Church of St. Elijah, Podujevo

The Church of Saint Elijah (Црква светог Илије, Crkva svetog Ilije), also known as Saint Andrew's Church, is а Serbian Orthodox church located on a small hill near the city of Podujevo, in Kosovo. The complex includes an Orthodox cemetery. It was built in 1929, and has been demolished several times, as of 2010, the church has been rebuilt and renovated five times.History1941 destructionThe Church was shelled and dome was destroyed in 1941, during World War II. Later, after the collapse of Fascist Albania, the church was restored by the Serbian residents of Podujevo. Reconstruction was finally finished in 1971.1999 attackIn 1999, the church was burnt down in what appeared to "be a well-planned action, conducted by criminal elements" after KFOR patrols changed shifts. The barb wire that guarded building was cut and the door was forced open.2004 destructionIn 2003, UNMIK made a request of the Diocese of Raška and Prizren to evacuate movable church inventory, as an attack seemed inevitable. The church was destroyed on 18 March 2004, during 2004 Kosovo Unrest. According to Czech KFOR Captain, Jindrich Plescher, the church was attacked by a mob of 500 Albanians. Czech media confirmed that Czech soldiers had to leave the Church compound that was destroyed along with the cemetery. The Albanians set a large fire in the middle of the church which severely burned it. Plescher stated that the Albanian attackers had dug up coffins from the nearby Serbian cemetery, and scattered the bones of the dead. St. Andrew was shelled, a bell tower completely destroyed with explosives and the wall that surrounded the church was demolished. The Reconstruction Implementation Commission, an EU funded project managed by the European Commission Liaison Office implemented by the Council of Europe, in order to promote the Rehabilitation of Cultural Heritage in Kosovo, noted:

Tags : #EasternOrthodoxChurch, #LandmarkHistoricalPlace, #Landmark&HistoricalPlace