St. George′s Church and the Mausoleum of Royal Family

Blog Real · Mar 12, 2024

The St. George's Church in Oplenac, is the mausoleum of the Serbian and Yugoslav royal house of Karađorđević located on top of the Oplenac Hill in the town of Topola, Serbia. The church of Oplenac was founded by King Peter I of Yugoslavia. Many members of the royal house are buried in the church, in the crypt beneath the church, or in the church yard.

Oplenac - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Apart from the two tombs inside the church (Karađorđe’s in the southern apse; and Peter I in the northern apse), there are 26 other members of the dynasty whose eternal place of rest is in this mausoleum. Six generations of the Karađorđević family have been buried in this church:

The first generation: Marica Živković, Karađorđe's mother.
The second generation: Karađorđe (in the church) and his wife Jelena Jovanović (1764–1842).
The third generation: Karađorđe's son Alexander and his wife Persida Nenadović (1813–1873).
The fourth generation: Alexander and Persida's nine children. As follows: Kleopatra (1835–1855), Aleksije (1836–1840), Svetozar (1841–1847), Jelena (1846–1867), Andreja (1848–1864), Jelisaveta (1851– 1852), Đorđe (1856–1888), Arsenije, and Peter I (in the church) and his wife Ljubica also known as Zorka (she is buried in the crypt). Out of the ten children of Prince Alexander and Princess Persida, only their oldest daughter, Poleksija (1833–1914), was not buried here, though Poleksija's daughter Persida Ida Nikolaijevic (1860–1945) is buried here.
The fifth generation, Peter I and Zorka's children: Milena (1886–1887), George and his wife Radmila Radonjić (1907–1993), Alexander I and his wife Maria and Andrija (1890–1890, lived only for 23 days). Also Prince Arsen's son Paul and his wife Olga.
The sixth generation: King Alexander I and Queen Maria's children: Peter II and his wife Alexandra, Tomislav, and Andrew. Also Prince Paul's sons Nikola and Alexander.

Crypt of the Church.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Church_of_St._George_in_Topola_%28by_Pudelek%29_1.JPG

The ossuary of King Peter I of Serbia.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Topola_Grab_Peter_I.JPG

Official website:

History of the region - Oplenac

St. George′s Church and the Mausoleum of Karadjordjevic dynasty is located on top of Oplenac hill, in the town of Topola, Serbia. The rocky terrain used to be interspersed with crooked trunks of a kind of oak tree and because of their naturally asymmetrical and branched shape, the trees were...

oplenac.rs

Photos:

Crypt of St George Church - Oplenac

A. King Peter IB. Karadjordje1. Princess Zorka2. King Alexander I3. Queen Mary4. Princess Olga5. Prince Paul6. Prince Nicholas7. Princess Cleopatra8. Princess Jelena9. Marica, Karadjordje's mother10. Princess Persida11. Prince Alexander12. Prince Alexius13. Prince Svetozar14. Princess...

oplenac.rs