Church of Saint Sava, Eastern Orthodox cathedral in Vračar, Serbia
The Church of Saint Sava is a Byzantine-style cathedral in Belgrade that rises 77 meters (253 feet) high and carries five domes arranged in a Greek cross. Marble covers the outer walls, while the interior displays gold and carved stonework that surrounds the altar area and galleries.
Construction began in 1935 under architect Aleksandar Deroko, but World War II halted work when German forces turned the unfinished building into a military depot. After decades of slow progress, the central dome was raised in 1989, and interior decoration continues to this day.
The church is dedicated to Saint Sava, the first Serbian archbishop and patron saint, whose relics were publicly burned on a pyre here in 1595 by Ottoman Grand Vizier Sinan Pasha as retaliation after a Serb uprising. The interior's 12,000 square metres of gold mosaic, largely funded by Russia and Serbia, were completed between 2016 and 2020.
The building stands on a hill in the Vračar district and can be seen from many parts of the city, making it easy to find. Visitors may enter the interior outside of services, with modest clothing and quiet conversation expected.
The 4,000-tonne concrete central dome was cast entirely on the ground and then raised to its position 40 metres up over forty days in June 1989, an operation treated as a major feat of construction engineering.
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