Grgeteg Monastery in Fruska Gora

This post belongs to the series about the beautiful monasteries of the Fruska Gora (the only mount of the extended flat Vojvodina region in the National Park of Fruska Gora which is also a well know tourist destination). The links to the first 6 monasteries of the series (Velika Remeta, Novo Hapovo, Krusedol, Jazak, Beocin and Vrdnik-Ravanica) are on the bottom of this post.

The Grgeteg Monastery (Манастир Гргетег).

The Grgeteg Monastery, with the church dedicated to Saint Nicholas and located on the southern slope of Mount Fruška Gora, was, according to a legend, built in the mid-fifteenth century by Despot Zmaj Ognjeni Vuk for his father, Grgur the Blind. The earliest historical data related to the Monastery are encountered in Turkish defters from the mid-sixteenth century.

Although prior to the Great Migration of Serbs it had been forsaken, its refurbishment took place in the beginning of the 18th century through endeavors of the Metropolitan Isaija Đaković. The baroquization of the church was undertaken between 1766 and 1771, during the Metropolitan Pavle Nenadović. 

Extensive refurbishment from the time of hegoumenos Ilarion Ruvarac, undertaken in the late 19th century, was supervised by an architect from Zagreb, Herman Bole. 

 

The older iconostasis, painted by Jakov Orfelin, was replaced by a smaller screen, whose author was Uroš Predić, executed in the style of academic realism. The Grgeteg Church is a single-nave building, with a round altar apse and rectangular choirs. The 18th century dome was removed during the last refurbishment, which insisted on a clear layout and symmetry, both in the interior of the church and on its façades. 

The monks dwelling quarters surround the church by all four sides. They originated during the Metropolitan Pavle Nenadović, in whose time a campanile—to be pulled down in WWII—was also erected. In the same period the iconostasis in the campanile chapel was destroyed, painted by Pierre Križanić. Systematic reconstruction and conservational works were begun in 1953.

(The text,slightly adapted, and the cover picture are from Spomenici kulture u Srbiji)  

Travel Tips:

Fruska Gora Monasteries Overview 
Velika Remeta Monastery in Fruska Gora
Novo Hapovo Monastery in Fruska Gora
Krusedol Monastery in Fruska Gora 
Jazak Monastery in Fruska Gora
Beocin Monastery in Fruska Gora

Vrdnik-Ravanica Monastery in Fruska Gora

Vrdink-Ravanica Monastery in Fruska Gora

Going on with the series about the beautiful monasteries of the Fruska Gora (the only mount of the extended flat Vojvodina region in the National Park of Fruska Gora which is also a well know tourist destination). The links to the first 5 monasteries of the series (Velika Remeta, Novo Hapovo, Krusedol, Jazak and Beocin) are on the bottom of this post.

The Vrdnik-Ravnica Monastery (Манастир Врдник-Раваница).

The Vrdnik-Ravanica Monastery, with a church dedicated to the Resurrection of Christ, was built in the 16th century on the southern slopes of the Mount Fruška Gora. In a Turkish defter, it is mentioned as the “Monastery of Saint John nearby helmet Vrdnik.” After the Great Migration of Serbs in 1690, it was populated by monks from the Ravanica Monastery near Cuprija, and ever since has often been referred to as the “Ravanica of Srem.”

The monks from Ravanica had to flee from the Turks in order to safeguard their treasures and the holy relics of Prince Lazar, so they found this place where they renovated the Vrdnik Church, changed its dedication, and reestablished the cult of the Prince Lazar.
A bigger church was built in 1811, during the Metropolitan Stefan Stratimirović, whereas on the site of the smaller church, a stone cross was placed. Based on the project of Kosta Zmijanović, the work was undertaken by Kornelije Srbin from Novi Sad. It is a single-nave building of large dimensions, with a small dome conspicuously out of scale with the rest of the edifice, a round apse and rectangular choirs. Soaring above the narthex with the choir gallery is a three-storied baroque campanile. Façades are enlivened with pilasters topped by classical capitals and large, rounded window openings.

Frescoes, executed in the spirit of Romanticism, are work of Dimitrije Avramović, who also painted the iconostasis. Lavish and assorted woodcarving of the iconostasis, characterized by pronounced symmetry in tune with the classicist spirit, was done by Marko Vujatović. The most elaborate restoration in the post-WWII period was undertaken between 1987 and 1990.

(The text,slightly adapted, and the cover picture are from Spomenici kulture u Srbiji)  

Travel Tips:

Fruska Gora Monasteries Overview 
Velika Remeta Monastery in Fruska Gora
Novo Hapovo Monastery in Fruska Gora
Krusedol Monastery in Fruska Gora 
Jazak Monastery in Fruska Gora
Beocin Monastery in Fruska Gora