Kosovo Church Leveled - Archaeology Magazine Archive


Kosovo Church Leveled	August 1, 2000
by Mark Rose

Church of the Holy Prophet Elijah after its partial destruction in 1999 (Courtesy Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Serbia) [LARGER IMAGE]

An explosion destroyed the Church of the Holy Prophet Elijah in Pomazetin, a village just outside Kosovo Polje and near Pristina, around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 16, according to an AP report. Apparently based on an interview with UN police officer Oleg Rubezhov, the report said that approximately 66 pounds of explosives had been used, the church was totally destroyed, and two men were seen fleeing the scene just before the blast.

The AP story incorrectly stated that the church is of Medieval date. The Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Serbia provided the following information about the church: it was first built in 1937, was torn town during the Second World War, then rebuilt in 1964. In June 1999 the church was robbed, burned, and partly demolished with explosives.

For more on the region's churches and monasteries, see "Legacy of Medieval Serbia."