MONASTÈRE DE DOBRUN

Repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt, this 14th-century Serbian Orthodox monastery (Manastir Dobrun/Манастир Добрун) is dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God - the Catholic equivalent of the Assumption of the Virgin - and retains some original frescoes. Located along the Rzav River and the Šargan Eight railway line, this large complex is guarded by an old German steam locomotive (Henschel model of 1923) and by an imposing orange-colored gate, which is itself topped by a chapel with a wall-belfry. The monastery was founded around 1340 by župan Pribil, a Serbian count in charge of controlling this region, which was the eastern border of the Kingdom of Serbia during the reign of the powerful King Stefan Dušan (1331-1355). The complex was then the heart of the monastic city of Dobrun, with seven hundred monks, of which some remains remain 1 km upstream from the Rzav. Centuries and invaders passed, the city disappeared and the monastery was completely destroyed by an explosion in January 1945, when it served as an ammunition depot for the German army. But the site was reoccupied by monks the following year.

Frescoes and museums. During reconstruction work in 1994, some frescoes from the old 14th century catholicon (main church) were rediscovered, almost intact. They were installed on the northern wall of the present-day Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God, which stands in the middle of the courtyard of the complex. One can recognize the župan Pribil carrying a miniature of the church and accompanied by his sons Petar and Stefan. Another beautiful portrait is that of King Stefan Dušan, his wife Helena and their son, the future Uroš V, known as "the Weak", who will cause the fall of the rich Serbian dynasty of Nemanjić. Since 1994, the monastery has been continuously expanded with the addition of new buildings. A large white konak (inn) houses two museums. One is dedicated to the Serbian revolt of 1804-1813 led by George Petrovich, known as Karađorđe ("George the Black" in Turkish), and founder of the Karađorđević dynasty (1842-1945). The other focuses on the ecclesiastical history of the region and houses a chapel dedicated to the apostle Andrew. Since 2004, the courtyard of the monastery is dominated by a statue of Karađorđe installed high on a cliff. Finally, 1 km further on, near the ruins of the old Dobrun, stands again since 2006 the Careva mosque, founded in 1445 and destroyed by Serbian nationalists in 1992.