Grgeteg Monastery in Fruska Gora
By Sajkaca
@SAJKACA32
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