RITAM GRADA / RHYTHM OF THE CITY
additionally decorated with sabres of Serbian officers dating back to the same period. The guiding idea behind the creation of the candelabra, and to- day’s electric chandelier, was for it to symbolise the constant dripping of wax on weapons, which was intend- ed to prevent a repeat of the luna- cy that characterised the Great War. War nonetheless returned, but the church remained in the same con- dition that it found itself in follow- ing its 1925 reconstruction. Thus, the light nonetheless conquered the darkness within man, which was al- so the point of creating such an un- usual ornament. This place is also Belgrade’s su- zarnik [house of tears], according to the description of this temple given by late, now-Sainted Bishop Niko- laj Velimirović, who was referring to both tears that are shed due to misfortune and tears of joy. “This church is also a storehouse of the energy of multiple centuries,” says journalist and publicist Zoran Lj. Nikolić. That’s because this house of prayer was constructed as far back as the early 15 th century, sometime between 1403 and 1407, during a period when despot Stefan Lazare- vić was reconstructing and extend-
ing the pre-existing Roman, Byzan- tine and Austro-Hungarian ramparts of the city. It is remembered differently among the people, and a legend lives on about the three sisters of Bogdan Jakšić, the son of the famous Duke Jakša: Ružica, Marica and Cveta. The three sisters’ great piousness alleg- edly prompted them to build three churches, which were named after the women who created them. How- ever, only one of them survived to be admired by today’s visitors. And that was precisely Ružica Church, lo- cated beneath Zindan Gate and close to Dizdar Tower, but also near the unconquerable Jakšić Tower, which was actually built by the father of these noblewomen. “There are no reliable archaeolog- ical accounts of the other two church- es,” notes priest Dr Sava Milin, as- sistant professor at the Orthodox Theological Faculty of the Universi- ty of Belgrade. Even though histor- ical records admittedly don’t men- tion this church under the name of Ružica, it is nonetheless mentioned by the people in epic poems. “A more trustworthy variation on the origin of the name of this church is related to its external ap- pearance. Completely overgrown
RUŽICA CHURCH ON KALEMEGDAN Green in the spring, vermillion in the autumn
Ružica, the Little Rose, as the people affectionately refer to the church dedicated to the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the grounds of the Belgrade Fortress, represents the oldest preserved place of worship in the Serbian capital and one of the world’s most wondrous churches R užica Church holds a spe- cial place among hous- es of worship, and it is made exceptional by three brass candelabras, called polyeleos chandeliers, which are made of the Austro-Hungari- an grenades, pistol bullets and rifle shots that were used to damage the church during World War I. And is
64 | Beograd » Belgrade
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