The Temple of St. Sava in Kosovska Mitrovica

Abstract

Activity of the Serbian Orthodox Church during the enslavement under the Turks was of decisive and invaluable significance for maintaining the national spirit of the Serbian nation in the region of the Old and South Serbia. The construction of monasteries and temples, as the centers of Serbian spirituality, was the primary goal of The Serbian Orthodox Church and The Government of The Kingdom of Serbia. Kosovska Mitrovica is a small town which got its Orthodox church last. The construction of the church (1896-1921) went slowly, depending on the political and economic (mis)happenings. Anger of the Albanians, obstinacy of the Turks, two Balkan and one world war dictated the speed of the construction of the church. The project of the church (Andra Stevanovic) and of the bell-tower (Aleksandar Deroko) was also economically expensive. The executor(s) of the work, master masons from Veles and painters from Macedonia were also expensive. The church was built with the great effort of The Church Municipality and it was the spiritual center of the Serbs in Kosovska Mitrovica and its surroundings between the two world wars. The Temple of St. Sava celebrates a great jubilee on August 6, 2007 - the 110th anniversary from the beginning of its construction. The Serbs do not live in the so-called South Mitrovica, where the church, the bell-tower, the chapel and the cemetery are located. From the distance of 500 meters, the Serbs from Northern Mitrovica watch the burnt temple, destroyed chapel and broken monuments in the southern part of the town, waiting for the new construction of the church, of the chapel, of the cemetery...