Oplenac

Oplenac
St George's Church in Oplenac
Опленац
Црква Светог Ђорђа на Опленцу Crkva Svetog Đorđa na Oplencu
St George's Church
44°15′N20°40′E
Location	Topola
Country	Serbia
Denomination	Eastern Orthodoxy
Website	www.oplenac.rs
History
Status	Church
Founded	1910(1910)
Founder(s)	Peter I of Serbia
Dedication	Saint George
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance
Designated	1979
Style	Morava School
Specifications
Number ofdomes	5
Materials	Stone

TheSt. George's Church in Oplenac(Serbian Cyrillic:Црква Светог Ђорђа на Опленцу,romanized:Crkva Svetog Đorđa na Oplencu), also known asOplenac(Опленац), is themausoleumof theSerbianandYugoslavroyalhouse of Karađorđevićlocated on top of the Oplenac Hill in the town ofTopola,Serbia. The church of Oplenac was founded by KingPeter I of Yugoslavia.Many members of the royal house are buried in the church, in the crypt beneath the church, or in the church yard.

Mausoleum

Apart from the two tombs inside the church (Karađorđe’s in the southern apse; andPeter Iin the northern apse), there are 26 other members of the dynasty whose eternal place of rest is in this mausoleum. Six generations of the Karađorđević family have been buried in this church:

1. The first generation: Marica Živković, Karađorđe's mother.
2. The second generation:Karađorđe(in the church) and his wife Jelena Jovanović (1764–1842).
3. The third generation: Karađorđe's sonAlexanderand his wifePersida Nenadović(1813–1873).
4. 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,andPeter I(in the church) and his wifeLjubicaalso 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.
5. The fifth generation, Peter I and Zorka's children: Milena (1886–1887),Georgeand his wife Radmila Radonjić (1907–1993),Alexander Iand his wifeMariaand Andrija (1890–1890, lived only for 23 days). Also Prince Arsen's sonPauland his wifeOlga.
6. The sixth generation: King Alexander I and Queen Maria's children:Peter IIand his wifeAlexandra,Tomislav,andAndrew.AlsoPrince Paul's sonsNikolaandAlexander.

Crypt of the Church.

Out of the 28 tombs of the Karađorđević dynasty, six of them belong to rulers: Supreme LeaderKarađorđe,Prince Alexander,King Peter I,King Alexander I,Prince Paul,andKing 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 theBois-de-Vaux CemeteryinLausanne,and returned to Serbia.

On 26 May 2013,Queen Maria,her sons King Peter II andPrince Andrew,and Peter II's wifeAlexandra,were all buried here after their remains were exhumed fromFrogmorein Britain, the Saint Sava Monastery inLibertyville, Illinois,the cemetery ofNew Gračanica,also in Illinois, andTatoi PalaceinGreecerespectively, and returned to Serbia.

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 sonAlexanderbuilt new buildings and renewed his father's vineyards and orchards. It was not until the arrival ofKing Peter Ithat this place got its true importance.

Theossuaryof KingPeter I of Serbia.

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 toOrthodoxtradition. 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 architectKonstantin 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 nearbyVenčacmountain, even today known for its exceptionally white marble. In the autumn of 1912, the church was generally complete and ready for consecration. TheSerbian Patriarch Dimitrijeconsecrated the church on 23 September 1912. During the pauses of the 1912-1913Balkan Warsand theFirst World War,there was also a pause in the construction of the church. WhenAustria-Hungaryoccupied Serbia in the winter of 1915, the church was looted – the copper cover was removed from the dome, roof and portals. The lightning conductor was also removed as well as the bells. Many windows were broken including little marble pillars and ornaments. Using the excuse that important records might be hidden, the occupiers desecrated the graves in the crypt.

Returning to the liberated homeland and to the historical creation of theKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes,Peter I was not able to see the completion of his foundation. The king died on 16 August 1921, and his successor Alexander I took over its completion. He modified the original plan.

After the reconstruction of the crypt, by Jovanović, this was followed by theiconostasis,the lightning conductor, then a new copper roof with golden edges on the dome. The bells were made byFrères PiccardfromAnnecy le Vieux,France and the mosaics were made byPuhl & WagnerfromBerlin,Germany. The bronze chandelier was made by Luks,Zagreb,Croatia. The church was once again consecrated in September 1930. Church services were held until 1947. After that, it was declared a cultural monument and open to visitors. Oplenac was added to the list ofMonuments of Culture of Exceptional Importancein 1979, and it is protected by the state.

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 eachnarthexis 9 metres (30 feet), and so is the span of the central dome. All four façades are made of white marble, which comes from the Venčac Mountain. The main façade, the most decorative one, is the western one. The portal's semicircle hosts a mosaic icon of St. George, to whom the church is dedicated. Made inVeniceaccording to the plan of the known Serbian artistPaja Jovanović,on the basis of a golden mosaic, this icon symbolizes the victory of theSerbsover its enemies. Above the portal, in a circle, the old Karađorđević Family coat of arms has been sculpted, on whose sides two typical men fromŠumadijaregion are shown, holding the flags. The rest of it is mostly identical to theCoat of Arms of Serbia.The floor of the church was made inMunich,out of polished marble, in various colours. Lifted on a small podium, the throne for the King and Queen is made of polished green marble, its back is decorated with golden mosaic andmother-of-pearl,in the middle is thetwo-headed eagle.The arm-rest is made of the same marble asVisoki Dečani monastery,while the entire seat rests on sculpted lions. The huge chandelier, 9 metres in diameter, is underneath the main dome, hanging in 8 places, above the pendent. It has been molten out of massive bronze, and weighs 1,500 kg (3,300 lb). In the chandelier is a Crown set upside-down (symbolising the lostSerbian Empirein theKosovo battlein 1389).

