MYSTERIES OF THE POLOG MONASTERY
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Sie haben keine Berechtigung Anhänge anzusehen. Anhänge sind ausgeblendet.
Sie haben keine Berechtigung Anhänge anzusehen. Anhänge sind ausgeblendet.
Sie haben keine Berechtigung Anhänge anzusehen. Anhänge sind ausgeblendet.
Tourismus in Mazedonien: MYSTERIES OF THE POLOG MONASTERY
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MYSTERIES OF THE POLOG MONASTERY - PART 2[/h]
Digging up a mystery
The researches and conservations were synchronized and done at the same time for three years. Dragan Dakich and Petre Kamchevski from the Kavadarci Museum were also included in the project. A complete conservation on the architecture; frescos; carvings; icons was done and copies of the two folding doors were also made. The main gate of the monastery, the bakery, the fountain and the supporting walls were also refurbished, and the yard was finally trimmed by planting grass and trees, one of which was a very rare indigenous tree called “naked man”. It is still in the monastery’s yard.
The first information concerning the history of the “Saint George” monastery come from the two charters issued in 1340 and 1378. The first one was issued by Tsar Stefan Dushan who ruled this part of the Balkan Peninsula from 1331 to 1355. The charter was about his decision to give the Polog monastery along with the villages of Poloshko, Dragozhel and Koshani as a gift to the Hilandar monastery on Mount Athos. The second charter was issued by the Dejanovich brothers – Jovan Dragash, the despot and his brother Konstantin – by which they gave the monastery and all of its property along with the river Crna and the nearby villages as a gift to the Russian “Saint Pantelemon” monastery on Mount Athos. Judging by the content of the 1340 charter, it can be concluded that the body of Dragushin, cousin of Tsar Dushan, was laid to rest in the church located in the village of Poloshko. However, this charter was interpreted in different ways by different researchers and interpreters. There were great differences concerning Dragushin, who he was and how he was related to the king and Maria the despot. There was no proof of that until the day the mysterious inscribed frescos were found underneath the newer frescos.
That day, the researchers of the Polog monastery “Saint George” suddenly had two inscriptions in front of them, written on the eastern wall in the narthex over the church entrance. The first one dates back to 1609 when during the ruling of the abbot Sava the narthex was painted, and the second one dates back to 1881 when a third restoration on the frescos was done. Multiple abbots were mentioned in different travelers’ entries, as well as that there were two buildings in the monastery, one of which was old, two-tiered, with four rooms on each floor as well as a big terrace. A 40-cattle stable, a kitchen, a cellar with two big barrels, two barns outside the monastery yard were also mentioned, as well as 600 uvri of mountain and 600 uvri of new forests near the villages of Dobrotino, Pravednik, Sheshkovo, Resava, Begnishte, Kumanichevo, Klinovo and Galishta. For example, prior to 1893 the monastery had about 20 sheep, 120 goats, 10 oxen, 15 bullocks, 3 cows, 4 horses and one foal.
It was also mentioned that at one point in early 18th century the monastery was completely desolated, even though it had been one of the best and most famous scripture centers in Macedonia during the 15th and 16th century. Anyway, during the first phase, the second layer of frescos from 1609 located on the façade was removed, so the figures of Jovan Dragushin and his wife Ana showed up on the northern side, with a monumental figure of Tsar Stefan Dushan located above them. Dragushin was dressed in a noble gown, decorated with pearls and golden, two-headed eagles; red and blue precious stones and had a massive ring on his right hand. There was an inscription located at the height of Dragushin and Ana’s heads that provided relevant data for further research about the church and new information about Dragushin himself. Namely, in the ten-row-long inscription there is information that “Jovan Dragushin is the son of Aldimir, the despot, and the true brother of the sublime king and our lord”.