items of cultural and historical importance. This ca- thedral is also officially classified as a cultural monu- ment of exceptional importance. Representing the final resting place of Prince Miloš Obrenović and his son Mihailo Obrenović, as well as several heads of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Serbi- an language reformer Vuk Karadžić and Serbian writ- er and educator Dositej Obradović are both buried in the churchyard in front of the main entrance. RUŽICA CHURCH Holding a unique place among houses of worship, Ružica Church is made exceptional thanks to the fact that its three polyeleos chandeliers are made from Aus- tro-Hungarian cannon shells and bullet casings that were used to devastate it during World War I. It is ad- ditionally decorated with the sabres of Serbian officers from the same period. The idea behind the creation of these unique lights, which were originally candelabra and are today elec- tric chandeliers, was that the symbolism created by the continuous dripping of wax on weapons would serve to prevent any repeat of the madness that character- ised the Great War. War nonetheless returned, but the church remained in the same condition it was in after its 1925 reconstruction. And so it was that the light conquered the darkness in man, which was another point of making these unusual decorations. One legend that endures is that of the three sis- ters of Bogdan Jakšić, son of the famous Duke Jakša. Ružica, Marica and Cveta were very pious and each had a church built, with these churches bearing the names of their patrons. However, only one of them survived long enough to be admired by modern visitors - and that is Ružica Church, sheltered below Zindan Gate and close to Dizdar Tower, but also the impregnable Jakšić tower, which just happened to be built by the father of these three noblewomen. Having shared the fate of the Belgrade Fortress and Belgrade, Ružica Church has been in the posses- sion of various conquerors, and has accordingly played different roles. It was from here that soldiers set out to do battle for the liberation of Belgrade from the Aus- tro-Hungarians in 1915, with some of them having previously taken communion for the very last time. Those soldiers who gave their lives for freedom are today resting eternally in the nearby memorial ossu- ary of Jakšić Tower. It was during that time of the Great War that the church was razed to the ground, only to be complete- ly reconstructed according to the design of famous ar- chitect Nikolay Krasnov. Its wall frescoes were paint- ed by another Russian, Andrei Vasilyevich Bitsenko, in 1938. Alongside the usual religious themes, the vault depicts a procession of Serbian rulers, while watching from the walls are Russian Tsar Nicholas II and Serbian monarchs King Peter and King Alexander Karađorđević, as well as others.
Ružica je jedinstvena i zbog izvora lekovite vode nad kojim je izgrađena kapela Svete Petke Ružica is also unique because of the healing water spring, above which the Chapel of Saint Petka was built
There can never be enough curiosities when it comes to this church, which includes the fact that it stands above a miraculous spring of healing water. The flow would sometimes be very strong and at other times weak, while it would even dry up. That’s why a chap- el dedicated to Saint Petka was constructed above the spring. Here a kind of paradox arises: regardless of the historical importance of Ružica Church, the peo- ple tend to flock much more to the chapel of this saint, whose cult is very widespread. Testifying to this are the kilometre-long queues of believers waiting to col- lect water from the healing spring on the day of the celebration of Saint Petka. If you aren’t in Belgrade at that time, don’t miss out on a visit to Ružica Church for Christmas, when everything that’s said is convert- ed into pure joy.
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