Kralja Aleksandra 51, Srpska Crnja
The Serbian Orthodox Church in Srpska Crnja was built in 1775 and has the status of a cultural monument of great importance.
The Serbian Orthodox Church is dedicated to the Holy Great Martyr Prokopius, and there is information that it was built in 1788, as indicated by an inscription found in a cartouche under the imperial doors, during the restoration of the church in 1892. The building of the temple is usually single-aisled, with a very elongated base, with a semicircular apse, while the belfry is low, with a projecting porch, i.e. two columns holding a triangular tympanum in the area of the roof cornice.
The wall surfaces are simply finished, with shallow pilasters between the windows. The roof cornice is simply profiled. The choir is supported by two columns, and the fence is made of a series of wooden balustrades.
The iconostasis with the baroque woodcarving was created in different time periods – the older part is the work of a transitional period master from 1788, and the younger part is the work of Đura Jakšić from 1853. The Virgin’s Throne, the Bishop’s Throne, the Choirs and a group of several rapids were also done by Đura Jakšić – the most important painter of Serbian romanticism.
The Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in Zrenjanin carried out a conservation and restoration project for the reconstruction of the church’s facade in 2011. The works on the restoration of the western facade and the bell tower were completed during the same year. The shape of the belfry cap has been changed and returned to the shape it was in in the 19th century.
