Ovcar-Kablar Gorge
Encyclopedia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, part of the composite valley of the West Morava river. With over 300 monasteries built in the gorge since the 14th century, it is known as the "Serbian Mount Athos
Mount Athos
Mount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in Macedonia, Greece. A World Heritage Site, it is home to 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries and forms a self-governed monastic state within the sovereignty of the Hellenic Republic. Spiritually, Mount Athos comes under the direct jurisdiction of the...
".
Location and geography
The Ovčar-Kablar Gorge is located in western Serbia, halfway between the towns of ČačakCacak
Čačak is a city in central Serbia. It is the administrative center of the Moravica District of Serbia. Čačak is also the main industrial, cultural and sport center of the district...
(17 kilometers on the east) and Požega
Požega, Serbia
Požega is a town and municipality located in the Zlatibor District of Serbia. In 2011, the population of the town is 12,957, while population of the municipality is 29,488.-Municipality:...
on the west, some 155 kilometers south-west of the capital Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
.
The gorge is a narrow of the West Morava's composite valley, a continuation of the Požega Depression on the west, while itself continuous into the Čačak-Kraljevo Depression on the east. The gorge is carved between the 985 meters high mountain of Ovčar
Ovčar
Ovčar is a mountain in western Serbia, near the city of Čačak. Its highest peak has an altitude of 985 meters above sea level. Along with Kablar, Ovčar forms the attractive Ovčar-Kablar Gorge of the West Morava river....
on the south and 885 meters high Kablar
Kablar
Kablar is a mountain in central Serbia. It has an altitude of 889 metres above sea level. It lies near the city of Čačak. With nearby Ovčar, it forms the Ovčar-Kablar Gorge of the West Morava river....
on the north, thus gaining its name. River meanders through the gorge for 15 kilometers. Epigenetic
Epigenesis
Epigenesis may refer to:* Epigenesis , describes morphogenesis and development of an organism* By analogy, a philosophical and theological concept, part of the concept of spiritual evolution* The Epigenesis, a 2010 album by Melechesh...
in nature (type of galleric epigenia), the Ovčar-Kablar Gorge was crucial for the genesis of the entire West Morava valley (West Pomoravlje
Pomoravlje
Pomoravlje may refer to:* Pomoravlje , a geographical area around the Morava river, Serbia* Pomoravlje District, a district in Serbia...
).
Economy
Ovčar SpaSpa
The term spa is associated with water treatment which is also known as balneotherapy. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are...
(Ovčar banja) is located in the gorge, at an altitude of 278 meters. It has a hot, sulfur
Sulfur
Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...
ic water (37,5 Celsius), which is helpful for the treatment of rheumatism, nerve and skin diseases.
In 1954, the West Morava was dammed in the gorge when two hydroelectric dams with artificial lakes were created. Dam "Ovčar Banja" created smaller Ovčar Lake, which since then has been mudded by the alluvial silt
Silt
Silt is granular material of a size somewhere between sand and clay whose mineral origin is quartz and feldspar. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body...
brought by the river. The other, 7 megawatt strong dam "Međuvršje" created larger (1.5 square kilometers) Međuvršje Lake. The gorge is also a route to the railroad and a freeway which connect central and western Serbia.
Monasteries
First churches were built in the early 14th century, after the mercenaries from the Catalan CompanyCatalan Company
The Catalan Company of the East , officially the Magnas Societas Catalanorum, sometimes called the Grand Company and widely known as the Catalan Company, was a free company of mercenaries founded by Roger de Flor in the early 14th-century...
raided the Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
Mount Athos in 1307-1309. Serbian Orthodox clergy fled the peninsula and began building first monasteries in the gorge. Next wave of the refugee priests came after the Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
-Serbian Battle of Maritsa
Battle of Maritsa
The Battle of Maritsa, or Battle of Chernomen, took place at the Maritsa River near the village of Chernomen on September 26, 1371 between the forces of the Ottoman sultan Murad I's lieutenant Lala Şâhin Paşa and the...
in 1371. Since that period, over 300
monasteries, churches or worship places were built in the gorge, but today only 10 monasteries, one church and one sacred cave remained
, most of them from the period of Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
occupation in the 15th-18th century:
- "Dormition of the Holy Mother of God" (Uspenje) - the main monastery in the group, on the north slopes of the Kablar mountain/ It is dedicated to the Holy Mother of God. Originally it was the site of the Jovanjska tower with a powerful bells ("Kulina bell tower") which could be heard up to the 16 kilometers away town of Čačak. New monastery was built in the 1939 on the ruins of the old tower, as a replica of the "Church of the Saint Constantine the Great and Saint Helena" in OhridOhridOhrid is a city on the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid in the Republic of Macedonia. It has about 42,000 inhabitants, making it the seventh largest city in the country. The city is the seat of Ohrid Municipality. Ohrid is notable for having once had 365 churches, one for each day of the year and has...
