What to visit in Voskopojë - Moscopole (10)

Shën e Premte - Moscopole is a Church (Architecture, Historical Building, Religious Building) in Moscopole, Albania. For people who love geography or want to set their GPS, here are the geographical coordinates: 40.6392, 20.5937. Do you know when the Shën e Premte - Moscopole was built? Do you know the names of the people involved in the construction, or had an impact in the history of the Shën e Premte - Moscopole? Please share those information with us, we are eager to make the map of Moscopole in Albania the ultimate source of information for travellers and curious people. If you have a picture of the Shën e Premte - Moscopole please do not hesitate to get in touch by email. You can access the satellite view of the Shën e Premte - Moscopole through this link.

Church of Saint Haralambos - Kisha e Shën Harallambit is an Historical Building (Architecture, Church) in Moscopole, Albania. For people who love geography or want to set their GPS, here are the geographical coordinates: 40.6248, 20.5870. Do you know when the Church of Saint Haralambos - Kisha e Shën Harallambit was built? Do you know the names of the people involved in the construction, or had an impact in the history of the Church of Saint Haralambos - Kisha e Shën Harallambit? Please share those information with us, we are eager to make the map of Moscopole in Albania the ultimate source of information for travellers and curious people. If you have a picture of the Church of Saint Haralambos - Kisha e Shën Harallambit please do not hesitate to get in touch by email. You can access the satellite view of the Church of Saint Haralambos - Kisha e Shën Harallambit through this link. For a Google Street view of Church of Saint Haralambos - Kisha e Shën Harallambit visit this page.

Welcome to the page of Lapidari i Dëshmorëve - Moscopole in Moscopole. This element has been stored with the following categories Landmark,Monument. Coordinates of the place are 40.6333 (North), 20.5904 (East). We put on the map the perimeter of the Lapidari i Dëshmorëve - Moscopole. The page needs some information so if you come across a blog post, a video with details or some other source that analyzes Lapidari i Dëshmorëve - Moscopole please send us the info and we will insert it in the archive. In improving this page we also improve the page with the map of Moscopole and consequently the map of Albania.

The church is a building belonging to the year 1724. It is basilica type and in its current condition consists of the central nave, narthex and porch. The church is one of the few monuments that preserve rich epigraphic data integrated on its masonry, which provide information on the construction craftsmen and painters. Thus, the carvings of crosses that decorate the porch of church reveal the names of the master builders such as Adhonis, Mihali, Pavli, Manthos and Kosta from the village of Krimi, near Kostur, and the contribution of a certain Dhimitri. The interior of the church and the porch are decorated with fresco paintings, works of the famous painter brothers from Korca, Konstandin and Athanas, classified as the best works achieved by this atelier, which were ended by them in June 28, 1745. The inscription about the decoration dates from 28 June 1745. Mural paintings lie inside the environment and the porch, displaying multiple scenes from the Old and the New Testament, notably those apocalyptic. The use of ethnographical, laic and realistic elements for the vestments of the figures is noticeable and this makes the paintings of St. Athanasios so special. Some analogies between the paintings of St. Athanasios with the paintings of St. Nicholas church - work art performed by David Selenica, lead to the hypothesis that during the painting process, alongside with Konstandin and Athanas are also engaged Kostandin and Kristo, the closest helpers of David Selenica. The construction of St. Athanasios church presents a valuable testimony on the study of economic, social, cultural and political history of Voskopoja. The church St. Athanasios functions today as Voskopoja cemetery church.

The monastery of St. John the Forerunner comprises one of the many monuments that reflect the economic, social and political development of Voskopoja (Moscopole), in a time when the settlement was experiencing the changing of its physiognomy and its transformation to a flourishing merchant and crafts center. Built in a picturesque position, in the middle of a pine forest, the monument appears dominant over the surrounding landscape. Relevant documentary sources reveal the circumstances of the erection and decoration of the monastery, as the inscription above the marble on the inner door of the church and the Codex of the Monastery of St. John the Forerunner, copied with the contribution of Mihal Gora, setting out details of the events and history of the building of the monastery. Generally, the extant and derived sources inform that the church of the monastery was built between 1632 and 1634, while its decoration was completed in 1659. According to the tradition, the monastery arose on an older structure, a shrine founded by the contribution of the monks of Voskopoja, Boboshtica and Mborja, which can be asserted by the ruins of old buildings around the church. Other documents also show that this monumental ensemble grew from a small private chapel. Today, the catholicon of the monastery is presented as a three absidal, central domed building, with a nave, an altar and a later narthex. The interior of the church is decorated with fresco paintings attributed to monks Andon and Shipcka. The frescographer shows a great knowledge on his mastery and on the thematic cycles of its time, which is mainly based on the features inherited from the tradition. Through its long existence, the monastery was subject to numerous repairs and suffered the consequences of the Second World War, when a large part of liturgical objects, manuscripts, etc were lost. Furthermore, the function of the monastery complex as a military base and as a hospital for the partisan forces as well as its shot with artillery from the warring parties caused further ruin on its structures and as a result of the whole monastery, from which only the church is preserved in an intact condition. Beside the loss of the icons and the other liturgical objects and manuscripts, many old Codices with an immense and irreplaceable historical value were burnt including the Codex of Mihal Gora.

