Our Lady of Ljeviš

Medieval Monuments in Kosovo *
Country Serbia
Type Cultural
Criteria ii, iii, iv
Reference 724
Region ** Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription 2004 (28th Session)
Extensions 2006
Endangered 2006-
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List
** Region as classified by UNESCO
Our Lady of Ljeviš
Богородица Љевишка

The fresco of King Milutin, Bogorodica Ljeviška
Location Prizren, Kosovo[a]
Denomination Serbian Orthodox
History
Founded 1306-1307
Founder(s) Stephen Uroš II Milutin of Serbia
Dedication Theotokos
Architecture
Status Church
Functional status Active
Heritage designation Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance  Serbia
Designated 1990
Style Byzantine style
Specifications
Materials stone
Administration
Diocese Eparchy of Raška and Prizren

Our Lady of Ljeviš (Serbian: Богородица Љевишка, Bogorodica Ljeviška) is a 12th-century Serbian Orthodox Church in the town of Prizren, located in southern Kosovo[a]. It was converted to a mosque during the Ottoman Empire and then back into an Orthodox Church in the early 20th century.

Contents

History

The church was built in the 12th century by Stefan Nemanja on a previous 9th-century church which held the Bishopric mentioned in a charter of Byzantine emperor Basil II in 1018.[1]

The Church was guarded by KFOR after June 1999. However, it was burned down during the 2004 unrest in Kosovo by Albanian mobs.

A group of experts sponsored by Serbia has visited the church on several occasions to assess the damage, but no concrete steps have been taken. The church is subject to constant looting (valuable lead has repeatedly been stolen from the roof).

In 1990 Serbia designate Our Lady of Ljeviš Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance, and on 13 July 2006 Our Lady of Ljeviš was placed on UNESCO's World Heritage List as an extension of the Visoki Dečani site (named Medieval Monuments in Kosovo), which as a whole was placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

See also

Further reading

Notes and references

Notes:

a.   ^ Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Serbia and the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo. The latter declared independence on 17 February 2008, while Serbia claims it as part of its own sovereign territory. Its independence is recognised by 86 UN member states.

References:

  1. ^ http://www.panacomp.net/content/view/134/206/lang,english/

External links

Archaeological sites
Monuments of Culture
Historic Landmarks
Spatial Cultural-Historical Units
Serbian Orthodox Church overview topics
Overview topics
See also
Metropolitanates
Traditional dioceses
Bačka · Banat · Banja Luka · Bihać and Petrovac · Braničevo · Buda · Budimlje and Nikšić · Dalmatia · Upper Karlovac · Mileševa · Niš · Osječko polje and Baranja · Raška and Prizren · Šabac and Valjevo · Slavonia · Srem · Šumadija · Timişoara · Timok · Vranje · Zahumlje and Herzegovina · Žiča · Zvornik and Tuzla
Diaspora dioceses
Ohrid Archbishopric
Metropolitanates
Skopje
Dioceses
Prespa and Pelagonija · Bregalnica · Debar and Kičevo · Polog and Kumanovo · Veles and Povardarie · Strumica
Belgrade
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Vojvodina
Kosovo
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1Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Serbia and the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo. The latter declared independence on 17 February 2008, while Serbia claims it as part of its own sovereign territory. Its independence is recognised by 86 UN member states.