Temple of Saint Sava
Encyclopedia
The Cathedral of Saint Sava or Saint Sava Temple in Vračar
, Belgrade
, is an Orthodox church, the largest in the Balkans
, and one of the 10 largest church buildings in the world.. The church is dedicated to Saint Sava
, founder of the Serbian Orthodox Church
and an important figure in medieval Serbia
. It is built on the Vračar plateau, on the location where his remains were burned in 1595 by the Ottoman Empire's Sinan Pasha
. From its location, it dominates Belgrade's cityscape
, and is perhaps the most monumental building in the city. The building of the church structure is being financed exclusively by donation
s. The parish home is nearby, as will be the planned patriarch
al building.
It is not a cathedral
in the technical ecclesiastical sense, as it is not the seat of a bishop
(the seat of the Metropolitan bishop
of Belgrade is St. Michael's Cathedral). In Serbian it is called a hram (temple), which is in Eastern Orthodoxy another name for a church. In English, it is usually called a cathedral because of its size and importance.
s and buttress
ed on each side by a lower semi-dome
over an apse
. Beneath each semi-dome is a gallery supported on an arcade.
The dome
is 70 m (230 ft) high, while the main gold plated cross is another 12 m (39 ft) high, which gives a total of 82 m (269 ft) to the height Cathedral of Saint Sava. The peak is 134 m (440 ft) above the sea level (64 m (210 ft) above the Sava river); therefore the church holds a dominant position in Belgrade's cityscape
and is visible from all approaches to the city.
The church is 91 m (299 ft) long from east to west, and 81 m (266 ft) from north to south. It is 70 m (230 ft) tall, with the main gold-plated
cross
extending for 12 m (39 ft) more. Its dome
s have 18 more gold-plated crosses of various sizes, while the bell tower
s have 49 bell
s of the Austrian Bell Foundry Grassmayr.
It has a surface area of 3500 m² (37,674 sq ft) on the ground floor, with three galleries
of 1500 m² (16,146 sq ft) on the first level, and a 120 m² (1,292 sq ft) gallery on the second level. The Cathedral can receive 10,000 faithful at any one time. The choir
gallery seats 800 singers. The basement contains a crypt
, the treasury
of Saint Sava, and the grave church of Saint Lazar the Hieromartyr, with a total surface of 1800 m² (19,375 sq ft) .
The facade
is in white marble
and granite
and, when finished, the inner decorations will be of mosaic
s. The central dome will contain a mosaic of Christ Pantocrator
. To give a sense of the monumental scale, the eyes will each be about 4 meters wide.
in 1912, and subsequent Second Balkan War
and First World War
stopped all activities on the construction of the church. After the war, in 1919, the Society was re-established. New appeals for designs were made in 1926; this time, it received 22 submissions. Though the first and third prize were not awarded, the second-place project, made by architect
Aleksandar Deroko
, was chosen for the building of the Cathedral.
Forty years after the initial idea, construction of the church began on May 10, 1935, 340 years after the burning of Saint Sava's remains. The cornerstone
was laid by bishop Gavrilo Dožić-Medenica (the future Serbian Patriarch
Gavrilo V). The project was designed by Aleksandar Deroko and Bogdan Nestorović, aided by civil engineer
Vojislav Zađina. The work lasted until Second World War Axis
invasion of Yugoslavia
in 1941. The church's foundation
had been completed, and the wall
s erected to the height of 7 and 11 meters. After the 1941 bombing of Belgrade, work ceased altogether. The occupying German army used the unfinished church as a parking lot
, while in 1944 the partisans
and the Red Army
used it with the same purpose. Later, it was used for storage
by various companies. The Society for Building of the Cathedral ceased to exist and has not been revived.
In 1958, Patriarch German
renewed the idea of building the church. After 88 requests for continuation of the building—and as many refusals, permission for finishing the building was granted in 1984, and Branko Pešić
was chosen as new architect of the church. He remade the original projects to make better use of new material
s and building techniques. Construction of the building began again on August 12, 1985. The walls were erected to full height of 40 meters.
The greatest achievement of the construction process was lifting of the 4,000 ton
central dome
, which was built on the ground, together with the copper plate and the cross, and later lifted onto the walls. The lifting, which took forty days, was finished on June 26, 1989.
, the church is mostly complete. The bell
s and window
s had been installed, and the facade
completed. However, work on the internal decoration of the building still remains largely unfinished.
Vracar
Vračar is an urban neighborhood and one of 17 municipalities which constitute the City of Belgrade. With an area of only , it is the smallest of all Belgrade's municipalities, but also the most densely populated. Vračar is one of the three municipalities that constitute the central area of the...
, Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, is an Orthodox church, the largest in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, and one of the 10 largest church buildings in the world.. The church is dedicated to Saint Sava
Saint Sava
Saint Sava was a Serbian Prince and Orthodox monk, the first Archbishop of the autocephalous Serbian Church, the founder of Serbian law and literature, and a diplomat. Sava was born Rastko Nemanjić , the youngest son of Serbian Grand Župan Stefan Nemanja , and ruled the appanage of Hum briefly in...
, founder of the Serbian Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
and an important figure in medieval Serbia
History of Medieval Serbia
Тhe medieval history of Serbia begins in the 5th century AD with the Slavic invasion of the Balkans, and lasts until the Ottoman occupation of 1540.- Slavic invasion :...
. It is built on the Vračar plateau, on the location where his remains were burned in 1595 by the Ottoman Empire's Sinan Pasha
Sinan Pasha
Sinan Pasha or Sinan Pashë Kahremanliu was an Albanian Grand Vizier, Ottoman military commander and statesman.-Life:...
. From its location, it dominates Belgrade's cityscape
Cityscape
A cityscape is the urban equivalent of a landscape. Townscape is roughly synonymous with cityscape, though it implies the same difference in urban size and density implicit in the difference between the words city and town. In urban design the terms refer to the configuration of built forms and...
, and is perhaps the most monumental building in the city. The building of the church structure is being financed exclusively by donation
Donation
A donation is a gift given by physical or legal persons, typically for charitable purposes and/or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including cash, services, new or used goods including clothing, toys, food, and vehicles...
s. The parish home is nearby, as will be the planned patriarch
Patriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...
al building.
It is not a cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
in the technical ecclesiastical sense, as it is not the seat of a bishop
Cathedra
A cathedra or bishop's throne is the chair or throne of a bishop. It is a symbol of the bishop's teaching authority in the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, and has in some sense remained such in the Anglican Communion and in Lutheran churches...
(the seat of the Metropolitan bishop
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
of Belgrade is St. Michael's Cathedral). In Serbian it is called a hram (temple), which is in Eastern Orthodoxy another name for a church. In English, it is usually called a cathedral because of its size and importance.
Architecture
The church is centrally planned, having the form of a Greek Cross. It has a large central dome supported on four pendentivePendentive
A pendentive is a constructive device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or an elliptical dome over a rectangular room. The pendentives, which are triangular segments of a sphere, taper to points at the bottom and spread at the top to establish the continuous circular or...
s and buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
ed on each side by a lower semi-dome
Semi-dome
A semi-dome, also called a "half-dome", is the term in architecture for half a dome , used to cover a semi-circular area. Similar structures occur in nature.-Architecture:...
over an apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
. Beneath each semi-dome is a gallery supported on an arcade.
The dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
is 70 m (230 ft) high, while the main gold plated cross is another 12 m (39 ft) high, which gives a total of 82 m (269 ft) to the height Cathedral of Saint Sava. The peak is 134 m (440 ft) above the sea level (64 m (210 ft) above the Sava river); therefore the church holds a dominant position in Belgrade's cityscape
Cityscape
A cityscape is the urban equivalent of a landscape. Townscape is roughly synonymous with cityscape, though it implies the same difference in urban size and density implicit in the difference between the words city and town. In urban design the terms refer to the configuration of built forms and...
and is visible from all approaches to the city.
The church is 91 m (299 ft) long from east to west, and 81 m (266 ft) from north to south. It is 70 m (230 ft) tall, with the main gold-plated
Gilding
The term gilding covers a number of decorative techniques for applying fine gold leaf or powder to solid surfaces such as wood, stone, or metal to give a thin coating of gold. A gilded object is described as "gilt"...
cross
Cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run obliquely, the design is technically termed a saltire, although the arms of a saltire need not meet...
extending for 12 m (39 ft) more. Its dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
s have 18 more gold-plated crosses of various sizes, while the bell tower
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
s have 49 bell
Bell (instrument)
A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
s of the Austrian Bell Foundry Grassmayr.
It has a surface area of 3500 m² (37,674 sq ft) on the ground floor, with three galleries
Auditorium
An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances at venues such as theatres. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens.- Etymology :...
of 1500 m² (16,146 sq ft) on the first level, and a 120 m² (1,292 sq ft) gallery on the second level. The Cathedral can receive 10,000 faithful at any one time. The choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
gallery seats 800 singers. The basement contains a crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
, the treasury
Treasury
A treasury is either*A government department related to finance and taxation.*A place where currency or precious items is/are kept....
of Saint Sava, and the grave church of Saint Lazar the Hieromartyr, with a total surface of 1800 m² (19,375 sq ft) .
The facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
is in white marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
and granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
and, when finished, the inner decorations will be of mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
s. The central dome will contain a mosaic of Christ Pantocrator
Christ Pantocrator
In Christian iconography, Christ Pantokrator refers to a specific depiction of Christ. Pantocrator or Pantokrator is a translation of one of many Names of God in Judaism...
. To give a sense of the monumental scale, the eyes will each be about 4 meters wide.
