Shirgj Monastery

Shirgj Monastery

Monastery information
Order	Benedictine[1]
Established	1290
Disestablished	No longer active
People
Founder(s)	Helen of Anjou
Site
Location	near Obot, Shkoder District, Albania
Public Access	yes

The Shirgj Monastery (Albanian: Rrënojat e Kishës së Shirgjit) is an abandoned Benedictine monastery in the village of Shirgj on the Bojana River in northern Albania. The monastery was dedicated to Saints Sergius and Bacchus and was built by Helen of Anjou in 1290, seemingly on top of a pre-6th century basilica.

History

The monastery was built in 1290 by Helen of Anjou, queen consort of Rascia, Duklja, Albania, Chilmiae, and Dalmatia, wife of Serbian king Stefan Uroš I, and mother of kings Dragutin and Milutin.^[2] Apparently the monastery was constructed on top of an existing structure: according to apocryphal documents, the original monastery is mentioned as erected by Justinian, whereas in other sources its existence is mentioned as an abbey starting from 1100.^[2] The presence of a pillar of black granite, a material which originates from Syria and was often used in 6th-century basilicas in Albania, demonstrates that the construction of the original building may indeed lie in the 6th century.^[1]

A document dated 22 October 1330 mentions the monastery as the rendezvous point of the king of Rascia with ambassadors of Ragusa.^[1] In another document dated 1333, the monastery is mentioned as the customs' place of the kingdom of Rascia.^[1]

Marin Bici, Archbishop of Antivari at the time, wrote in a 1611 report to the Vatican that heavy damages were inflicted to the church as a result of the Ottoman presence in Albania. In 1684, Pjetër Bogdani reported that the church's bell had been put underground. Daniele Farlati also mentioned the church in his Illyricum Sacrum.^[2] In 1790 archbishop Frang Borci informed Coletti, Farlati's assistant, who was about to republish Illyricum Sacrum, that the church was the most beautiful of Albania.^[2]

The French consul in Iskodra noted that the monastery's frescoes could still be seen in the church in 1905.^[3] At that time only three of the four perimeter walls were still standing.^[2] Ippen, then Austrian consul of Iskodra, observed that in the late 1800s and early 1900s the gravediggers of Shirgj would find old mosaics.^[2] At present, only a single wall remains and the mosaics can no longer be seen.^[1]

The monastery has been under the Vatican's jurisdiction during all of its active life.^[2] It was listed as a Monument of Culture by the Albanian government in 1970.^[4]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Lala, Etleva. "Mansatiri i Shën Shergjit dhe Bakut, misteret ende të pazbuluara" (in Albanian). Albasoul. http://www.albasoul.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=298. Retrieved 20 September 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Ndreca, Ardian (14 September 2008). "Rrënojat e Abacisë së Shirgjit dhe shpëtimi i tyne". Gazeta 55: p. 6. http://www.gazeta55.net/gazeta/15.09.2008.pdf. Retrieved 20 September 2010. 
3. ^ Alexandre Degrand, Souvenirs de la Haute-Albanie, 1905
4. ^ Republic of Albania Community for the Cults. "Objekte fetare me statusin \"Monument Kulture\"" (in Albanian). Albanian Government. http://kshk.gov.al/index.php?fq=brenda&gj=gj1&kid=19. Retrieved 20 September 2010. 

Further reading

• Degrand, Alexandre; Alexandre, Jules; Degrand, Théodore (1901). Souvenirs de la Haute-Albanie. Corbeil. p. 270. http://books.google.com/books?id=9-M0AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA270&dq=Alexandre+Degrand+consenti+%C3%A0+changer+de+religion+et+je+crois+encore+que+l%27%C3%A9glise&hl=en&ei=vNCXTPHNEsKclgfz76nUBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=book-thumbnail&resnum=1&ved=0CCgQ6wEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false.