The St. Mary's Church[1] or Virgin Mary's Church[2] (Albanian: Shpella e Maligradit) is an Eastern Orthodox cave church on the island of Maligrad, in the Albanian part of Lake Prespa. It is a Cultural Monument of Albania.[3] The church is dedicated to Saint Mary and was built by Serbian nobleman Kesar Novak (alb. Qesar Novaku[1]), in the year 1369.[2][4]
| St. Mary’s Cave Church | |
|---|---|
Albanian: Shpella e Maligradit | |
 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Eastern Orthodox Christianity |
| Location | |
| Location | Maligrad, lake Prespa |
| Country | Albania |
| Geographic coordinates | 40.7920°N 20.9317°E |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Serbian Orthodox Art |
| Founder | Kesar Novak |
| Completed | 1369 |
The church has frescoes and Greek inscriptions dated to 1369. Frescoes exist of the family of Kesar Novak, with his Greek wife Kalia.[2][5]
References
edit- ^ a b Anamali, Skënder (2002). Historia e popullit shqiptar në katër vëllime (in Albanian). Vol. I. Botimet Toena. pp. 294–295. OCLC 52411919.
- ^ a b c "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-06. Retrieved 2014-05-04.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Religious buildings with the "Culture Monument" status". Republic of Albania National Committee for Cult. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
- ^ Dr Vlad. R. Petković, Stari srpski spomenici u Južnoj Srbiji: "Na PRESPI kesar Novak podiže 1369. god. crkvu Bogorodici (na ostrvu Mali Grad)."
- ^ Ivan M. Đorđević, Zidno slikarstvo srpske vlastele u doba Nemanjica. OCLC 34957313, sl. 84 i 85