History
Three hundred years after the burning of Saint Sava's remains, in 1895, the Society for the Construction of the Cathedral of Saint Sava on Vračar was founded in Belgrade. Its goal was to build a cathedral on the place of the burning. A small church was built at the future place of the Cathedral, and it was later moved so the construction of the Cathedral could begin. In 1905, a public contest was launched to design the church; all five applications received were rejected as not being good enough. Soon, the breakout of the First Balkan WarFirst Balkan War
The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, pitted the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The combined armies of the Balkan states overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success...
in 1912, and subsequent Second Balkan War
Second Balkan War
The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 29 June 1913. Bulgaria had a prewar agreement about the division of region of Macedonia...
and First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
stopped all activities on the construction of the church. After the war, in 1919, the Society was re-established. New appeals for designs were made in 1926; this time, it received 22 submissions. Though the first and third prize were not awarded, the second-place project, made by architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Aleksandar Deroko
Aleksandar Deroko
Aleksandar Deroko was a famous Serbian architect, artist, and author...
, was chosen for the building of the Cathedral.
Cornerstone
The cornerstone concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.Over time a cornerstone became a ceremonial masonry stone, or...
was laid by bishop Gavrilo Dožić-Medenica (the future Serbian Patriarch
Patriarch of Serbia
This is a list of the Archbishops and Patriarchs of Peć and the Serbs from the creation of the church as an archdiocese in 1219 to today's Patriarchate. The list includes all the Archbishops and Patriarchs that led the Serbian Orthodox community under Patriarchate of Peć...
Gavrilo V). The project was designed by Aleksandar Deroko and Bogdan Nestorović, aided by civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
Vojislav Zađina. The work lasted until Second World War Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
invasion of Yugoslavia
Invasion of Yugoslavia
The Invasion of Yugoslavia , also known as the April War , was the Axis Powers' attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II...
in 1941. The church's foundation
Foundation (architecture)
A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
had been completed, and the wall
Wall
A wall is a usually solid structure that defines and sometimes protects an area. Most commonly, a wall delineates a building and supports its superstructure, separates space in buildings into rooms, or protects or delineates a space in the open air...
s erected to the height of 7 and 11 meters. After the 1941 bombing of Belgrade, work ceased altogether. The occupying German army used the unfinished church as a parking lot
Parking lot
A parking lot , also known as car lot, is a cleared area that is intended for parking vehicles. Usually, the term refers to a dedicated area that has been provided with a durable or semi-durable surface....
, while in 1944 the partisans
Partisans (Yugoslavia)
The Yugoslav Partisans, or simply the Partisans were a Communist-led World War II anti-fascist resistance movement in Yugoslavia...
and the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
used it with the same purpose. Later, it was used for storage
Warehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
by various companies. The Society for Building of the Cathedral ceased to exist and has not been revived.
In 1958, Patriarch German
Patriarch German
Patriarch German was the 43rd Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church from 1958 to 1990. Nicknamed the red patriarch by his opponents, he was successful in revitalizing the Serbian Orthodox Church to a certain extent during the Communist period, despite two schisms that occurred during his...
renewed the idea of building the church. After 88 requests for continuation of the building—and as many refusals, permission for finishing the building was granted in 1984, and Branko Pešić
Branko Pešić
Branko Pešić was member of the Yugoslav resistance forces during the Yugoslav People's Liberation War, and later leader of the Yugoslav Communist party in Belgrade and Mayor of Belgrade from 1964 to 1974....
was chosen as new architect of the church. He remade the original projects to make better use of new material
Material
Material is anything made of matter, constituted of one or more substances. Wood, cement, hydrogen, air and water are all examples of materials. Sometimes the term "material" is used more narrowly to refer to substances or components with certain physical properties that are used as inputs to...
s and building techniques. Construction of the building began again on August 12, 1985. The walls were erected to full height of 40 meters.
The greatest achievement of the construction process was lifting of the 4,000 ton
Ton
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
central dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
, which was built on the ground, together with the copper plate and the cross, and later lifted onto the walls. The lifting, which took forty days, was finished on June 26, 1989.
, the church is mostly complete. The bell
Bell (instrument)
A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
s and window
Window
A window is a transparent or translucent opening in a wall or door that allows the passage of light and, if not closed or sealed, air and sound. Windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent material like float glass. Windows are held in place by frames, which...
s had been installed, and the facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
completed. However, work on the internal decoration of the building still remains largely unfinished.
See also
- Religious architecture in BelgradeReligious architecture in BelgradeBelgrade, Serbia has an abundance of religious architecture. The city has numerous Serbian Orthodox churches and temples and it is also the seat of the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Its two most prominent Orthodox Christian places of worship are the Saborna Crkva and the Temple of St...
- List of buildings in Belgrade
- List of tallest buildings in Serbia
- List of largest church buildings in the world