KING PIERRE IER FOUNDATION

The cradle of the royal dynasty of Karadjordjević, Oplenac is a high place of memory for all Serbs. Indeed, it is here that the leader of the first Serbian insurgency, Petar Karadjordjević, as well as his descendants are buried, under the beautiful church of St. George. It is a recent project, built under King Peter I, the Church of St. George in Oplenac was not actually completed (but the remains of his parents already transferred) when it was stormed by the Austro-Hungarian army in 1914. Heavily damaged on this occasion during the First World War, looted and dismantled, it was rebuilt from 1923.

In the 1990s, Prince Tomislav, who had returned from a long exile in England, began to make long stays in the residence, which is part of this complex. Situated in a beautiful forest environment, the church of St. George stands both monumental and pure in its immaculate whiteness. Its long and delicately arranged building lines, as well as its white marble facades, give it an intense spiritual presence. Built in the Serbian-Byzantine style, the church is in the shape of a cross, with apses at both ends of the arms and topped by a large dome and three lower topaz-colored ones, each topped by a golden Greek cross. The bronze entrance door, also monumental, has the symbols of Serbian royalty: the two-headed eagle and the four "s" of Serbian unity. Inside, the coating is entirely of green marble, for the perimeter, and mosaics for the rest, until the top of the dome. These mosaics include 24 paintings of the life of St. Sava, representations of the ancient Serbian monarchs with their sumptuous clothes, and medallions of saints and Serbian patriarchs. All this decoration is a faithful and exact reproduction of the frescoes of the most famous monasteries in Serbia. As the foundation of the Karadjordjević dynasty, the church houses the tombs of many of the greatest figures in modern Serbian history, including the sarcophagus of the dynasty's founder, Petar Karadjordjević (1762-1817). Opposite is the tomb of King Peter I, who died in 1921. The crypt also contains the tombs of members of the Karadjordjević family; King Alexander I, who was assassinated in Marseille by a Croatian extremist on October 9, 1934, rests there, according to his wishes, alongside his mother. The foundation also encompasses the house of King Peter. Built in 1912 as the monarch's summer residence, it now houses a gallery-museum dedicated to the royal family as well as the headquarters of the International Karadjordjević Association. Also part of the foundation, the town of Karadjordjević, near the church of St. George, was built in 1811. Here you can still see the original residence with its well-restored tower, the church with its bell tower and the elementary school. The whole ensemble is very evocative of everyday life in Serbia in the early 19th century. In the residence, original manuscripts of the Karadjordje kings and some weapons used in the wars of liberation in 1804 and 1815. Do not leave the foundation without visiting this timeless city of memory, still well preserved for the education of the Serbian people.