The Dormition of Saint Mary (38 meters x 15.30 meters) is one of the largest basilicas in Albania. The construction of a basilika of this size and space, holding around 1000 people, shows once more the importance and the growth of the town in the last part of the 17th century. The Dormition of Saint Mary served as the Cathedral for the inhabitants of Voskopoja and it is the second oldest church in the town after the one of Saint Jean the Baptizer Monastery. The inscriptions show that it was built with contributions from the local inhabitants and written resources also state the fact that the communities around paid a lot of attention to the education and training of the young generation in theology, philosophy and hellenistic studies. It is not without basis that Ilo Mitkë Qafëzezi, in 1934, wrote in Minerva that the Saint Mary cathedral can be called the 'Saint Sofia' of Albania.

The church of the Archangels is located in the former neighborhood named after the angel St. Michael in the southeastern part of Voskopoja (Moscopole). This monument is a building belonging to the first half of the 18th century, as indicated from the donor's inscription above the western entrance, which makes reference to the year 1722 as the date of the foundation of the church. This was a period of great economic and cultural flourishing for Voskopoja. Unfortunately, the epigraphic data preserved are incomplete and lack the information on the names of the painters involved in the building of the church or in the decoration of the interior with fresco paintings. However, another source, the Codex of St. Charalambos also known as the Codex of the guild of the coppersmiths, highlights the contribution of the inhabitants of Voskopoja not only for the building of the church but also for their continuous maintenance and repairs, where the valuable aid of the guild of the coppersmiths distinguishes. The church planning shows a basilical arrangement, with a domed nave, a narthex and a porch.The church was part of an architectural ensemble together with the chapel of St. Spyridon and St. Barbara. Besides the architectural values, the complex housed irreplaceable works of art: wooden iconostasis, a rich collection of icons, woodcarvings and liturgical objects of special importance. The woodcarvings are now lost, due to a combination of factors: the fire which devoured a great number of the woodcarvings, the robbery and the First World War.

The church of St. Nicholas is an 18th century foundation, with immense artistic and historical values. The monument formed an ensemble together with the cells for the monks and the chapel of St. Euthymius. The building reveals a stone construction and the whole church planning shows a basilical arrangement, with a domed nave and narthex in the western side, the porch in the southern side, the campanile tower and the entrance of the former architectural complex in the southeastern part of the church (reconstructed in 1936). The interior of the church is decorated with fresco paintings from the eminent master David Selenica and his disciples Konstandin and Kristo. The paintings of David Selenica are considered as masterpieces of 18th century art. The eminent painter finished his work in 1726, as indicated from the inscription in the western inside part of the church. The particular importance of this inscription relies on the fact that it comprises one of the few sources that highlights the activity of the great master. David Selenica combines elements of Byzantine art of the Paleologan era, enriching them with the artistic achievements of his time. He pays attention to the presentation of the environment, rendering of the details, the plans and perspective, while the visitor enjoys the richness, imagination and perfection in the performance of the paintings realized by him. The art of David is inspired by the Old and New Testament, by the history and church traditions, as well as other theological disciplines. David realized portraits permeated by the realistic spirit; this was seen in the great image of the church's secular founder, Haxhi Jorgji. Paintings from two other Albanian masters, Konstandin and Athanas Zografi, who painted this environment about 24 years later are stored in the porch of the church. A prominent artistic value represents the church iconostasis also carved in wood in 1743, proskinitari and Bishop's throne. On the latter, master Andon Korfjati has left an inscription, which belongs to the year 1758, date of artistic work of this csilo engraving. During the XXth century (years 1916 and 1943) basilica suffered damage as a result of burns, together with other churches of Voskopoja.

The church of Prophet Elijah is located on a shore, westwards of the settlement, in the place where the old caravan route extended from Voskopoja (Moscopole) to Berat. The church was built in 1751. It is a large three-aisled basilica with a gable roof, a domed nave and a porch, a yard surrounded by walls and a campanile tower. Other buildings were part of this yard, too. According to tradition, the basilica was built over the ruins of an old chapel dedicated to the same patron saint, which was thought to be small to fulfill the needs of the growing community. The writing sources inform that for the maintenance of the building the guild of 'Prophet Elijah' was created.

The bridge over the river of Voskopoja (Moscopole), part of the road that leads to the monastery (1630) from which it got its name, belongs to a period of construction which coincides with the flourishing and high development of Voskopoja (Moscopole), during the XVII-XVIII century. The monastery in this period was the epicenter of Voskopoja life and an important economic pole. Thus the bridge served to connect this center with the rest of the village and further with the various caravan routes, which were engaged in trade. Its structure is formulated, by a main large arch (11 meters) and a small discharge one (4 meters) to suit the terrain, with a total length of about 52 meters and width of 4.6 meters, built with relatively simple construction techniques, a parapet with stone columns, similar to the stone bridges built in the same period. The passage is paved with mountain cobblestones, placed on a mat and bounded on both sides by a 70 cm wide curb. The bridge underwent restoration during 2019.