Pine of Tsar Dušan

Pine of Tsar Dušan before it was cut and burned by Albanian mob

Pine of Tsar Dušan (Serbian: Бор Цара Душана) was a giant black pine tree located in the courtyard of the old Serbian Orthodox Monastery of the Holy Archangels, in the village cemetery in Gornje Nerodimlje, Uroševac, Kosovo^[a]. The pine tree was planted in 1336 by Emperor Dušan and cut down and burned by Albanian mob in 1999.^[1][2]

History

The old pine tree (Latin: Pinus heldreichii) as a relict, endemic tree, was one of the decorations of the Šar Mountains with its huge size. The pine was over 25 meters high, 1.5 meters wide, and had a crust thickness of 10 cm, and it was in good health prior to its destruction. It was visited by various state delegations. King Aleksandar Karađorđević had a memorial plaque placed by it in 1926 with the year of planting. The Monastery of the Holy Archangels in Nerodimlje was, together with the Pine of Tsar Dušan, added on Monuments of Culture of Exceptional Importance-list by the Republic of Serbia in 1961, as a historical monument and natural rarity.^[3] Serbian institutions suggested that the Šar Mountains National Park be nominated for World Heritage under UNESCO protection, because of its biological, cultural and historical heritage; the pine tree was included in the proposal.^[4]

In June/July 1999, after the Kosovo War, the Monastery of the Holy Archangels and the cemetery was desecrated, while the pine was cut down and burned, by Albanian villagers returning from exile.^[5] Only the stump remained, which was later burned completely.^[6] As the entire complex was destroyed, there were no visible traces of Dušan's Pine, until 2014 when new branches started to sprout.^[7]

See also

• Monuments of Culture of Exceptional Importance
• List of trees

Annotations

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. "Ognjišta puna samoće". Večernje novosti. 27 February 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
2. THE MONASTERY AND THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY ARCHANGEL, Gornje Nerodimlje
3. Monuments of Culture in Serbia: Црква Св. арханђела/Church of St. Arhangels (SANU) (Serbian) (English)
4. Novosti, Ognjišta puna samoće
5. Sacred Sites, After the War: The Destruction and Preservation of Sacred Sites in Kosovo: "The chapel was blown up and the famous pine tree cut down and burned in a revenge attack by local Albanian villagers returning from exile in June–July 1999."
6. White bears on Kosmet?
7. "Оживео бор цара Душана, на остацима престонице Немањића извијају се нови изданци".

External links

• Old photo of the Pine

External links

• Kosovo.com, Уништене и оскрнављене српске православне светиње на Косову и Метохији (1999-2000)-7. Манастир и црква Св. Арханђела, Горње Неродимље, Gallery of destroyed landmarks in Gornje Nerodimlje