Principles of the database
What is a Serbian monument
Serbian Monuments is not an inventory of the monuments on the territory of Serbia. It is the umbrella database of monuments of Serbian historical and cultural origin and purpose — regardless of the state in which they stand today.
Serbian heritage does not follow state borders. It follows endowments, migrations, the paths of war and communities.
Serbian heritage was created across a space that expanded and contracted over the centuries: from Ras and Prizren to Mount Athos, from Buda and Timișoara to Dalmatia and Herzegovina, and in more recent times to Thessaloniki, Corfu, Bizerte, Vienna, Paris and Chicago. State registers record the monuments within their own borders. This database follows monuments by their origin and purpose — by who built them, whom and what they remember and whom they serve.
Five criteria
When a monument is Serbian
To enter the database, a monument must meet at least one criterion. Most major monuments meet several.
- I
Patronage
Founded by Serbian rulers, nobles, the Serbian Church or benefactors.
Hilandar MonasteryMorača MonasteryLesnovo MonasteryKrušedol Monastery
- II
Remembrance
Commemorates a person, event or suffering from Serbian history.
GazimestanĆele Kula (Skull Tower)Serbian Military Cemetery at ZeitenlikJasenovac Memorial Site
- III
Creativity
The work of Serbian builders, painters and sculptors or of a school of Serbian art.
Sopoćani MonasteryKalenić MonasteryLjubostinja MonasterySt George’s Church, Staro Nagoričane
- IV
Community
Built and cared for by a Serbian community in the region or in the diaspora.
Cathedral Church in SzentendreChurch of Saint Spyridon in TriesteChurch of Saint Sava in ViennaSt Sava Monastery in Libertyville
- V
Identity
Permanently inscribed in Serbian historical memory, tradition and literature.
Church of St Peter (Petrova crkva)Roadside Memorials of DragačevoNjegoš Mausoleum on LovćenOstrog Monastery
Included in the database
- Serbian endowments and shrines in Serbia, the region and the world;
- memorials to people, events and suffering from Serbian history, wherever they were raised;
- works of Serbian builders, painters and sculptors and of schools of Serbian art;
- vernacular architecture and stone markers — wine cellars, stone crosses, roadside memorials;
- churches and monuments of Serbian communities in the region and the diaspora.
Not included — unless it has become part of Serbian history and culture
- ancient and Roman heritage on Serbian soil (Gamzigrad, Caričin Grad, the Limes);
- natural sites and landscapes;
- prehistoric sites;
- monuments of Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian rule.
A monument of foreign origin enters the database if it has become part of Serbian memory — like Ćele Kula, built by the Ottomans, which became a monument to the Serbian struggle for freedom.
Typology
Seven types of monuments
- Monasteries and Churches
Endowments of rulers, nobles and ordinary people — from the monasteries of Raška and the Morava valley to churches of the diaspora.
- Fortresses and Towns
Capitals, towns and fortresses of the Serbian kings and despots.
- Memorials and Cemeteries
Memorial complexes, ossuaries and war cemeteries — places that remember wars and suffering.
- Public Monuments
Monuments to people and events in squares and parks.
- Necropolises and Gravestones
Stećci, stone crosses and roadside memorials — the stone markers of Serbian memory.
- Historic Buildings
Residences, palaces, birthplaces of great figures and vernacular architecture.
- Archaeological Sites
Remains of medieval capitals and settlements.
Protection
Protection status
For every monument the database records its international and national protection status:
- UNESCO World Heritage
- a property inscribed on the World Heritage List.
- In danger
- a property on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
- Tentative List
- a property that a state intends to nominate.
- Of exceptional importance
- the highest category of protection of immovable cultural property in the Republic of Serbia, followed by property of great importance and listed cultural property.
The status is checked against the Central Register of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Serbia, the UNESCO lists and the registers of the states in which the monuments stand.
Condition and record
Condition of the monument
- Preserved
- Restored
- Restoration in progress
- Endangered
- In ruins
- Excavated and conserved site
Register number
Every monument receives a permanent register number in the form SS 0001. The number does not change when the entry is updated and is used for citation and for linking with the other databases of the Serbian Historical Corpus.
Editorial process
How an entry is made
- 1
Proposal
A monument is proposed by the editors, an expert contributor or a visitor to the site.
- 2
Verification
The data are checked in registers, in the literature and in the field, and the criteria under which the monument enters the database are determined.
- 3
Entry
The entry receives a register number, a description, a location on the map and, where possible, a photograph.
- 4
Updates
The entry is updated with new findings, photographs and links to other databases.