Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, Kriva Reka

Church of the Holy
Apostles Peter and Paul
Црква Светих Апостола Петра и Павла
The church as seen from the street
Map
AddressUnnamed road, Kriva Reka, Brus
CountrySerbia
Language(s)Old Church Slavonic
Serbian
DenominationSerbian Orthodox Church
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Completed1618
Administration
ArchdioceseEparchy of Raška and Prizren

The Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul (Serbian: Црква Светих Апостола Петра и Павла, romanized: Crkva Svetih Apostola Petra i Pavla) is a Serbian Orthodox church of the Eparchy of Raška and Prizren located in the village of Kriva Reka, Brus, in the Republic of Serbia. It was built in 1618 in a architectural style typical of churches built during the Ottoman rule of Serbia.[1] It has the foundation of a single-nave church with a narthex.[2] The church's iconography, of which is now in poor condition, was created in 1621. Connected to the church is the village's primary cemetery.

History

The church after the massacre of civilians inside and explosion

In 1942, during the Second World War, as part of Operation Kopaonik, members of the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen and Bulgarian soldiers, against the commands of Richard Kaaserer,[3] imprisoned 46 men, women and children in the church on 12 October 1942.[4] The troops subsequently shot the prisoners and put their bodies back inside, after which they blew the church up.[5][6][7] The church was not completely destroyed, with most of the walls surviving, together with part of the frescoes. The church required some of its walls rebuilt with plaster, which contrasts its original cobblestone exterior.

On 25 June 1975 the church declared a cultural monument of great importance by the People's Government of Serbia.[8] A tomb and a memorial with the list of the names of the executed victims during the punitive expedition in 1942 are listed along with the church.

Work on the conservation of the frescoes was carried out in 1975 and 1976. In 2017, work was undertaken to develop the church square into a memorial park.[9]

Sanctuary

See also

References

  1. ^ Stanić, Radomir (1975-06-25). "Rešenje o utvrdjivanju" (PDF). nasledje.gov.rs (in Bosnian).
  2. ^ Janićijević, Jovan, ed. (1998). The Cultural Treasury of Serbia. Translated by Tošić, Alice. IDEA. p. 436. ISBN 9788675470397.
  3. ^ (Basta 1986, p. 516):"Kapetan Kasarel, komandant bataljona iz 7. SS divizije »Prinz Eugen« u selu Kriva Reka na Kopaoniku strpao je 1 942. godine u crkvu 46 žena i djece, pa onda podmetnuo eksploziv i .."
  4. ^ (Popović 1986, p. 160)
  5. ^ National Archives, 242-JRP-34-26-15; ibid., 242-JRP-34-26-16; ЦАМО РФ, ф. 240, оп. 2779, д. 1187, л. 79
  6. ^ Otto Kumm, Vorwärts, Prinz Eugen! Geschichte der 7. SS-Freiwilligen-Division "Prinz Eugen", Winkelried-Verlag, Dresden, 2007, pp. 45–52; Miodrag Đ. Zečević, Jovan P. Popović (eds.), Dokumenti iz istorije Jugoslavije – Državna komisija za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača iz Drugog svetskog rata, Arhiv Jugoslavije, Printer Komerc, Beograd, 2000, vol. IV, pp. 180–182
  7. ^ Zbornik dokumenata i podataka o narodnooslobodilačkom ratu jugoslovenskih naroda, Vojno delo, Beograd, 1954, vol. I, bk 4, p. 278
  8. ^ "Црква Св. Петра и Павла". nasledje.gov.rs (in Serbian).
  9. ^ "Obnova crkve svetih apostola Petra i Pavla u Krivoj Reci kod Brusa". eparhijakrusevacka.com (in Serbian). October 3, 2017. Retrieved July 12, 2020.

43°22′46″N 20°53′05″E / 43.37955°N 20.88472°E / 43.37955; 20.88472


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