THE MONASTERY OF POGANOVO

 

     The Monastery of St. Jovan Bogoslov, which is commonly known as the Monastery of Poganovo, is situated in the beautiful gorge of the river Jerma, near the village Poganovo, and between the Odorovacko and Vlasko Zdrelo. Because of its astonishing beauty, the monastery has been the object of interest not only among believers, but also among the admirers of cultural and historical monuments, the admirers of nature, and excursionists from our and further regions. It is about 10 km away from the railroad Nis – Sofija, next to the gorge of the river Jerma and near the road which replaced the narrow-gage route 40 years ago.

     It had been built at the end of the 14 th century, and painted at the end of the 15 th century. Owing to its unreachable position (the ravines of the river Jerma had been completely inaccessible until 1927) it had relatively escaped damaging by the hands of various conquerors throughout centuries. A complete reconstruction and restauration of the monastery was performed 30 years ago.

     The lower part of the temple was made of unchiselled stone, which was covered with a huge amount of mortar and decorated with rows of red bricks. The upper part was made of processed blocks (deposits of crystalline calcium carbonate) with shallow relief. The roof had been covered with tiles until the restauration, and afterwards it was covered with tinplate.

     The church which contains a cupola, was built according to a scheme of a developed cross – there is an altar and two lateral choirs (parts of a church). The ground floor is used as an interior nartex, the first floor stands for an isihastic praying room, and the upper part represents a turret and a watchtower. The exterior parvis is not an organic part of the temple – it was added at the end of the 19 th century.

     The interior of the church was painted with a rich thematic programme (Significant festivals (holidays), Teachings of the Holy Fathers, Scenes from the life of the Mother of God, The Passion, images of Serbian saints, Balkan anahorets, apostles and the like) in 1499. The paintings of Poganovo represent the creative culmination of Castorian artists of the second half of the 15 th century. Within international circles of Byzantinists and art experts, the Monastery of Poganovo became famous for its icons. The bilateral icon representing the Miracle in the Latomski Monastery and the images of the Mother of God and St. Jovan Bogoslov of the second half of the 14 th century is now in Sofia , and the icon representing the chest of dead Jesus Christ (the end of the 15 th century) is now in Belgrade .

     The Monastery of St. Jovan Bogoslov has been under the protection of Serbia since 1949, and it has been on the list of the international cultural heritage since 1979, as a cultural property of high priority.

     After the construction of the road, the number of admirers of the wild beauty of the river Jerma, and the Monastery (situated near the river itself) rapidly increased. There is also a rise in the number of visitors of the nearby spa and sanatorium dating from the Roman period, Zvonacka Banja (belonging to the municipality of Babusnica ), which is characterized with thermal and radioactive water whose temperature is 28° C.