. It is a female monastery, renovated in 2001.
- Presentation of MaryPresentation of MaryThe Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary , or The Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple , is a liturgical feast celebrated by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Orthodox Churches....
(Vavedenje) - on the right bank,in the ending section of the gorge. Though legend says it was built by the Serbian great županZupanŻupan was a long garment, always lined, worn by almost all males of the noble social class in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, typical male attire from the beginning of the 16th to half of the 18th century, still surviving as a part of the Polishnational dress.- Derivation :The name żupan has...
Stefan NemanjaStefan NemanjaStefan Nemanja was the Grand Prince of the Grand Principality of Serbia from 1166 to 1196, a heir of the Vukanović dynasty that marked the beginning of a greater Serbian realm .He is remembered for his contributions to Serbian culture and...
and his son Saint Sava Nemanjić in the 12th century, the monastery was mentioned for the first time in 1452 and it was renovated in 1797. Monastery keeps some rare old books, including the Belgrade quasi-gospel from 1552.
- "Saint John the Baptist" (Jovanje) - located on the peninsula in the West Morava's meanderMeanderA meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse. A meander is formed when the moving water in a stream erodes the outer banks and widens its valley. A stream of any volume may assume a meandering course, alternately eroding sediments from the outside of a bend and depositing them on the...
, on the Čačak-Ovčar Banja road. Located on the left bank, six kilometers upstream from Vavedenje,the monastery is surrounded by the waters of the river from three sides. It was mentioned for the first time in 1536. Formerly, it used to be lavraLavraIn Orthodox Christianity and certain other Eastern Christian communities Lavra or Laura originally meant a cluster of cells or caves for hermits, with a church and sometimes a refectory at the center...
, the main administrtive center for all monasteries in the gorge. Old monastery was inundated when the artificial Međuvršje Dam was built in 1954 (it was finally flooded by the reservoir in 1959). Monastery is known for its iconIconAn icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
of the Mother of God Brzopomoćnica. It is a female monastery.
- "Saint NicholasSaint NicholasSaint Nicholas , also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker...
the Miracleworker" (Nikolje) - located on the left bank, two kilometers upstream from Jovanje, in the foothills of the Kablar mountain. Mentioned for the first time in 1476, its parvis was painted in 1637 and naveNaveIn Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
in 1697. It was formerly a large monsatery, with 300 monks in the 19th century. It was a hiding place for the rebellios prince Miloš Obrenović in Second Serbian UprisingSecond Serbian UprisingThe Second Serbian Uprising was a second phase of the Serbian revolution against the Ottoman Empire, which erupted shortly after the re-annexation of the country to the Ottoman Empire, in 1813. The occupation was enforced following the defeat of the First Serbian Uprising , during which Serbia...
in 1815, who later in 1817 built his personal konak here. Frescoes were painted in 1587, while narthexNarthexThe narthex of a church is the entrance or lobby area, located at the end of the nave, at the far end from the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex was a part of the church building, but was not considered part of the church proper...
was painted in 1637. Monastery is also a location where "Gospel of Nikolje" was written. Gospel disappeared from the National Museum in NišNišNiš is the largest city of southern Serbia and third-largest city in Serbia . According to the data from 2011, the city of Niš has a population of 177,972 inhabitants, while the city municipality has a population of 257,867. The city covers an area of about 597 km2, including the urban area,...
where it was kept and was later found in Dublin, IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, where it remained until today.
- AnnunciationAnnunciationThe Annunciation, also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Virgin Mary, that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus the Son of God. Gabriel told Mary to name her...
