One of the symbols of Kruševac is the Church of Lazarica, the pearl of Moravian architecture. Prince Lazar built it as the court church of his newly built capital in honour of his first son Stefan, the heir to the throne. He dedicated the church to Archdeacon Stefan, the protector of the Nemanjić dynasty. Hence its original name: Church of the Holy First Martyr Stephen. It was probably built between 1376 and 1380. In front of this church, the Serbian army was consecrated before leaving for Kosovo. Lazarica is the first building in Serbia to undergo professional restoration and conservation, which was done in the period from 1904 to 1908, under the direction of architect Pero J. Popović. As an exceptional achievement of Serbian medieval architecture and national architectural heritage, the Lazarica Church has been declared a cultural monument of exceptional importance.
Constantine the Philosopher talks about the erection of the church of St. Stephen, better known as Lazarica, in the Life of Despot Stefan Lazarević. Later Serbian genealogies do not provide anything new and unknown about this, for now, the only authentic source about the raising of Lazarica. It is clear that the construction of the church is directly related to the construction of the capital and that Prince Lazar, as the founder, dedicates it to Archdeacon Stefan, otherwise the patron of the Nemanjic dynasty, and in honour of his firstborn son Stefan, heir to the throne. Built-in the core of the large city of Kruševac, Lazarica belongs to the group of court or throne churches. Its purpose of the court church was also confirmed by archaeological research because no traces of modern accompanying buildings necessary for the life of the monks were discovered. Luxurious shapes and harmonious forms of Lazarica's architecture, the richness of the polychrome of the facades and the excellent workmanship of the plastic decoration have contributed to the fact that contemporaries have already judged its beauty with the attribute "most beautiful", notes the website of the Lazarica church.
From the final fall of Kruševac under Turkish rule in 1455, until the first decades of the 18th century, scarce historical sources do not allow us to follow the events related to Lazarica. In the descriptions of Kruševac left by travel writers from that time, we find only instructive statements about the existence of a "beautiful church". It is possible to assume that soon after the establishment of the Turkish government, the worship activity in Lazarica froze because the Turks settled in the fortress and the church became inaccessible to the Serbs. It is mentioned that during the Turkish rule it was used as a stable for horses. The Turks removed the original roof covering by using lead for the barn of Grand Vizier Sokolović on Kaba-Sakal. In such a state, exposed to the rains and negligence of the Turkish rulers. Lazarica had to leave.
Ruined, without a roof covering, the church resisted until the beginning of the third Austro-Turkish war (1736-1739). Then, Ober-Captain Mlatišuma conquered Kruševac and held it together with Colonel Lentulus until October 16, 1737, when the town was again under Turkish rule. In the next two years of war, Kruševac has no previous significance. During the favourable for the Serbs, but short-lived Austrian authorities in Kruševac, or a little later, Lazarica was painted. Apparently, at the time of the frescoes, the most necessary repairs were made to the church. Lazarica was soon abandoned again and reached a very bad state, as evidenced by a part of the text of the military-geographical description of Serbia before Kočina Krajina from 1784:
"In this place, there are 120 Christian and 150 Turkish houses, one church so far in good condition and one very large, brick, almost ruined church, which was the court church of the Serbian (Prince) Lazar…".
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What a beautiful church, are you religious? Do you practice?
She is beautiful, but live when she is seen she is even more beautiful. I'm not religious.
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