The complex of preserved Serbian, Orthodox monasteries makes the most valuable monument treasure of Fruška Gora. The first written date on Orthodox monasteries at Fruška Gora dates back to 1455 and it was found in the letter of Despot Djuradj Branković (around 1375-1456), the last Serbian ruler before the fall of the Serbian Despotship under the Turks in 1459, written to the Pope Calisto III. In his letter, the Serbian Despot Branković referred to the right granted by the previous Pope, Nicholas V, to erect Orthodox monasteries "In regno Hungarie", which was realised in practice in the centuries that followed. Folk tradition places the building of monasteries at Fruška Gora in the period of several centuries before the evidence found in historical records. The history of monasteries of Fruška Gora can be largely connected with the endowment efforts of the noble family Branković, namely Despot Stefan Branković, his wife, Princess Angelina Branković and their sons Djordje and Jovan, who became Despots later on. Among them, Despot Djordje Branković (1461-1516) (who later became the Belgrade-Srem Metropolitan Maksim) and his mother, Princess Angelina Branković should be attributed the greatest merits for endowment heritage they left behind. The image that we are trying to comprehend now, looking at the Fruška Gora monasteries, is a representation of materialised concept of cultural, educational and economic growth of the Serbian people north of the Sava and the Danube that began in the third decade of the 18th century. During this period, a great reconstruction of the Fruška Gora monasteries began, during which a special form of baroque (somewhere also called Serbian) was created, which was reflected in the architecture of single-nave churches with massive bells, the making of iconostasis and wall painting. The baroque monumentality of churches and monastery dormitories and the concentration of Orthodox monastic communities at Fruška Gora, the area which was declared the National Park in 1946, have the inexhaustible power to attract visitors, pupils, students and pilgrims again.
Monasteries of Fruška Gora
Monastery of St. Petka
The monastery church is dedicated to Paraskevi of Rome (Sv. Petka Rimljanka)(August 8) Church of St. Petka in Berkasovo was built in 1884 as a parish church, on the site of a 19th-century log church, which was probably built next...
Read more Vranjaš Monastery
The monastery church is dedicated to St. Basil of Ostrog (Vasilije Ostroški) (May 12) In addition to the Vranjaš spring, whose waters in ancient times supplied Sirmium, a small chapel was built dedicated to Holy Physicians Cosmas and Damian (Sv....
Read more Monastery of the Holy Archangels
The monastery church is dedicated to St. Archangel Michael (Arhanđel Mihajlo) (November 21) The parish temple of St. Archangel Michael in Grabovo was declared a monastery and metochion of the Krušedol Monastery. The modern monastery’s Baroque, stone church, consecrated in...
Read more Monastery of the Presentation of Mary (Upper Church)
The monastery church is dedicated to the Presentation of Mary (Vavedenje Bogorodice) (December 4) It is not known for sure when the Upper Church (Gornja crkva) in Sremski Karlovci was built. Archaeological research shows that the temple dates from the...
Read more Savinac Monastery
The monastery church is dedicated to the Translation of the relics of St. Sava (Prenos moštiju Sv. Save) (May 19) It is not known when it was built or who the patron of the church whose ruins are located in...
Read more Monastery Kuveždin
The monastery church is dedicated to St. Sava (Sveti Sava) (January 27) According to lore, the Kuveždin Monastery was built by Despot Stefan Štiljanović at the beginning of the 16th century. In written sources, it is mentioned in the manuscript...
Read more Monastery Šišatovac
The monastery church is dedicated to The Nativity of Mary (Mala Gospojina, 21 September) According to the “Testamentary Scroll”(“Zaveštatelni svitak”), kept until the Second World War, it is known that, at the beginning of the 16th century, this monastery was...
Read more Monastery Bešenovo
The monastery church is dedicated to St. Archangels Michael and Gabriel (Sv. Arhanđeli Mihajlo i Gavrilo) (November 21) According to lore, this monastery was built by Serbian king Dragutin (Nemanjić) in the 13th century. In literature, it can also be...
