Kosovo rich in cultural heritage

14/12/2006

Although the issue is a hurdle in the status talks, Kosovo boasts a rich cultural heritage of Orthodox churches and monasteries -- some of which are under the protection and patronage of UNESCO.

By Igor Jovanovic for Southeast European Times in Belgrade – 14/12/06

The Visoki Decani Monastery made the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2004. [UNMIK]

A sticking point in the Kosovo status talks is that of cultural heritage between the Kosovo Albanians and the Serbs. During the seventh round of talks in July, the two-day meeting focused on the protection of religious and cultural heritage. The two sides remain deadlocked on a number of issues, including Serbia's calls for protection zones around 39 Orthodox monasteries, churches and other sites.

The Serbs see the province as both the cradle of their state and their spirituality since the Middle Ages. Kosovo was once considered Serbia's cultural centre. The Battle of Kosovo in 1389, when Serb nobles stood up to the Turks, is seen as one of the most important events in Serbian history, and inspired generations of Serbs who have fought for freedom through the centuries. After the battle, the Turks began their domination of Serbia that would last 500 years.

The Albanians, on the other hand, see themselves as the descendants of the Illyrians, a pre-Roman people that disintegrated in the 3rd century. This lineage leads the province's majority population to say they are "the true autochthon population of the Balkans".

However, there is no firm scientific evidence of this. Serbian historians say that Kosovo, when it was inhabited by Serb tribes around the 10th century, was mostly unpopulated. Kosovo's many cultural monuments originated in the Middle Ages when Serbian ruler Stefan Nemanja (1166-1199) united the divided lands and laid the foundation for a prosperous medieval state. A flourish of creative and artistic expression that made its mark in Kosovo's monuments dates from this period and lasted until the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, when the province came under Turkish rule.

Some of the most beautiful Byzantine architecture is found in present-day Kosovo, a crossroads of cultures, traditions and influences. Today Kosovo has a visible, rich array of Byzantine-style Orthodox churches and monasteries dating from the Middle Ages.

Some of the most important monuments are the Visoki Decani Orthodox monastery built in 1334, the Holy Virgin of Ljevis cathedral in Prizren, built in 1307, and the monastery of Gracanica dating from 1320. These monuments, inspired by Byzantine architecture, were built largely by the Western masters, featuring frescoes of impressive beauty with scenes from the Gospels, as well as selected portraits of Serb rulers of the time.

The synthesis of Western and Byzantine medieval traditions, of Romanesque architecture found in the expression of Serb-Byzantine fresco paintings, accounts for much of the richness of cultural heritage in Kosovo.

In recent years, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's World Heritage Committee has approved the addition of some of the monuments to its list, such as the Visoki Decani Monastery in 2004, making them part of the cultural heritage of all Kosovars.