the church) and his wife Jelena Jovanović (1764–1842).
- The third generation: Karađorđe's son Alexander and his wife Persida Nenadović (1813–1873).
- The fourth generation: Alexander and Persida's nine children. As follows: Kleopatra (1835–1855), Aleksije (1836–1840), Svetozar (1841–1847), Jelena (1846–1867), Andreja (1848–1864), Jelisaveta (1851– 1852), Đorđe (1856–1888), Arsenije, and Peter I (in the church) and his wife Ljubica also known as Zorka (she is buried in the crypt). Out of the ten children of Prince Alexander and Princess Persida, only their oldest daughter, Poleksija (1833–1914), was not buried here, though Poleksija's daughter Persida Ida Nikolaijevic (1860–1945) is buried here.
- The fifth generation, Peter I and Zorka's children: Milena (1886–1887), George and his wife Radmila Radonjić (1907–1993), Alexander I and his wife Maria and Andrija (1890–1890, lived only for 23 days). Also Prince Arsen's son Paul and his wife Olga.
- The sixth generation: King Alexander I and Queen Maria's children: Alexander.
Out of the 28 tombs of the Karađorđević dynasty, six of them belong to rulers: Supreme Leader Karađorđe, Prince Alexander, King Peter I, King Alexander I, Prince Paul, and King Peter II. It is an important place of Serbian history. On 6 October 2012, Prince Paul, his wife Olga and his son Nikola were all buried here after their remains were exhumed from the Bois-de-Vaux Cemetery in Lausanne, and returned to Serbia.[1]
On 26 May 2013, Queen Maria, her sons King Peter II and Prince Andrew, and Peter II's wife Alexandra, were all buried here after their remains were exhumed from Frogmore in Britain, the Saint Sava Monastery in Libertyville, Illinois, the cemetery of New Gračanica, also in Illinois, and Tatoi Palace in Greece respectively, and returned to Serbia.[2]
History
In the 19th century this area was covered in woods. The term Oplenac most probably derives from "oplen", meaning wooden parts on ox cars. Karađorđe had settled here, built vineyards and orchards, and established the defence of the nearby Topola. His son
Peter I, upon his ascension to the throne in 1903, chose a spot 337 metres (1,106 feet) on the top of Mali Oplenac hill for the location of his St. George Church. The location was measured by geodesy experts; so the altar would face east according to Orthodox tradition. In 1907 the cornerstone was laid, and the Charter dedicated to St. George was placed in the foundation. The winning prize for the tender was given to architect Nikola Nestorović. After a long and animated expert discussion, primarily regarding the demand for the monumentality of the Serbian-Byzantine style, and due to the King's own displeasure with the proposed solution, another tender in 1909 was launched. The committee was made up with basically the same previous members (Mihailo Valtrović, Andra Stevanović, and architect Konstantin Jovanović, who replaced Dragutin Đorđević from the previous committee).
The committee awarded first prize to the young architect Kosta J. Jovanović. On May 1, 1910, construction started following Jovanović's plan. Stone breaking for the crypt and the foundation of the church lasted for four months. On 1 September 1910, the foundation was mostly completed. In 1911 the building process continued at a fast pace, and the church was already under the dome. It was decided that same year that the façade of the church would be made of white marble, which came from nearby
Returning to the liberated homeland and to the historical creation of the
After the reconstruction of the crypt, by Jovanović, this was followed by the
Architecture and design
The church is a five-domed structure. The interior length of the temple is 30 metres (98 feet), and the height of the arch is 27 metres (89 feet). The width of each
Mosaic
The initial idea of King Peter I was to carve into the walls the names of all soldiers and officers who had perished in the
To the right side of the entrance, on the entire southern wall of the narthex, is the painting of the trustee, King Peter I, holding the model of his church on the palm of his left hand, wearing a crown and coronation ornaments. With his right hand, he is guided by St. George, to whom the temple is dedicated, and shown approaching the
In the southern apse is the gallery of the Serbian medieval rulers, an impressive line-up with every one of them represented by their respective churches. The first on the left is
In the very calotte of the main dome is the
Besides the Mausoleum (St. George church), there are other objects that encompass the Foundation of King Peter I – King Peter's House, King's villa, Queen's villa, Vineyards, Vineyard Keeper's House, etc. Visitors can also visit the historic town of Topola located nearby, a traditional stronghold of the Karađorđević family, ever since the time of Karađorđe.
Last supper
The church hosts an icon representing the Last supper, patterned after the famous
On 18 October 1934, German Nazi official Hermann Göring visited Oplenac, within the scopes of attending the funeral of King Alexander I. He spent a lot of time in front of the icon. As the myths of John the Apostle on Ultima cena actually being Mary Magdalene already existed, and John on the icon indeed looks like a woman, Heinrich Himmler's quasi-scientific organization Ahnenerbe also expressed interest in the icon as part of their search for the Holy Grail. After the German Invasion of Yugoslavia during World War II, Yugoslavia was occupied in April 1941, Göring decided to obtain the icon first. In order to forestall the plundering of Ahnenerbe and Alfred Rosenberg, who also founded an organization for stealing arts in the occupied countries, Göring sent Franz Neuhausen to Serbia. In order to mask the looting and give it some legal credence, Göring appointed Neuhausen as the special plenipotentiary for economic affairs in the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia after the partition of Yugoslavia. The first thing taken from Opleanac was the icon, sent right away to Göring who exhibited it in his Carinhall. In 1943, Göring transferred a part of the plundered collection, including the icon, to the Altaussee salt mines in Styria, Austria.[4]
The Allies found the treasure after the liberation and it was all stored in
See also
References
- ^ "Ostaci Karađorđevića na Oplencu". Tanjug. October 5, 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
- ^ "Serbia gives state funeral to former King and family". nbcnews.com. 26 May 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
- ^ Monuments of Culture in Serbia: КАРАЂОРЂЕВА ТОПОЛА СА ОПЛЕНЦОМ (SANU) (in Serbian and English)
- ^ a b c Branko Bogdanović (4 November 2018). Из старих ризница - Посетилац Београда и крадљивац културног блага [Visitor to Belgrade and plunderer of the cultural treasure]. Politika-Magazin, No. 1101 (in Serbian). pp. 27–29.