Memorial Ossuary Lazarevac, Byzantine Revival chapel in Lazarevac, Serbia.
The Memorial Church of Saint Demetrius in Lazarevac is a cross-shaped church with a central dome, four smaller domes and a bell tower above the western facade. It was designed by Russian émigré architect Ivan Afanasjevič Rik and built between 1938 and 1941. The crypt holds about 37 m³ of remains of Serbian and Austro-Hungarian soldiers killed in the 1914 Battle of Kolubara.
A committee led by priest Čedomir M. Popović was founded in 1921 to build a memorial church and charnel-house for soldiers killed around Lazarevac in the 1914 Battle of Kolubara. In 1937 the priest Borivoje Đorđević took over the association. The church, designed by Russian émigré architect Ivan Afanasjevič Rik, was built from 1938 to 1941.
The crypt's red marble cladding frames 21 black marble plaques on each side, inscribed with the regiments of the First, Second and Third Armies and the Užice Army, under commanders Mišić, Stepanović, Jurišić-Šturm and Aračić. A shallow relief shows Serbian soldiers and peasants in folk costume, and a soldier sculpture stands in the eastern niche.
The crypt entrance is on the north wall of its western section, reached from the church interior. The crypt was divided into three parts during its 1961–1964 renovation, so allow time to read the carved panels and the red-marble regiment plaques. The narthex stays dim for parts of the day; the nave is brighter.
The crypt was adapted only between 1961 and 1964 under architect D. St. Pavlović, who split it into three sections. Its walls carry carved panels with battle maps and reliefs by sculptor Mihailo Tomić, plus 21 black marble plaques per side naming the army regiments.
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