Monastery Dormition of the Mother of God

The Church of Dormition of the Mother of God is located in the village of Mrtvica, 14 km from Vladicin Han, at the exit from the Grdelica gorge. It is located on a plateau barely wider than the monastery itself, which offers a magnificent and unforgettable view of the surroundings. According to tradition, the foundations of the monastery were laid at the end of the fifth or beginning of the sixth century. Earlier, this cult place was a church, but later it was turned into a monastery. The thematic repertoire of iconostasis includes 25 icons and 2 kissing ones. As for the liturgical books, the church keeps the Minas printed in Moscow in 1868 for the months of January, February, March, April, June, July and August. The Minas were bought in the summer of 1875. The tetrapod and the choir table in the south choir are of newer construction. It is believed that this monastery experienced its highest peak in the time of Nemanjić, from the 12th to the 15th century. It is believed that at that time many Serbian knights took communion in this monastery, and the whole area was called the lighthouse of Orthodoxy, because there were three monasteries, in Mrtvica, Repište and at the foot of Kukavica, in which there were more than 1000 monks. Despite the lack of sources and archeological research, the assumption that there was a living monastery center here during the Turkish rule is strengthened by the remains of a half-storey cave building under the church. Until recently it was a parish church, but today it is a nunnery. The monastery was built in the east-west direction, and represents a single-nave triconch building without a dome. Along the entire southern, western and part of the northern side of the building there is a porch of massive stone pillars. The church entry is in the west, a small wooden door, above which is a representation of the Mother of God with Jesus Christ. Although small in size, the interior of the church consists of a narthex, a nave and an altar space. According to the appearance, the nave belongs to the early Byzantine architecture of the 16th century, the narthex is most likely from the 17th century, and the northern chapel and porch from the end of the 19th century. It is believed that the church got its final shape in the 19th century. The eastern part of the church, outside and inside, ends with a semicircular apse, which is illuminated by a small window and a rosette placed above. Most of the roof of the church is made of stone slabs, while only above the southern part of the porch is a tile. Next to the church, on the west side, there is a bell tower erected in 2012. The narthex of the church is spacious and colorful. It is believed that this painting is part of a traveling Greek painter from the second decade of the 17th century. The nave is full with frescoes, and they are well preserved. This fresco is believed to date from 1866. The nave is separated from the altar space by an iconostasis which, judging by its appearance, is very old, but there is no information when it was made and painted.