SAINT-GEORGES CATHEDRAL

This Serbian Orthodox cathedral (Katedralja e Shën Gjergjit, Саборна црква Светог Ђорђа/Saborni hram Svetog Đorđa) has since 1887 been the seat of the Eparchy (diocese) of Raška and Prizren, which covers southwestern Serbia and all of Kosovo. Originally, this role was to be given to the prestigious church of the Mother of God of Leviša (on the right bank of the Prizrenska Bistrica), but as it was then converted into a mosque, the Ottoman authorities granted permission in 1855 to build this new cathedral in the heart of the city. It was completed after more than twenty years of work. Several times targeted by Albanian nationalists, notably during the two world wars, the building was practically destroyed by fire during the anti-Serbian riots of March 2004. Only the walls survived. Rebuilt in 2010, the cathedral is a church with three naves preceded by a porch. It is surmounted by a dome and a bell tower in the front. Inside, the 19th century frescoes have been lost and the walls are now white. The same minimalism applies to the iconostasis simply endowed with two large icons, one of which is from the 14th century.

Palace, churches and seminary. In the courtyard of the cathedral are the bishop's palace and the small church called "St. George Runović". The latter was built at the end of the 15th century by two Serbian inhabitants of the city, the Runović brothers. During the Ottoman period, it was used to store icons and liturgical objects from nearby churches that had been transformed into mosques, and then as a temporary seat for the eparchy during the construction of the cathedral. Burned and vandalized in 2004, it has been restored. The interior retains some 17th-century frescoes and the tombs of the Runović brothers. On the other side of the street, opposite the cathedral, there is a superb example of 14th-century Serbian-Byzantine architecture: the tiny church of St. Nicholas with its high octagonal dome. Many times reworked, it was also damaged in 2004. However, it still has some of its frescoes from the 1330's. Finally, another Serbian Orthodox monument is located in the district of Shadërvan, the seminary of Saints Cyril and Method, which is located behind the Sinan-Pasha mosque. Founded in 1872, it served as a refuge for the Serbian inhabitants of the region in 1999. Burned down in 2004, it now provides training for the priests and monks of the eparchy (currently about fifty per year).