St. Sava Cathedral: a masterpiece of Serbo-Byzantine architecture

An iconic landmark of Belgrade’s cityscape, the 2nd largest Orthodox Christian church in the world is St Sava Church. With its unmistakable white marble and granite exterior, this Serbian-Byzantine style architectural icon in Serbia is topped with a 4000 ton copper dome. A symbol of Serbian cultural and religious history, St Sava Church is the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the burial place of St Sava’s relics. The church is visible from multiple points across the city, including from the viewing platform at Avala Tower.

St. Sava Church, March 2024

I first visited St Sava Church when I was 5 or 6 years old. Back then, the main works had finished, but the church was still undergoing some renovations. I visited again earlier this year in March while on a long weekend trip in Belgrade.

History of the church

Construction of the church began in 1935 but was postponed with the outbreak of the Second World War and the bombing of Belgrade in 1941. The German army actually used the area as parking space for the Wehrmacht during their occupation of Belgrade, and the space was used for the same purpose by the Red and Yugoslav People’s Army a few years later in 1944. 

After the Second World War, it took time to get the church back from Communist authorities - the church patriarch had to write to the government 88 times before the church was given back, and this took 40 years. Construction resumed in the 1980s and the building was ready in 2004, with additional works continuing for another few years. 

The actual location of the church is an important part of its history - it’s where the Ottoman Grand Vizier Sinan Pasha burned St Sava’s remains in 1595.

Who is St Sava?

Saint Sava was Serbia’s first archbishop and was born into a royalty in the 12th century. He decided to give up his royal title to become a monk and moved to Mount Athos in Greece, changing his name from Rastko Nemanjic to Sava. His remains were burned on Belgrade’s Vračar Hill by the Ottomans, where St Sava Church now stands.

Exterior 

The exterior is made of white marble and granite, with a copper dome, 70 metres high. A gold plated cross sits on the dome, adding an additional 12 metres in height. St Sava Church is surrounded by picturesque walkways, pools and gardens, and is visible across the city. 

Interior of the church

When you step into St Sava Church, it takes a few minutes to take everything in! The frescoes and mosaics are spectacular, covering an area of over 3500 metres squared, one of the largest collections of frescoes in the world. 

Looking up at the dome, you’ll see mosaics of Bible scenes and scenes from Serbian history, like a mosaic of Christ Pantocrator (15000 sq metres) and a mosaic of the Ascension of Christ by Russian Nikolai Mukhin (1230 sq metres).

Interior of St Sava Church, mosaics and frescoes

St Sava Church covers 3500 sq metres on the ground floor, 1500 sq metres on the 1st floor and 120 sq metres on the 2nd floor. 

You’ll also find altars to Saint Sava and the first Christian martyrs of Belgrade, Ermilus and Stratonicus, and to despot Stefan Lazarevic.

Make sure to go down to the basement level, too - you’ll find stairs on the left hand side of the ground floor and down there are more images depicting biblical scenes and a shop where you can purchase candles to light in the church and religious jewellery and icons. 

When to visit St Sava Church

If you visit the Church at noon, you’ll get to hear the longest bell ring of the day! I’d personally recommend visiting during the day and once it’s dark if you have the time because it really is spectacular to see the church lit up at night.

St Sava Church is open from 7am-8pm each day and if you’d like to visit during worship, you can find the official worship schedule here.