Vlah Church, Serbian Orthodox church in Donji Kraji, Montenegro
Vlah Church is a Serbian Orthodox church in Donji Kraj on the Cetinje field, dedicated to the Nativity of the Theotokos. Its present appearance dates from the 17th or early 18th century, with alterations and an enlargement in 1864. The churchyard holds an older cemetery and a fence made of rifle barrels, and a medieval stećak stands before the entrance.
The building was founded in 1450 as a simple structure made of wood and clay. It was later reinforced with stone and lime mortar, reaching its present form by 1864.
The church is dedicated to the Nativity of the Theotokos. Its name is linked to the Vlach herders who kept Ivan Crnojević's cattle and built it around 1450; other theories treat "Vlach" as an exonym or as a marker of Orthodox adherence. A medieval stećak stands before the entrance, which local tradition identifies as the grave of Bajo Pivljanin and his wife.
The church stands on the Cetinje field in Donji Kraj, with the churchyard holding an older cemetery. The two preserved stećci are in front of the entrance, one of them a medieval tombstone from the late 14th or early 15th century. The churchyard fence is made from rifle barrels from the 1858 and 1876–1878 wars.
The churchyard fence is made from barrels of Ottoman rifles captured at the Battle of Grahovac in 1858. The Serbian source also mentions rifle barrels from the wars of 1876–1878. The two surviving stećci were originally placed facing each other and were later turned side by side.
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