Our Lady of Ljeviš

Medieval Monuments in Kosovo *
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Country	Serbia
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iii, iv
Reference	724
Region **	Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription	2004 (28th Session)
Extensions	2006
Endangered	2006-
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List ** Region as classified by UNESCO

Our Lady of Ljeviš
Богородица Љевишка
The fresco of King Milutin, Bogorodica Ljeviška
Coordinates: 42°12′41″N 20°44′09″E / 42.21139°N 20.73583°E / 42.21139; 20.73583
Location	Prizren, Kosovo[a]
Denomination	Serbian Orthodox
History
Founded	1306-1307
Founder(s)	Stephen Uroš II Milutin of Serbia
Dedication	Theotokos
Architecture
Status	Church
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance  Serbia
Designated	1990
Style	Byzantine style
Specifications
Materials	stone
Administration
Diocese	Eparchy of Raška and Prizren

Our Lady of Ljeviš (Serbian: Богородица Љевишка, Bogorodica Ljeviška) is a 12th-century Serbian Orthodox Church in the town of Prizren, located in southern Serbia - Kosovo and Metohija^[a]. It was converted to a mosque during the Ottoman Empire and then back into an Orthodox Church in the early 20th century.

History

The church was built in the 12th century by Stefan Nemanja on a previous 9th-century church which held the Bishopric mentioned in a charter of Byzantine emperor Basil II in 1018.^[1]

The Church was guarded by KFOR after June 1999. However, it was burned down during the 2004 unrest in Kosovo by Albanian mobs.

A group of experts sponsored by Serbia has visited the church on several occasions to assess the damage, but no concrete steps have been taken. The church is subject to constant looting (valuable lead has repeatedly been stolen from the roof).

In 1990 Serbia designate Our Lady of Ljeviš Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance, and on 13 July 2006 Our Lady of Ljeviš was placed on UNESCO's World Heritage List as an extension of the Visoki Dečani site (named Medieval Monuments in Kosovo), which as a whole was placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

• 

  The famous fresco Bathing of the Christ before it was destroyed and burned by Albanians in 2004. (See fresco after Albanian destruction)

• 

  Saint Simeon (Stefan Nemanja), fresco from Our Lady of Ljeviš.

• 

  Fresco "Communion of Apostles", Bogorodica Ljeviška

• 

  Stefan Prvovenčani, beginning of the 14th century (1307—1309), fresco from Bogorodica Ljeviška church in Prizren

• 

  Saint Sava, beginning of the 14th century (1307—1309), fresco from Bogorodica Ljeviška church in Prizren

See also

• Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance
• Tourism in Serbia
• Medieval Monuments in Kosovo
• List of Serb Orthodox monasteries
• Serbian Orthodox Church

Further reading

• Felix Corley and Branko Bjelajac (March 18, 2004). "Kosovo and Serbia: Churches & Mosques Destroyed Amid Inter-Ethnic Violence". Forum 18. http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=280. 

Notes and references

Notes:

a.	^ Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Serbia and the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo. The latter declared independence on 17 February 2008, while Serbia claims it as part of its own sovereign territory. Its independence is recognised by 85 UN member states.

References:

1. ^ http://www.panacomp.net/content/view/134/206/lang,english/

External links

• Pictures and history of cathedral
• Frescoes
• Pictures