Dvorine

In the village of Banja near Aranđelovac, on the northeastern slopes of Mount Venčac, Dvorine, also known as the “Hungarian Cemetery,” is an archaeological site of a once-luxurious 14th-century medieval church, a necropolis, and a brick building with both ground and upper floors. Largely unknown to those both within and outside Serbia, this church is believed to have been an endowment of the last despot of Serbia, Pavle Bakić, which makes this site of extreme cultural importance.

Based on the archeological findings, it is believed that the church that once stood at Dvorine was an endowment from Pavle Bakić’s despotism, built in the Serbian-Byzantine style in the latter half of the 14th century. General Jovan Mišković documented the presence of a church in 1871 when he wrote about this area.The church had a triaxial design, featuring one central pentagonal apse. The diaconicon and table of oblation were likely three-sided, but due to their poor condition, this has not been able to be fully discerned. The building measured 14 meters in width and over 22 meters in length. The large number of high-quality fresco fragments found at the site indicate that the paintings within the church—spanning 27 meters long and 14 meters wide—were of exceptional quality, comparable to those in Dečani Monastery as well as the Monastery of the Holy Archangels near Prizren.

Featuring an inscribed cross in the Serbian-Byzantine style typical of Northern Kosovo and Metohija, the church was systematically destroyed by the Ottoman Empire, due to the valuable limestone and marble used in its construction.