Mosaic

Mosaics in St George's Church.

The initial idea of King Peter I was to carve into the walls the names of all soldiers and officers who had perished in theBalkan Warsof 1912 and 1913. But, since the church was not fully completed, and sinceFirst World Warfollowed (1914-1918), this idea had to be abandoned. The solution was to decorate the interior of the temple with mosaics, which would be a sort of a museum of reproductions of the most beautifulfrescoesof the medieval Serbian art. Copies from 60 Serbian medieval churches and monasteries had been brought to the St. George church at Oplenac. The entire mosaic has 725 painted compositions (513 in the temple and 212 in the crypt), on which there are 1500 figures. The entire area of the mosaic is 3,500 square metres (38,000 sq ft); with 40 million various coloured pieces of glass which have 15 thousand different varieties of colour, making vivid artistic impression.

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 theMother of God,greeting him withChristsitting on the throne.

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 isStefan Nemanja(ruled from 1168 to 1196), wearing a priest garb of theHilandarmonastery, holding theStudenica monastery.Then, there is KingStefan the First Crowned(1196-1227) with the model of theŽičamonastery, then KingStefan Radoslav(1227–1234) with the narthex ofStudenica monastery,followed by KingStefan Vladislav(1234–1243) with theMileševamonastery, then KingStefan Uroš I(1243–1276) with theSopoćanimonastery; KingStefan Dragutinwith theChurch of St. Achillius(1276–1282), KingStefan Milutin(1282–1322) with theGračanica monastery,KingStefan Dečanski(1322-1331) with theVisoki Dečanimonastery, and two emperors –Stefan Dušan(1331-1355) with theMonastery of the Holy Archangels;andStefan Uroš V(1355–1371) with theMatejić monastery.The next depicted ruler isLazar of Serbia(1371-1389) with theRavanicamonastery, his son, despotStefan Lazarević(1389–1427) with theManasijamonastery, followed byĐurađ Brankovićwith the church ofSmederevo.

In the very calotte of the main dome is thePantocrator,copy of the thorax found in theGračanica monastery.The face of Christ, 27 metres from the floor of the temple, looks impressive and is of proportional dimensions. Although the diameter of this painting is 9 metres (30 feet), and although just the finger of Christ is 1.5 metres (4.9 feet) long, and the nose is 1.2 metres (3.9 feet) long, everything is harmonious. In the altar are the frescoes ofLord's supperand the way to theGolgotha.In the altar niche there is the 5-metre (16-foot) tall figure of the DivineMother of Godin a praying position (copy of the fresco from thePatriarchal Monastery of Peć). Also, there is the Secret of theHoly Communionand theCommunion of the Apostleswith Bread and Wine. These are just some of the compositions that make the rich interior of the church.

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 ofTopolalocated 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 famousUltima cenabyDa Vinci.The icon is made ofmother of pearland each figure and object is crafted individually. It was made in the workshop of the Salsa' family inBeit Sahour,1.5 km (0.93 mi) east ofBethlehem.The icon is 73.5 by 67.5 cm (28.9 by 26.6 in). It was handed out to King Alexander I on 16 October 1924, when theGreek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem,Damian I,visited Belgrade. Though the press of the day reported in detail about the event, the icon wasn't mentioned. It was a gift for the king's wedding, which happened on 8 June 1922. The king ordered for the icon to be transferred to the church vault in Oplenac.

On 18 October 1934, German Nazi officialHermann Göringvisited 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 ofJohn the ApostleonUltima cenaactually beingMary Magdalenealready existed, and John on the icon indeed looks like a woman,Heinrich Himmler's quasi-scientific organizationAhnenerbealso expressed interest in the icon as part of their search for theHoly Grail.After the GermanInvasion of YugoslaviaduringWorld War II,Yugoslavia was occupied in April 1941, Göring decided to obtain the icon first. In order to forestall the plundering of Ahnenerbe andAlfred Rosenberg,who also founded an organization for stealing arts in the occupied countries, Göring sentFranz Neuhausento Serbia. In order to mask the looting and give it some legal credence, Göring appointed Neuhausen as the specialplenipotentiaryfor economic affairs in theTerritory of the Military Commander in Serbiaafter the partition of Yugoslavia. The first thing taken from Opleanac was the icon, sent right away to Göring who exhibited it in hisCarinhall.In 1943, Göring transferred a part of the plundered collection, including the icon, to theAltausseesalt mines inStyria,Austria.

The Allies found the treasure after the liberation and it was all stored inFührerbau,a former representative building built forHitler,then turned by the Allies into the Central Collecting Place for the art looted by Nazis. The icon was also stored there. There are two version of how the icon was returned to Oplenac. According to the first, member of the security agencyOZNASlobodan Kostić Uča paid for it "1,200 dinars, 350 dollars and some small types of other favors". The other, more accepted is that controversial art collectorAnte Topić Mimarareturned the icon, as his wife Wiltrud Mersman Topić was a junior curator at the Central Collecting Place.

See also

• Tourism in Serbia

External links

• [1]
• Royal Family of Serbia Official website