Abstract
Studenica marble is the stone used in creating the mediaeval Serbian cultural heritage. This is a historical overview of the importance and use of stone from prehistoric times to the Middle Ages, when the most imposing religious architectural structures were built. The significance of Studenica marble is particularly manifested in the Virgin’s Church at the Studenica Monastery. For its marble façades and artistic architectural elements, among other things, the church was inscribed in the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List in 1986. Through centuries, the Virgin’s Church suffered multiple destructions. In order to restore the marble façades properly and its architectural elements, the marble deposits where the stone was once quarried had to be located anew. When the stone material characterisation had been performed, the right stone was selected for the complex conservation works on the churches in Studenica and Sopocani. A practical implementation of the research results raised the awareness of the marble deposits in the Studenica vicinity, being also part of the national heritage. The Studenica Monastery Cultural Landscape Management Plan envisions preservation of the deposits and their sustainable use for restoration purposes in the future.
Highlights
This paper starts with the perspective of the importance and role of the natural stone—the marble as a particular type of material—whose beauty and natural properties, from the time immemorial, has always symbolically indicated the presence of the divine, and through its various forms, have emanated its artistic and architectural characteristics.In the Serbian mediaeval lands, there was one authentic, religious and architectural work built of marble in the 12th century
Studenica marble is the stone used in creating the mediaeval Serbian cultural heritage
For its marble façades and artistic architectural elements, among other things, the church was inscribed in the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List in 1986
Summary
This paper starts with the perspective of the importance and role of the natural stone—the marble as a particular type of material—whose beauty and natural properties, from the time immemorial, has always symbolically indicated the presence of the divine, and through its various forms, have emanated its artistic and architectural characteristics. The impact, understanding and historical developments of the Serbian culture and religious aspirations expressed in artistic stone formations [30] This short overview of the heritage use of stone and the origins of architecture within the world culture development does not aim to provide a chronological systematisation of this immense subject, instead it aims to give a short and perhaps subjective glance at —and once again remind people of—the significant achievements of civilisation with regard to the architectural works in the time when Studenica Virgin’s Church was erected. It was valorised as the World Heritage owing to its marble attire. Our goal is to protect the monument itself, and to preserve the cultural landscape, as it includes the marble deposits whence the material for the Virgin’s Church comes from
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