8 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Montenegro’s Unique Church With Two Altars is Disappearing

In the Spich plain, where the modern town of Sutomore in Bar, Montenegro is located, there were churches that served both Orthodox and Catholics for centuries, confirming the story of Christian brotherhood. One of the witnesses of this tradition is the church of St. Dimitrija (St. Demetrius), whose two altars are found in the Nehaj castle near Sutomore.

However, this unique church is facing the threat of extinction today. The church, which underwent partial restoration in 2005, has been left to slowly decay since then.

As in any fortness, Nehaj has its own church St. Dimitrija (St. Demetrius). However, unlike other places, the church was constructed before the walls here. According to the researchers, the church of St Dimitrija was built around the 13th -early 14th century, exactly before the Venetian walls were constructed.

Probably, the first building with some fortress walls was laid by the Serbian King Stefan Uros II Milutin (reigned from 1282 to 1321) from the Nemanjic dynasty, the son of Helena of Anjau and Stefan Uros I the Great.

According to legend, Milutin wanted to build a church and a town on the eastern side of Velje Grad, above Nehaj itself.

Everything has been prepared for laying the foundation stone. It was only necessary to make the foundation bloody. And when they slaughtered the rooster, the rooster flapped its wings like a headless, flew away, and sang: stop and fell where the church and the fortress are today.

It was conceived as a single-nave temple with a rectangular base, with a semicircular altar apse. In front of the western side of the church, there used to be a chancel, which was later added. The building is built of pressed stone, arranged in horizontal rows. The roof of the church is gable and was once covered with stone slabs.

Photo: Monteguide

There are two rectangular window openings in the church, on the altar apse and the south wall. The floor in the church is made of broken stone slabs. The interior of the church is vaulted with a slightly broken half-shaped vault made of whitewash. There are 4 metal clamps on the church. The interior of the church was colorful.

Today, the church is in ruins. The vault in the eastern and western parts, as well as part of the altar apse and the western and southern walls, have collapsed. Cracks are visible on all walls. The roof has no roof covering. The flagstone floor is in bad shape, and in the western part, someone managed to remove part of the floor.

The church was plastered inside and out. Small plastered surfaces are visible today in the altar apse and in the western part of the southern and northern parts of the church. On the church there are still metal clamps, but today they have lost their function.

The Church of St. Dimitrija is the only church on this terrain that was frescoed. As early as 1933, when the church was being renovated, the contours of individual frescoes could be seen, and the fresco of the Blessed Virgin on the east side of the church, above the altar, stood out in particular. It was, like other churches from that period, covered with slabs of unequal size and shape.

The church obviously had one nave, in which there were two altars, the walls were decorated with frescoes, according the some information, could be distinguished on the walls right up to the Second World War.

The effects of medieval spiral architecture can be clearly seen in the church. Sacral architecture (also known as sacred architecture or religious architecture) is a religious architectural practice concerned with the design and construction of places of worship, sacred or purposeful spaces such as churches, mosques, stupas, synagogues and temples.

The most important and striking detail is that previously, there were two altars in it – Catholic and Orthodox, but the remains only one – Orthodox has survived to this day.

During the last major earthquake in 1979, the church was badly damaged, and its partial restoration was completed in 2005. Since then, it has been left to slowly decay.

Despite all the carelessness, this cultural property has preserved all the significant elements that make it recognizable and for which it was placed under protection in 1957. A culturally historic building of national importance with preserved architectural remains of a sacred building with two altars deserved greater attention. There is also an archaeologically unexplored cemetery next to the church, where both Orthodox and Catholics are buried.

Haj Nehaj Fortress is located a couple of kilometers northwest of Bar, near the town of Sutomore. The church stands on the peak of the Sozin mountain, 180 meters above the city.

The first mentions of the fortress are dated 1552. Through the centuries it was held by Turks, Venecians and Montenegrins, so its architectural outlook is a blend of all three cultures. During the Turkish-Montenegrin war of 1877-1878 the fortress went back to Montenegro for good.

