Crkva i manastir Sv. Arhandjela Mihaila, Manastir Sv. Arhangela Mihaila, Miholjska Prevlaka, Ostrvo cvijeća, Манастир Св. Архангела Михаила, Михољска Превлака, Острво цвијећа, Црква и манастир Св. Арханђела Михаила
End between 01.01.1200 and 31.12.1390
Properties
ID | 119497 |
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System Class | Place |
Place | Not Preserved Church |
Case Study | Beyond East and West: Sacred Landscapes Duklja and Raška , Tabula Imperii Byzantini , TIB 17 |
Dedication | Saint Archangel Michael |
Denomination | Latin , Orthodox , Joint Christian prior to 1054 |
Evidence | Stray Finds |
Ground Plans | Three Nave Basilica , Three Nave Basilica with a Dome , Single Nave Basilica |
Stylistic Classification | Pre-Romanesque , Latin-Byzantine Combination |
Administrative unit | Montenegro |
Description
The Church of St. Archangel Michael, also known by the name "Tumba sancti Archangeli", is situated on the small island of Prevlaka in the Bay of Tivat. There are three layers of edifices on this site. The first church was built on the basis of a 6th century basilica (with graves found as well), which became a three nave basilica by the end of the 6th century. A Benedictine monastery dedicated to St. Archangel Michael was probably built in the 9th century. It was a three nave basilica with a semicircular apse in the center and two rectangular little apses on the sides (which are still being debated in art history, since no similar examples have been found), a narthex and a bell tower on the South-East part of the edifice. A large number of fragments of architectural sculpture of the pre-Romanesque style has been preserved, and some of its pillars were moved to the Church of St. Tryphon in Kotor in 1166. In the 12th century this place was ruined and deserted. This abbey, according to the oldest preserved document in Kotor from 1124, was meant to be the Cathedral of Kotor. At the beginning of the 13th century (1220s) the bishopric of Zeta was founded at this very place by Saint Sava (ca. 1175-1236). Therefore, the second church was built on the remains of an abandoned and demolished Benedictine monastery. It had a dome and strong buttresses and a parraklesion was added on the North side. Numerous graves have also been found. The monastery was abandoned at the end of the 14th century and destroyed in the middle of the 15th century, following the killing of 70 monks. In the immediate vicinity of the ruins of this church, i.e. to the East of it, a single nave edifice, which is dedicated to the Holy Trinity, was built in 1833 with bells above the Western entrance.