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Bijelo Polje, Church of St. Peter
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The Church of St. Peter is situated in Bijelo Polje, on the Lim River, and was probably founded by the Serbian Prince Miroslav (reigned 1162-1190) before 1161-1162. It was built on an old place of cult, probably from the 9th or 10th century. (SN ZSp., 596 - koga izvoli Svety Petrь Apostolь; MD Kar. trg., 123, nap 14 - usque Limum ad ecclesiam S. Petri). It is a single nave edifice, with three bays skirted by pilasters and arches, and a rectangular apse. The Eastern and Western bays are almost equal in length, whereas the central one is much shorter and has a transverse barrel vault, in the middle of which is a square dome covered by a pyramidal roof. The construction above the vaults gave the church the look of a three-aisled basilica with a transept and a dome. In the second half of the 13th century the Western porch of the church was turned into a narthex and was painted with frescoes at the beginning of the 14th century. Also, bell-towers were added resembling the Churches of St. Tryphon in Kotor, Djurdjevi Stupovi in Budimlja and the Monastery of the Mother of God in Hvosno. The church furnishings, done in a pre-Romanesque style, were taken from the original (older) building.
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Budimlja, Monastery of Djurdjevi Stupovi (St. George)
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The Monastery of Djurdjevi Stupovi (St. George) is situated in Budimlja near Berane and was built by Stefan Prvoslav, the son of Tihomir, as his mausoleum between 1170 and 1190. The monastery also served as the see of the Bishops of Budimlja (Rl. 9, 43). (PJ Š Pam., 68 - sьzyda crьkovь ... u Budimlje svetago Geōrgïa; LjS ZiN I, 1029 (286) episkopь Budimlьsky Teofilь ... vь domu svetago velikago Strastotrьpьca Hristova Georgïa).
The church underwent several reconstructions, but its plan remained the same. It is a single nave edifice with three bays and a dome. Later, in the 13th century (certainly by the 1240s), a narthex was added in the West of it with two rectangular-based towers. As most researchers believe, it was built by masters from the Adriatic (as to be seen in the polychromic façade), following the model of Apulian churches. Also, this church is similar in plan with the Church of St. Luke in Kotor.
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Kotor, Church of St. Luke
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The Church of St. Luke is situated to the South-West of the Northern city gate in the old part of Kotor. It was built in 1195 with the efforts of Mauro Casafranco in the time of the Serbian Grand Župan Stefan Nemanja (reigned 1166/68-1196), as is written on an inscription carved in a stone slab placed on the Western façade of the Church (a ktetorial inscription next to the ruler's name is a proof of the new practice in Serbia). It is a Romanesque single-nave church with a dome and with leaning arches divided into three aisles, of which the middle one is longer. On the East is a large semicircular apse. On the Northern side of the church another church was erected in the 18th century and is dedicated to St. Spyridon. However, spolia placed in the church (lintel, portal, stone furniture, etc.) probably belonged to the Church of St. Michael in Kotor. During conservation works in 1971 a fresco was discovered on the Southern wall of the West aisle belonging to 12th century Byzantine art.
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Kotor, Church of St. Mary (Collegiata)
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The Church of St. Mary Collegiata is located in the old town of Kotor on the Northern side. The first building was erected in the 6th century and was a three nave basilica with vaulted side naves, three semicircular apses on the Eastern side and a synthronon. The church fits typically into the Early Christian basilica architecture in the Eastern Adriatic. It was remodelled in the early 9th century. In the time of the Serbian King Stefan Radoslav (reigned 1228-1234) and the Bishop of Kotor in 1221, a new Romanesque single-nave church with an apse on the Eastern side and a dome over the middle aisle was built in the area of the middle nave of the original basilica. In the 14th century the building was fresco painted. Also fragments of plaster were found (both from the first and the second building phase). There are entrances (portals) on the Western and Southern side. On the lintel on the Southern entrance is an inscription in Latin. In 1434 the Chapel of St. John the Baptist was built on the Northern side of the church. A bell tower, situated on the North-Eastern side of the church, was erected in 1771, according to the Latin inscription placed on its Southern side. Relics of the local Saint Ozana are kept in the Church.
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Čačak, Gradac Church of the Mother of God (Church of the Ascension)
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The Church of the Mother of God (today's Church of the Ascension of Jesus Christ) was situated in today's city of Čačak (former Moravski Gradac). It was built by the Grand Župan (Stefan) Stracimir, brother of Stefan Nemanja (RL. 9, 43, Mar 65) probably before 1186. It became episcopal Church in the 14th century, and later turned into a metropolitanate. During Ottoman occupation the Church was turned into a mosque. Today, on its place, a new Church, dedicated to Christ, was built.
The first written testimonies of the Church are found in the Studenica typicon (1207–1215), and later in the Charter of the Žiča Monastery.
It was a single nave edifice with a dome, tripartite apse and two bell towers on the Western side. The present appearance is the result of some adaptations, especially those into a mosque.
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