The ruined state of the church today is heartbreaking. Its appearance today is a reflection of the care that the institutions of Montenegro responsible for the care of cultural assets give it. Perhaps the name of the place where she is located determined her fate and the amount of care. No one cares about the church in Nehaj.

Related Articles

Dog Kajtuś uncovers Poland’s biggest treasure of the past 100 years

21 April 2022

21 April 2022

A dog named Kajtuś discovered the biggest treasure found in Poland in the last 100 years. The treasure was found...

Mysterious Handprints Found in the Ancient Mayan Cave

1 May 2021

1 May 2021

In Mexico, home to ancient civilizations such as the Maya, Aztec, and Inca, archaeologist Sergio Grosjean found dozens of mysterious...

In Parion, one of the most important cities of the Troas region, 2,000-year-old mother-child graves were unearthed

1 November 2022

1 November 2022

Archaeological excavations in the ancient city of Parion, the most important harbor city in the Hellenistic era, have uncovered  2,000-year-old...

Rare ivory plaques from First Temple Period were discovered in Jerusalem

8 September 2022

8 September 2022

An extraordinary find was made in Jerusalem: an assemblage of ivory plaques from the First Temple period, one of only...

A Mysterious 1,800-year-old Roman Statue Unearthed During Car Park Construction Work in UK

13 March 2024

13 March 2024

A 1,800-year-old Roman marble statue of a woman’s head was discovered during construction in the parking lot of Burghley House...

Archaeologists are deciphering Roman history along Dere Street, one of the oldest roadways in Britain

17 July 2021

17 July 2021

Final archaeological finds uncovered as part of a major road improvement in the north of England have shed new insight...

A woman in Norway found Viking-age 1000-year-old hoard in basement

20 April 2023

20 April 2023

A woman in Norway cleaned her parents’ home, she found 32 iron ingots dating to the Viking or early Middle...

Scientists Reconstruct Face Of 16th Century Italian ‘Vampire’ Buried With Brick In Mouth

23 March 2024

23 March 2024

A 16th-century ‘vampire‘ who was buried with a stone brick jammed in her mouth over fears she would feed on...

Rare Celtic Helmet Unearthed in Poland, the Oldest Ancient Helmet Ever Uncovered in the Country

9 September 2024

9 September 2024

Archaeologists have discovered a rare Bronze helmet from the 4th century BC, along with 300 Celtic treasures, including axes, spearheads,...

Central Turkey’s largest Byzantine mosaic structure found

28 October 2021

28 October 2021

A 300-square-meter (3,330 square feet) ​floor mosaic belonging to the Late Roman-Early Byzantine period was discovered during excavation work in...

2500 Years of Animal Love in Termessos Ancient City

8 February 2021

8 February 2021

We are witnessing more and more of the unscrupulousness, cruelty and torture inflicted on our animal friends every day.These news...

The Artificial Intelligence Revolution: The Dark Age of Ancient Scrolls Ends

2 May 2025

2 May 2025

Artificial intelligence, often envisioned for future applications, is now playing a pivotal role in unraveling the mysteries of the past....

Oman has recovered an exceptional collection of silver jewelry from a prehistoric grave

7 November 2022

7 November 2022

From a prehistoric grave dating to the 3rd millennium BC in Dahwa, North Batinah, a team of international archaeologists working...

A new study reveals, Anglo-Saxon Kings were generally vegetarian, but peasants treated them to huge meat feasts

22 April 2022

22 April 2022

Very few people in England ate large amounts of meat before the Vikings settled, and there is no evidence that...

Ukrainian Soldiers Uncover 6th–5th Century BC Burial Site During Fortification Works

1 April 2025

1 April 2025

In a remarkable archaeological find, soldiers from the 123rd Territorial Defence Brigade have uncovered an ancient burial site dating back...