Church of St. Nicholas, Prizren

Church of St. Nicholas
Црква светог Николе
St Nicholas Church
Coordinates: 42°11′48″N 20°44′11″E / 42.19655465°N 20.73629004°E
Location	Prizren, Kosovo^[a]
Denomination	Serbian Orthodox Church
History
Founded	1331
Founder(s)	Dragoslav Tutić
Dedication	St. Nicholas
Architecture
Status	Church
Functional status	vandalized and closed
Heritage designation	Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance
Designated	1990
Closed	2004: vandalized
Specifications
Number of domes	1
Administration
Diocese	Eparchy of Raška and Prizren

The Church of St. Nicholas (Serbian: Црква светог Николе/Crkva Svetog Nikole), also known as Tutić Church (Tutićeva crkva) is a Serbian Orthodox church located in Prizren in Kosovo^[a]. It was founded in 1331-1332 by Dragoslav Tutić, whose monastic name was Nikola (Nicholas), and his wife Bela. Later, the church became a possession of the Visoki Dečani Monastery. Since 1990, it has been on Serbia's list of Monuments of Culture of Exceptional Importance.^[1] At the time of the 2004 unrest in Kosovo, the church was vandalized.^[2] Since 2005, with financial support from the European Union, work has been undertaken to restore the church to its original state.^[3]

Architecture

The church of St. Nicholas is a small stone and brick single-nave church, with a central octagonal dome, reconstructed at the end of the 1970s. The altar apse is semicircular, with semicircular niches for diaconicon and proskomedia. The builder's inscription is only partially preserved but 19th century manuscripts indicate that the church was built in 1331-1332.^[1]

Frescoes

The frescoes in the church are preserved to a degree and are assumed to have been introduced immediately after the church's construction. Based on their style, theme and layout, they are thought to have been painted by the group of painters behind the oldest painting in St. Saviour Church, Prizren and the frescoes in the church of St. George in Rečani near Suva Reka, destroyed in mid-1999.^[1][3]

See also

• Monuments of Culture of Exceptional Importance
• Prizren

Notes and references

Notes:

a.

^ Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. The Republic of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on 17 February 2008, but Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory. The two governments began to normalise relations in 2013, as part of the Brussels Agreement. Kosovo has been recognised as an independent state by 108 out of 193 United Nations member states.

References:

1. Monuments of Culture in Serbia: Crkva Svetog Nikole, Prizren (SANU) (Serbian) (English)
2. Ekspertska delegacija Saveta Evropa zavrsila posetu spomenicima Kosovu did i Metohija koji su u unisteni martovskom pogromu, May 17, 2004, http://www.kosovo.net
3. Church of St Nicholas (Tutic'church), Prizren, http://www.rickosovo.org, Reconstruction Implementation Commission for Serbian Orthodox Religious Sites in Kosovo