SAINT JOVAN-VLADIMIR MONASTERY
This Orthodox monastery is dedicated to the Serbian prince and saint Jovan Vladimir. It bears witness to Albania's rich history.
This Orthodox monastery (Manastiri i Shën Joan Vladimirit) was founded in the early 11th century along the Zaranika river. Today, it's wedged between the freeway and abandoned barracks. But it's worth a visit for its pleasant garden and its catholicon (main church) adorned with a fresco by the great painter Kostandin Shpataraku (1736-1767). The complex is dedicated to Saint Jovan Vladimir (c. 970-1016), a Serbian prince of Dioclea canonized by the Orthodox Churches. He was taken prisoner by the Bulgarian tsar Samuel and married his daughter Theodora Kosara around the year 1000. The tsar entrusted him with the fiefs of Elbasan and Durrës. Jovan Vladimir lived piously until he was assassinated by Samuel's nephew and successor, Ivan Vladislav. According to legend, the latter was killed during the siege of Durrës in 1018, by the miraculous apparition of Saint Jovan Vladimir. The monastery was built to house the saint's relics. It was remodeled in 1381 by Karl Thopia (1331-1388) and now houses his tomb. A dedication left by this Albanian prince states in Greek, Latin and Serbian that he was "the blood nephew of the King of France". Karl Thopia was in fact the illegitimate son of the daughter of Robert of Naples, great-grandson of the French king Louis VIII. The Shpataraku fresco, awaiting restoration, is located on the apse of the catholicon, in the area reserved for officiating clergy. But the priest who occupies the premises is delighted to show it off.
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