Oplenac Church

Address: Oplenac (Topola), Central Serbia, near Topola, Serbia

Website: http://www.oplenac.org.rs/

Oplenac is a royal complex near the town of Topola in central Serbia that includes the Church of St. George and the mausoleum of the Karađorđević dynasty. The complex is notable for its extensive interior mosaic decoration and its role as a memorial to the Serbian royal family.

Inside the central church visitors see large-scale mosaic decoration covering walls and vaults and representations of Serbian medieval church imagery, while the grounds contain tombs and memorials of the Karađorđević family. The site also includes museum displays and viewpoints over the surrounding Šumadija countryside.

The complex was commissioned in the early 20th century by members of the Karađorđević dynasty as a dynastic church and mausoleum; construction and decorative work took place in the decades around and after the First World War. The design and mosaics were intended to reference medieval Serbian church art and to memorialise the royal family.

Oplenac sits on a hill near Topola in the Šumadija region of central Serbia, roughly an hour’s drive south of Belgrade and surrounded by rolling agricultural landscapes.

• Function: the church functions as both a parish church and the dynastic mausoleum for the Karađorđević royal family, attracting visitors interested in Serbian history and art.

What to See#

• St. George’s Church mosaics: the painted interior mosaic decoration covers large areas of the church and is composed from millions of tesserae, forming a continuous pictorial surface on walls and vaults.
• Royal Mausoleum: the mausoleum within the complex contains the tombs of members of the Karađorđević dynasty and serves as the royal necropolis for that family.

Oplenac is about 80 km south of Belgrade, reachable by car in roughly an hour and a half. Regular buses run from Belgrade and nearby Šumadija towns to Topola; from Topola, the site is a short taxi ride or a 20-30 minute walk uphill.

• Visit the Church of Saint George and the royal complex early in the day for the best light on the mosaics and frescoes.
• Combine Oplenac with a tasting: the Karađorđević family necropolis is near local wineries in Topola, where the region's Prokupac and international varieties are produced.
• Look for the 20th-century Serbian medieval revival architecture in the mausoleum - its modern nationalism is rendered in mosaic tiles and Byzantine references.