(Blagoveštenje) - one of the oldest remaining monasteries, originally from the medieval period of the Nemanjić dynasty. Located on the left bank, above the village of Ovčar Banja and two kilometers away from Preobraženje, the monastery was rebuilt in 1602 and was painted in the 1602-1632 period. Monastery, known for its school of transcribers, also hosts the throne-icon of ChristChristChrist is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
, part of the surviving section of the iconostasisIconostasisIn Eastern Christianity an iconostasis is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. Iconostasis also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere within a church...
from the period of the monastery's original foundation, and the best known icon of all in the gorge, the Holy AbrahamAbrahamAbraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
. Due to the negligence, the monastery was in a very bad shape, so in the early 20th century iconostas was transferred to Belgrade but when monastery was reconstructed in the early 1990s, iconostas was returned.
- Ascension of Jesus (Vaznesenje) - few hundred meters from Jovanje, across the river, on the southern slopes of the Ovčar mountain. It was restored on the ruins of the older monastery which is supposed to be from the 16th century, because of the several ornaments surviving in the ruins, including two marble rosettes and floral ornaments in the parish and the central section. Quadri-gospel from 1570 has been preserved in the monastery.
- Transfiguration of JesusTransfiguration of JesusThe Transfiguration of Jesus is an event reported in the New Testament in which Jesus is transfigured and becomes radiant upon a mountain. The Synoptic Gospels describe it, and 2 Peter 1:16-18 refers to it....
(Preobraženje) - formerly two kilometers upstream of Nikolje on the left bank, today it is on the right bank, across its own old location. Mentioned for the first time in 1528, it was torn down in 1911 because of the railroad construction. New monastery was built in 1938. It has a strict missionary role and it is internally administered by the rules of the Mount Athos.
- Presentation of Jesus at the TemplePresentation of Jesus at the TempleThe Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, which falls on 2 February, celebrates an early episode in the life of Jesus. In the Eastern Orthodox Church and some Eastern Catholic Churches, it is one of the twelve Great Feasts, and is sometimes called Hypapante...
(Sretenje) - close to Sveta Trojica, in the foothillsFoothillsFoothills are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills to the adjacent topographically high mountains.-Examples:...
of the Ovčar mountain, near the springs of the Koronjski stream. Gospel from 1571 mentions the monasteery for the first time. It was re-painted in 1844.
- Holy Trinity (Sveta Trojica) - secluded monastery on the hill across Blagoveštenje. Mentioned for the first time in the Ottoman documents from 1572. Architectonically, considered to be the most beautiful of all Ovčar-Kablar monasteries.
- Elijah (Ilinje) - on the hill above the Blagoveštenje tunnel, near the Ovčar Banja. It was built in 1938 on the remains of an old monastery. It has lots of manuscripts in its vault and also has a konak built by prince Miloš Obrenović.
- Saint SavaSaint SavaSaint Sava was a Serbian Prince and Orthodox monk, the first Archbishop of the autocephalous Serbian Church, the founder of Serbian law and literature, and a diplomat. Sava was born Rastko Nemanjić , the youngest son of Serbian Grand Župan Stefan Nemanja , and ruled the appanage of Hum briefly in...
(Savinje) - separate church dedicated to the Saint Sava Nemanjić. It was built in 1938, near the water spring which is actually a geological phenomenon. Water springs out of the rocks, but remains in the hollow niche and doesn't flow out of it. No matter how much water is taken from it, it always fills up to have 2-3 liters of water, which is why people considered it to be miraculous (the holy waterHoly waterHoly water is water that, in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Lutheranism, Oriental Orthodoxy, and some other churches, has been sanctified by a priest for the purpose of baptism, the blessing of persons, places, and objects; or as a means of repelling evil.The use for baptism and...
of Saint Sava).
- Smoke Cave (Kađenica) - the cave-church. During the anti-Ottoman revolt in 1814 (Hadži Prodanova bunaHadži Prodanova bunaHadži Prodan's Revolt was an interphase between the two major uprisings in Serb populated parts of the Ottoman Empire. Despite the collapse of the First Serbian Uprising in 1813, the tensions in the Pashaluk of Belgrade nevertheless persisted. In 1814 an revolt was launched by Hadži Prodan...
), people found refuge in the cave. Turks discovered their hiding place and using straw and woods set it on fire, suffocating everyone inside. This incident also gave the name to the cave. In 1940 the remains were retrieved, fully cremated and buried in two stone sarcophagusSarcophagusA sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...
es. They were paces in the cave's church altar apseApseIn architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
, under the representation of the Jesus' Crucifixion.
External links
- Enciklopedija - Turizam Srbija Paunpress