St. Mary of the Assumption Church, Catholic parish church in Zemun, Serbia
St. Mary of the Assumption Church is a single-nave Catholic parish church on Veliki Trg in Zemun, built 1785–1795 to a design by Zagreb architect Toma Miklaušić. It has a barrel vault, Empire forms with Baroque elements, and faces east rather than west. A capital from the demolished Franzenstal church stands in its courtyard.
Capuchin priests arrived in Zemun around 1721 and restored the Catholic parish in 1727, converting an abandoned mosque into a church that housed a copy of the Virgin and Child known as the Zemun Madonna. In 1784 the old church, parish house and school were demolished; the foundation stone of the present building was blessed on 3 August 1785 and the church opened in 1795, though the tower was still unfinished in 1811. The church was declared a cultural monument of Serbia in December 2022.
The copy of the Virgin and Child kept here is called Zemunska Gospa, the Zemun Madonna, and is venerated by local believers. Capuchin friars brought it around 1721 when they converted an abandoned mosque into a church. A library named "Ilija Okrugić" opened in the church complex in 2003 with 3,000 books.
The church stands on Veliki trg in Zemun, facing east rather than west, so the facade meets you from the square's western side. The organ dates from 1910 and was restored in 2009; the interior was last renewed in 2006. In the courtyard, look for a capital salvaged from the demolished Francenstal church. Since 2012 the building has been decoratively lit as part of the square's rearrangement.
In the churchyard stands a capital from the church of Zemun's Francenstal settlement (today's Novi grad), demolished in 1948; it was kept as a relic of that lost church. In 2012, during the redevelopment of Veliki trg, the church was given decorative lighting along with the square's other buildings.
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