Serbian Orthodox Monasteries on Fruška Gora Mountain

in the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina

1. The Krušedol monastery (Serbian: Манастир Крушедол / Manastir Krušedol) is the legacy of the last Serbian despot family of Srem - Branković. It was built between 1509 and 1514. The whole family including Đurađ Branković and Stefan Lazarević, as well as two partiarchs of the Serb Orthodox Church, were buried in Krušedol. It is shown on the 5 Dinar coin.

Krušedol Monastery with the church devoted to Annunciation was erected in 1509. Its founder was bishoup Maksim (the former despot Đurađ Branković) with help of mother Angelina and Wallachian voivode Jovan Njagoj. During the Turkish retreat from Srem, in 1716, the monastery was damaged and the church was burnt down.

The reconstruction works starred in 1721. and they were finished an the end of 1760. During the period of 1750/51 and 1756 some parts of rhe church were covered with new wall paintings, the authors of frescos were propably the Greeks from the Holy Mountain.

The iconostasis consists of icons that were painted in different periods and which are also different in style. The apostles with Christ, in the middle, is the work of some artists from Crete, and it belonged to the previous iconostais from the I6th ccnrury. Painted Crucifixion with accompanying icons and the Unsleepy Eye (an eye that can see everything, a symbol of God's omniscience) date from 1653, while other four icons and painted doorway date from 1745. The icons that were painted in 1828. belong to the earliest period. During World War II this monastery was not destroyed, but its rich treasury was mostly carried off. The whole monastic complex has been renovated.

2. The Novo Hopovo Monastery (Serbian: Манастир Ново Хопово / Manastir Novo Hopovo) with St. Nikola's church.

According to tradition it is the memorial of Despot from the family Branković, but it hasn't been proved yet. The first certain information about this monastery, the first written document dates from 1451. Todays church was erected 1575-76, by donation of Lacko and Marko Jovišić, inhabitants of the village of Gornji Kovin, and other contributors. The facts relating the previous church are very uncertain, unexpfored.

The church of Hopovo is one of the biggest and due to its architecture, the most iimportant sacral building of that time. The constructors united traditional Serbian architecture, elements taken over from Wallachian artistic area and Islam architecture. The church has trefoil base with very simple parvis. Massive belfry was built next to the church between 1751 and 1758, as well as small chapel, St. Stefan, which was built on the first floor. At that time monastic complex underwent a lot of changes, in the spirit of the times and under the influence of baroque. The wals in front of the altar vere painted in 1608., those of parvis were painted in 1654. The old iconostasis was replaced by high in the second half of the 18th century.The icons on the iconostasis were painted in 1776. by Teodor Kračun.

The monastery was demolished during World War II, its iconostais was taken apart and damaged, movable material was taken away.The reconstruction started in 1949. During this reconstruction the old painted icons were between 1953 and 1960. During archeological expeditions between 1978. and 1979. it was found a part of an old church.

Sremski Karlovci

Sremski Karlovci, "a town of history" is located on mild slopes spreading from the Danube towards Fruska Gora, on the road connecting Novi Sad and Belgrade (12 km from Novi Sad). The settlement in the outskirts of Fruska Gora valley, towards the river, has existed here from ancient times. Architectural monuments of Sremski Karlovci are rare examples of style and artistic shaping. The Orthodox Church built (1758-1762) in a baroque style, with the changed renaissance facade (1909) treasures the exquisite works of painters such as Kracun, Cesljar, Orfelin and Paja Jovanovic. The building of the Magistrate (1806-1811) in the empire style represents a fine example of such architecture. The Roman-catholic church, built at the beginning of the 18th century and renewed in 1768, possesses interesting elements in the complex of diverse construction.

History of Sremski Karlovci

The town was first mentioned in historical documents in 1308 with the name Karom. Until 1521, the Karom was a possession of the Hungarian noble family Báthory. Turkish military commander Bali-beg conquered Karom in 1521, and in the next 170 years, the town was part of the Ottoman Empire. The Slavic name for the town - Karlovci, was first recorded in 1533.

Between November 16, 1698, and January 26, 1699, the town of Sremski Karlovci was the site of a congress that ended the hostilities between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League, a coalition of various European powers including Austria, Poland, Venice and Russia; the congress produced the Treaty of Karlowitz. After this peace treaty, the town was part of the Habsburg Monarchy and was included into the Military Frontier. According to the 1702 data, the population of the town was composed of 215 Orthodox and 13 Catholic houses, while according to the 1753 data, the population of the town numbered 3,843 people, of which 3,110 were ethnic Serbs.

The town was also the spiritual, political and cultural center of the Serbs in the Austrian empire. The Metropolitan of the Serb Orthodox Church resided in the town. To this day, the Serb Orthodox Patriarch retains the title of Metropolitan of (Sremski) Karlovci. The town also featured the earliest Serb (and Slavic in general) grammar school (Serbian: gimnazija/гимназија, French: lycée) founded on August 3rd, 1791. Three years after this, an Orthodox seminary was also founded in the town. It was the second oldest Orthodox seminary in the World (After the Spiritual Academy in Kiev), and it operates to this day.

On the Serb National Assembly in Sremski Karlovci in May, 1848, Serbs declared the unification of the regions of Srem, Banat, Bačka, and Baranja (including parts of the Military Frontier) into the province of Serbian Vojvodina. The first capital of Serbian Vojvodina was in Sremski Karlovci, until it was latter moved to Zemun, Veliki Bečkerek, and Temišvar.

When Serbian Vojvodina was in 1849 transformed into the new province named Vojvodina of Serbia and Tamiš Banat, Sremski Karlovci were not included into this province, but were returned under the administration of the Military Frontier (Slavonian Krajina). With the abolishment of the Military Frontier in 1881, the town was included into Croatia-Slavonia, the autonomous kingdom within Austria-Hungary.

In 1918, the town became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. In the 1920s, the town became the headquarters of Russian White émigrés of General Wrangel whose monument remains to this day. It was also home to the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.

Between 1929 and 1941, the town was part of Danube Banovina, a province of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. During World War 2 (1941-1944), the town was occupied by the Axis Powers and it was attached to the Independent State of Croatia. During that time its name was changed to Hrvatski Karlovci. Since the end of the war, the town has been part of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.

Between 1980 and 1989, Sremski Karlovci was one of the seven municipalities of Novi Sad City. Today, the municipality is not part of Novi Sad City, but a separate administrative unit.