Read more Monastery Jazak
The monastery church is dedicated to the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles (Silazak Sv. Duha na apostole) (Holy Trinity (Sv. Trojica), 50th day after Easter) Historical sources confirm that, not far from the modern Jazak Monastery, at...
Read more Monastery Vrdnik
The monastery church is dedicated to the Ascension of Christ (Vaznesenje Hristovo) (40th day after Easter) There are no precise data on the founding of this monastery. There is information in a menologium (liturgical book in Orthodox churches) from 1589,...
Read more Monastery Beočin
The monastery church is dedicated to The Ascension of Christ (Vaznesenje Hristovo) (movable feast) It is not known when the Beočin Monastery was founded, nor who its patron is. In historical sources, it is mentioned in a Turkish document from...
Read more Monastery Rakovac
The monastery church is dedicated to Holy Physicians Cosmas and Damian (Sv. Vrači Kozma i Damjan) (July 14 and November 14) According to lore, the Rakovac Monastery is the endowment of Raka Milošević, the great chamberlain of Despot Jovan Branković...
Read more Monastery Staro Hopovo
The monastery church is dedicated to St. Panteleimon (Sveti Pantalejmon) (August 9) According to lore, the Staro Hopovo Monastery was built by Despot Đorđe Branković at the end of the 15th century or at the beginning of the 16th century....
Read more Monastery Novo Hopovo
The monastery church is dedicated to St. Nicholas (Sv. Nikola) (December 19) According to the biography (žitije) of St. Angelina (Branković), the Novo Hopovo Monastery is the first endowment of Archbishop and Metropolitan of Belgrade and Srem Maksim (formerly Despot...
Read more Monastery Grgeteg
The monastery church is dedicated to Translation of the relic of St. Nicholas (Prenos mošti sv. Nikole) (May 22) According to lore, the Grgeteg Monastery is the endowment of Despot Vuk Branković (Zmaj Ognjeni Vuk), built for Vuk’s father Grgur...
Read more Monastery Velika Remeta
The monastery church is dedicated to St. Dimitrije (November 8) Research on the age of the church of Velika Remeta Monastery has been on-going since the 18th century. According to lore, the monastery was founded by the Serbian king Dragutin...
Read more Monastery Krušedol
The monastery church is dedicated to the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary (Blagovesti Bogorodice) (April 7) The Krušedol Monastery was founded by Archbishop Maksim (before the monkhood – Despot Đorđe Branković) at the very beginning of the 16th century, and...
Read more Monastery Mala Remeta
The monastery church is dedicated to the Shroud of the Virgin (Pokrov Bogorodice) (October 14) According to lore, the Mala Remeta Monastery was built by King Dragutin Nemanjić (1276-1316) and given as a gift to the Rača Monastery (near Bajina...
Read more Monastery Petkovica
The monastery church is dedicated to St. Petka (St. Petka, Paraskeva of the Balkans) (October 27) According to lore, the Petkovica Monastery was built in the first half of the 16th century by Jelena, the widow of Despot Stefan Štiljanović,...
Read more Monastery Privina Glava
The monastery church is dedicated to the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel (Sv. Arhanđeli Mihajlo i Gavrilo) (November 21 and July 26) According to lore, the monastery was built in the 12th century by the Serbian nobleman Priba or Priva....
Read more Monastery Divša (Djipša)
The monastery church is dedicated to Translation of the relic of St. Nicholas (Prenos mošti Sv. Nikole) (May 22) According to lore, the Đipša Monastery was founded by Despot Jovan Branković in the 15th century. This information is also stated...
Read more Monastery of St. Mark (Sv. Marko)
The monastery church is dedicated to Mark the Holy Apostle (Sv. apostol Marko) (May 8) St. Mark’s church in the rural area of Novi Karlovci was erected in the second half of the 19th century near a spring that was...
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