Church of Saint Mark

The Church of Saint Mark stands at Bulevar kralja Aleksandra 17 in the Tašmajdan park area of Belgrade, Serbia, facing the Serbian parliament and the General Staff ruins area. It was built between 1931 and 1940 by the architects Petar and Branko Krstić and replaced an earlier church of the same name. The design is based on the 14th-century Gračanica Monastery in Kosovo, and it follows the Serbo-Byzantine style, with five domes, alternating bands of stone and brick, and a cruciform plan. The central dome rises above the nave, and four smaller domes stand around it. The interior contains copies of medieval Serbian frescoes, including figures from Studenica, Sopoćani, Mileševa and Dečani, painted in the 20th century as reproductions of important originals, and an iconostasis of marble. The church holds the tomb of Stefan Dušan, who was crowned emperor in 1346 and died in 1355, in a sarcophagus placed there in 1942 after his remains were moved from the Church of the Holy Archangels in Prizren. The church also houses a chapel with relics and a memorial to the Serbian Orthodox faithful. It was damaged in the Second World War and restored in the following decades, and work on its frescoes and facade continued in recent years. Entry is free and the church is open daily. Visitors should dress modestly, and the interior is quiet and dimly lit. The visit takes about 20 to 30 minutes and fits well with a walk in Tašmajdan park and the nearby Cathedral of Saint Sava area. The building stands out for the white facade with stone and brick patterns.