St. Mark's Church, Eastern Orthodox church in Tašmajdan, Belgrade, Serbia
St. Mark's Church is a Serbian Orthodox church in Tašmajdan Park, Belgrade, built 1931–1940 to designs by Petar and Branko Krstić. Its exterior follows the Gračanica Monastery model, with five domes, a tall west bell tower, a developed inscribed cross plan, and facades banded in light Belovode sandstone and red Grza stone. It measures 62 by 45 metres and 60 metres to the dome top.
A wooden church of St. Mark, funded by merchant Lazar Panča and Prince Miloš Obrenović, was built here in 1835–36 on the site of an older Palilula church. It was badly damaged in the German bombing of 13 April 1941 and its rubble cleared in 1942. The present church was designed by the Krstić brothers, consecrated with its foundation stone on 8 May 1931, built from 1932 and finished outside in 1939; the interior remains incomplete.
The church keeps one of the richest collections of Serbian icons from the 18th and 19th centuries. In the crypt lie King Alexander Obrenović and Queen Draga, buried after the 1903 May Coup, along with other Obrenović family members and bishops. The merchant Lazar Panča, who died in 1831, left his estate to Prince Miloš on condition that a church be built for his soul.
The church stands on Tašmajdan park's plateau, its main entrance aligned with Resavska Street. The plateau in front was repaved in 2017–18 with granite slabs and green areas, and a 1.8 m bronze statue of Patriarch Pavle stands there. The interior is unfinished, so expect bare walls in places.
The crypt holds the last Obrenović king, Alexander, and Queen Draga, buried after the 1903 May Coup, along with Prince Milan M. Obrenović and the church's first donor, merchant Lazar Panča. In the nave, a marble sarcophagus contains the relics of Emperor Dušan, moved here in 1968 from his foundation at Sveti Arhanđeli near Prizren.
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