Monday, November 28, 2011

Studenica Monastery ( 12th century)

Studenica Monastery ( 12th century)

Studenica Monastery , 11km from Usce, and 62 km S from Kraljevo. The beauty of the location is exceptional, the monastery lies on the banks of Studenica river, surounded by mountains and forest. The monastery is the ruler Stefan Nemanja s most important foundation and a treasury of medieval art . Serbian literature originated in the monastery, also a place of burial for the Nemanjics. In the center of the complex lies the Church of Our Lady ( late 12th century) the great example of the Rascian school of architecture , an artistic and architectual style that originated in Serbia at the end of the 12th and beginning of the 13th century. The church consists of one nave with a parvis and a dome painted with monumental frescoes. The building style and its interior are Byzantine, while the facade is in the western Romanesque style , coverd with white marble and decorated with many sculptures. The western portal is distinguished by its beauty, with the Mother of God with Christ surrounded by angels on the gable. Some of the oldest murals (1208-09) have been partially preserved. These paintings served as a foundation for Serbian painting in the 13th century. The monumental Crucifixion of Christ, on the western wall of the naos, on a blue setting, with a golden aureole and stars, imparts its divine serenity to the spectator.

Studenica Monastery

Studenica

Studenica Serbia

Studenica monastery

Friday, November 25, 2011

Sopocani Monastery

Sopocani Monastery

Lies 14 km W of Novi Pazar , at the Raska river's spring . Built by Uros I whose mortal remains were buried in it , together with the remains of several other members of the Nemanjic dynasty (his mother Ana Dandolo and King Stephen the first-Crowned). The Church of the Holy Trinity was built in the Rascian style . The church boasts outstanding frescoes and paintings on the altar and naos, with a touch of the classical spirit. These works are regarded as the most monumental in European medieval art , and they were painted by Byzantine's most skilled artists after Constantinople fell to the Crusaders.
The fresco depicting the Ascension of the Holy Mother of God is the best example of Sopocani's murals . The composition is harmonious and well- balanced, countenances serene and movements elegant. The harmony of colors imparts dignity , while the golden light of the background suggests the presence of the Havens on Earth The Turks ravaged the monastery several times and burned it in 1689 , leaving it deserted and roofless over two centuries.
Sopocani

Sopocani Monastery Serbia

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Sokobanja


Lies 230 km from Belgrade. It is spa with a tradition going several centuries back, where many renowned people , including authors Ivo Andric and Branislav Nusic sought repose. An old Serb saying claims visitors come to Sokobanja old and leave young. In addition to its hot mineral springs, the spa also boasts abalmy climate , with a high concentration of ozone. The town lies between Mt. Ozren and Mt. Rtanj, noted for a strong magnetic field capable of disturbing air navigation. The area is also the source of the famous Rtanj Tea. The Soko grad (Hawk s Fort), at a strategic curve on the Moravica River, two kilometers from the spa, has an Upper Town with a standing tower, and a more accessible Lower Town.




Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Vrnjacka Banja


Lies 195 km from Belgrade. Vrnjacka Banja is the most famous spa and with the longest tradition of all, of many spas in Serbia , known from Roman times. During Turkish rule , according to legend , the people buried springs to avoid to having to serve Turkish agas and beys having baths there. The spa blossomed as elite resort under Prince Mihailo Obrenovic , when the first official season was declared open in 1867 . At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, numerous villas were built around hot water springs and two adjacent hills.
The regent Belimarkovic' s Manor (1886), fashioned after northern Italy's country villas, is now a cultural center that hosts exhibitions , musical and theatrical events .
The spa is blessed with a moderate climate , protected from winds by mountains and a unique spring produces water corresponding to body temperature (36.5) The spa also has several cold water springs , good infrastructure ( hotels , courts, pools, saunas). Facilities offer weight-loss programs , quick diagnostic, and a school for diabetes. The spa promotes health and assists the treatment of various diseases.





Monday, November 21, 2011

Palic


Palic, 8km E of Subotica, 170 km north of Belgrade.
Lake Palic became a fashionable summer resort more than 150 years ago. Proof of this is visible in its Art Deco architecture (the Zenski Strand building ). The Great Park was built in 1842 to resamble an English garden . Located in it are a water tower , the Great Terrace (Velika Terasa),Summer Stage (Letnja pozornica), concert pavilion, and a zoo , set in a beautiful botanical garden .
The lake s well-tended beaches and great climate ( 2,100 sunny hours a year) make it a good place to relax or try out some water sports : the lake is shaped like is an ellipse and is one of the best suited for water sports in Europe. The shore is 17 km in length. The average depth of the water is about 2 meters and there is an abundance of aquatic life , especially myriad fish . There is also an adjacent area for basketball and other sports . The lake contains some sulfur and somewhat alkaline in addition to containing natural chlorides.




Saturday, November 19, 2011

Fruska Gora


The mountain (539m) and much of its surroundings are a national park . It was once an island in the Pannonian Sea that used to cover the Pannonian Plain long before the time of man. The mountain is covered by a thick forest of hundred year oak and birch trees , as well as the linden, a tree beloved by the Slavic peoples.



Monasteries of Mt. Fruska Gora

The mountain has been central to Serb spirituality for centuries . The monasteries were built in the late Middle Ages when Serb culture was moving northward in response to the Ottoman onslaught.
However, archeologist and historians have discovered that Fruska Gora appears to have been a place of spirituality even before . Evidence of this can be seen in the form of bronze icons from the 12th century found at Rakovac . The serb monasteries were built by adherents of the Moravian school of architecture. The founders of the first of the monasteries were the despots of the house of Brankovic, descendants of the Serb rulers of the Medieval times. In the 1700s many were rebuilt in Baroque style, getting tall bell towers and intricate Baroque iconstases. During the Second World War the monasteries suffered heavy damage. Many valuable objects were taken .



Petkovica


Krusedol

Friday, November 18, 2011

Lepenski vir


Lepenski vir , site situated on the banks of the Danube at Djerdap 46 km from Golubac in Serbia. It dates from 6700 - 4500 BC . The location itself is magnificent and is one of the most important archeological sites in the world .

Lepenski vir consists of several layers of remains of settelmaents of fishermen and hunters and a regional holy site . It is famous for its fish- shaped figures carved from flat stones taken out of the Danube , which are the oldest known examples of sculpture in Europe . The foundations of the settelments are specific - shaped like an arc of a circle with the tip cut of , indicating to an outstanding knowledge of mathematics. Tools found at the site were fashioned with unusual mastery and pieces of elaborate jewlery have also been discovered . The Culture of Lepenski vir comprises a series of prehistoric settelments along the Danube, built mostly near large whirpools rich in fish . Original sculptures are perserved in the National Museum in Belgrade.






Thursday, November 17, 2011

Vinca


Village on the right bank of the Danube , 11km from Belgrade . Vinca is one of the major prehistoric archeological sites in Europe. The settelments were found beneath an old Serb necropolis ( 10th to 13th century ), a 10 m cross- section graphically showing all the layers.

As an economic and cultural center , Vinca has lent its name to what is known as the Vincian culture. This well developed Neolithic culture, which thrived from 4500 - 3200 BC , encompassed the central Balkans and a part of the Pannonian Plain and was without match in Europe in terms of the territory it coverd , the size of its settelments , and its artistic attainments. Its anthropomorphic and zoomorphic terra-cottas testefy to a highly- developed religion . Also found here were high- quality pieces of pottery , tools , and jewlery made from shelles ,as well as evidence of primitive foundries. Some researchers belive the signs preserved on Vincian pottery actually represent the oldest example of writing .


Thursday, April 14, 2011

Travel photos

Great art photos from traveling all over the world.

o DUBA PLAINS (Botswana)
o ETOSHA (namibia)
o GREAT WHITES (Capetown)
o Sand Dunes (Namibia)
o Cormorant Fishing (Japan)
o Floating Markets (Bangkok)