Krupa monastery is the oldest Orthodox monastery in Croatia. It is located on the southern slopes of the Velebit mountain, halfway between the towns of Obrovac and Knin.
The monastery was built in 1317 by monks from Bosnia, with the financial support from the Serbian king Milutin. During their reigns, King Stefan Dečanski and Emperor Dušan renovated the monastery. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the monastery was endowed by Saint Angelina of Serbia. Georgije Mitrofanović painted the walls in 1620–22. In the 1760s, Serbian writer and educator, Dositej Obradović, lived and worked in Krupa, while in the 1860s, major Serbian realist author, Simo Matavulj, lived and was educated in the monastery. Gerasim Zelić also lived there in the 18th century. It was completely renovated in 1855.
The surrounding konaks were burnt to the ground by the Ustaše during the World War II, who also destroyed the interior of the monastery turning it into their military post. In the 1950s the construction of the large belfry began but was never finished. After the outbreak of the Yugoslav wars in 1991, the well-known monastery treasury was displaced from Krupa. During the Operation Storm the monastery sustained damages in September 1995 and the local Orthodox Serbs, so as the priests, went into exile in Serbia. The belfry and the bells were damaged, so as the chapel while the interior was looted and partially demolished. Since 2000, partial reconstruction of Krupa began. It included numerous works, such as the construction and painting of the small additional church (paraklis) and the partial adaptation of the unfinished belfry. Some of the artifacts were returned in 2010. Since the mid-2010s, the government of the Republic of Croatia also helped with the renovation of the monastery.
The church of the Krupa monastery is dedicated to the Feast of the Dormition of Theotokos. In the monastery there are beautiful frescoes, a valuable collection of icons and parts of iconostasis and the collection of the several centuries old books.
References:Monte d"Accoddi is a Neolithic archaeological site in northern Sardinia, located in the territory of Sassari. The site consists of a massive raised stone platform thought to have been an altar. It was constructed by the Ozieri culture or earlier, with the oldest parts dated to around 4,000–3,650 BC.
The site was discovered in 1954 in a field owned by the Segni family. No chambers or entrances to the mound have been found, leading to the presumption it was an altar, a temple or a step pyramid. It may have also served an observational function, as its square plan is coordinated with the cardinal points of the compass.
The initial Ozieri structure was abandoned or destroyed around 3000 BC, with traces of fire found in the archeological evidence. Around 2800 BC the remains of the original structure were completely covered with a layered mixture of earth and stone, and large blocks of limestone were then applied to establish a second platform, truncated by a step pyramid (36 m × 29 m, about 10 m in height), accessible by means of a second ramp, 42 m long, built over the older one. This second temple resembles contemporary Mesopotamian ziggurats, and is attributed to the Abealzu-Filigosa culture.
Archeological excavations from the chalcolithic Abealzu-Filigosa layers indicate the Monte d"Accoddi was used for animal sacrifice, with the remains of sheep, cattle, and swine recovered in near equal proportions. It is among the earliest known sacrificial sites in Western Europe.
The site appears to have been abandoned again around 1800 BC, at the onset of the Nuragic age.
The monument was partially reconstructed during the 1980s. It is open to the public and accessible by the old route of SS131 highway, near the hamlet of Ottava. It is 14,9 km from Sassari and 45 km from Alghero. There is no public transportation to the site. The opening times vary throughout the year.