St. Luke's Church, Kotor, Montenegro

St. Luke's Church was built by Mauro Kacafrangi in 1195 of which is mentioned in the inscription on the western façade. This is a modest one-nave church whose main nave is longitudinally divided into three parts. St. Luka’s church has characteristics of the Romanesque and Byzantine architecture. This is the only building in the town which did not suffer any major damage during earthquakes. It was depicted with frescoes soon after its construction, of which remained only some fragments on the southern wall.

The church altar was the work of Dascal Dimitrije, the founder of the Rafailovic school of painting from the seventeenth century. Once this church was catholic, but later it was given to orthodox people to use. Thus the church has two altars – the catholic and orthodox. The church floor is made of tombstones of common tombs of Kotor citizens, as burials took place in the very church until 1930s.

References:

Kotor Tourism

Religious sites in Montenegro

User Reviews

Adrian Yong (2 years ago)
Old Town of Kotor Montenegro. Historic, quaint, narrow lanes and filled with retailers, restaurants and even stores selling knock off goods. Supposed to be the City of Cats.....which are bigger than most other cats I have seen.

Sean Macg (2 years ago)
Stunning set up inside with some decent oil canvases. Well worth hearing the sweet chant of the monks too. 5 golden stars

Sarah Boyd (2 years ago)
Tiny Orthodox Church across from the main church in Kotor. Open except during services in the main church. Beautiful. Pictures allowed. Good selection of small, reasonably priced souvenirs and religious gifts including brochure with professional photos for 0.50€.

Warren Paul Harris (2 years ago)
Beautiful little Serbian Orthodox church we discovered in our travels. Be sure to go inside when here. It is worth your time.

Goran Stojkovski (3 years ago)
Extraordinary place to visit in the area. Among the other Romanesque monuments of our town, this charming church really deserves a special place. Being constructed in 1195 it is one of the few of such age that is still standing and even more it is still in use. Locals believe that it is miraculous since it has remained standing through earthquakes and wars. It did suffer some damage but it looks now almost the same as it did more than 820 years ago. What makes this church a reflection of local life style is the fact that for two centuries it had two altars, where both Roman Catholics and Christian orthodox believers could pray together.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Me in ME

Historic Site of the week

Seville Cathedral

Seville's cathedral, Santa Maria de la Sede, is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, and is recognised as UNESCO World Heritage. After its completion in the early 16th century, Seville Cathedral supplanted Hagia Sophia as the largest cathedral in the world, a title the Byzantine church had held for nearly a thousand years.

History

The basilica occupies the site of the great Aljama mosque, built in the late 12th century by the Almohads, the ruling Moorish dynasty, of which the only remaining parts are the Patio de Naranjas, the Puerta del Perdon (on Calle Alemanes, on the north side), and the Giralda (formerly the minaret, now the belltower).

Shortly after Seville's conquest by Ferdinand III, the mosque was converted into the city's cathedral. Its orientation was changed and its spaces partitioned and adorned to suit Christian worship practices. The internal space was gradually divided into chapels by constructing walls in the bays along the northern and southern walls. Almost the entire eastern half of the cathedral was occupied by the royal chapel that would hold the bodies of Ferdinand, his wife and Alfonso the Wise.

In 1401, city leaders decided to build a new cathedral to replace the grand mosque that served as the cathedral until then. Construction continued until 1506. The clergy of the parish offered half their stipends to pay for architects, artists, stained glass artisans, masons, carvers, craftsman and labourers and other expenses. Five years after construction ended, in 1511, the crossing lantern, or cimborrio, collapsed and work on the cathedral recommenced. The crossing again collapsed in 1888 due an earthquake, and work on the dome continued until at least 1903.

Architecture

The interior has the longest nave of any cathedral in Spain. The central nave rises to a height of 42 metres. In the main body of the cathedral, the most noticeable features are the great boxlike choir loft, which fills the central portion of the nave, and the vast Gothic retablo of carved scenes from the life of Christ. This altarpiece was the lifetime work of a single craftsman, Pierre Dancart.

The Capilla Mayor (Great Chapel), dominated by a vast Gothic retablo (altarpiece) comprised of 45 carved scenes from the life of Christ, as well as Santa Maria de la Sede, the cathedral's patron saint. The lifetime's work of a single craftsman, Pierre Dancart, this is the ultimate masterpiece of the cathedral - the largest and richest altarpiece in the world and one of the finest examples of Gothic woodcarving anywhere.

The Giralda is the bell tower of the Cathedral of Seville. Its height is 105 m. The Giralda is the former minaret of the mosque that stood on the site under Muslim rule, and was built to resemble the minaret of the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech, Morocco. It was converted into a bell tower for the cathedral after the Reconquista, although the topmost section dates from the Renaissance.

The tomb of Christopher Columbus is one of the main attractions of the cathedral for visitors, housing the remains of the great explorer who died in poverty in Valladolid. The tomb itself is more recent, from the 1892, with four bearers presenting the kingdoms of Castile, Leon, Aragon and Navarra.

Do you know an ancient castle or magnificent church near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory.com.

It's absolutely free, easy, and doesn't even need registration!

Upload data

Looks like you are a history fan!

Do you know an ancient castle or hidden ruins near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory. It's absolutely free, easy, and you can do it even without registration (of course you an also create an free account)!

St. Luke's Church

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby