|
Dolac
Monastery of the Holy Virgin
 Dolac church before it was destroyed by Albanian terrorists
MONASTERIES
OF OUR DIOCESE
/
Decani / Gracanica / Sopocani / Pecka Patrijarsija /  Home Page - KOSOVO THE LAND OF THE LIVING PAST |
According
to archeological data, there was a monastery on the elevation above
the village of Dolac already in the 14th century. The Turkish census
of 1455 mentioned the names of its three monks. The great renewal of
the monastery at the end of the 16th century and in the first decades
of the 17th century is evidenced by the stone remains of the fence wall,
tower, entry gate and the fountain, while the storeyed konak is certainly
of a later date. A small one-nave church with semi-circular apse is
located in the centre of the churchyard. Its only architectural decoration
is the arch leaning against consoles which have the contour of the dome
on the transversal facades. It has been recently noticed that there
are even three chronologically different groups of wall paintings within
the church. The oldest, in the zone of standing figures on the western
and northern walls, could date back to the transition from the 14th
century to the 15th century and, according to the stylistic characteristics,
they are attributed to the famous Zrzanska workshop of monk Makarije.
The frescoes in the eastern part of the church date back to the end
of the 15th century or the beginning of the 16th century, while the
third phase is dated back to 1619/1620. There is no usual founder’s
inscription, but the names of contributors are written besides the frescoes
whose painting they paid. Minor archeological excavation was carried
out in the complex in the 1993-1995 period and necessary conservation
works on frescoes took place in 1991.)
)
)
)
)