Page 235 - Kosovo Metohija Heritage

The Church of
the Mother of God Hodegetria in Mušutište
The church of the Mother of God Hodegetria was built as a foundation by kaznac Dragoslav, the chief court governor, and his family, in 1315, in Mušutište,
about 6,5 miles to the south-east of Suva Reka. The found- er’s inscription above the entrance was one of the oldest and most beautiful Serbian epigraphic texts of its kind. it was an edifice with a semi-dome, had an inscribed cross in the ground plan and a semi-round apse. The wall was built of alternating rows of bricks and stone cubes.
The frescos of the Mušutište School, painted between 1316 and 1320 and famed for their plasticity and the saints’ typology, were known as the best examples of Serbian art. That earned them a place in the company of other ma- ture artistic works of the Palaeologan era from the first quarter of the 14th century. in the altar area there was a unique portrait of the South-Slav educator, St. Clement of Ohrid. in the north-western corner of the naos there were figures of holy women, the warriors Sts Theodore Tyro
Church and the living quarters of
the Holy Trinity Monastery in Mušutište, destroyed by Albanian extremists in 1999
and Theodore Stratelates, angels, and St. Panteleimon. Two throne icons of Christ and The Mother of God dat- ed back to the year 1603. The monastery was destroyed in 1999 by the albanian extremists.
The monastery of Holy Trinity in Mušutište was men- tioned for the first time in 1465. it was abandoned in 1829, only to be renewed in 1837 by distinguished Serb crafts- men from Prizren. During its long history Holy Trinity monks developed artistic workshops—the icons were painted and the manuscripts were produced in the mon- astery. Up to the present day the monastery treasures a collection of manuscript books and icons dating between 14th and 19th century. The monastery was destroyed by the albanian extremists in 1999.
Church of the Mother of God Hodegetria, Mušutište
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