Krusedol and Hopovo

About a dozen old monasteries, built mostly in the 16th century, are situated on the Fruska Gora, a range of low mountains extending across northern Srem along of Danube. These monasteries are interesting because of their architecture, which is often a blend in style of the Byzantine and Baroque.

In some of them, despite the large scale devastations of the World War II, frescoes and fine high iconostases can still to be found.

The best known among the Fruska Gora monasteries are Krusedol and Hopovo.

Krusedol
The monastery church is dedicated to the Annunciation. The monastary was founded between 1509. and 1516, by bishup Maksim and his mother Angelina who were supported by Walaschain Duke Jovan Njegoja Basaraba. During the final retreat of the Turks from Srem in 1716, the monastary was damaged and the church burnt down. The renovation started in 1721, and was completed in the late 1760s, In 1726, a haroque bell-tower was added on, to the west wing of the monks' quarters and between 1742, and 1750, the church, undrewent certain adaptations which did not singlificantry change its general original appearance. The monks' quarters were reconstructed and expanded in the same period. The churche was originally decorated with fresco paintings in the 16th century. Is interior was covered with new oil wall paintings between 1750 and 1756, done by Jov Vasiljevic and Stefan Tenecki. On the west facade, there is a composition of Last Judgment from the end of the 17th century.
The iconostasis was composed of icons differing in style and time of creation.

Staro Hopovo
The monastery church is dedicated to St. Pantelemon. According to the tradition, the monastery was funded by bishop Maksim. The reliable data about the monastery date back to 1545/46. There are no records about Staro Hopovo from the 17th century and the first half of 18th century. Not before 1751. were there records testifying to the existence of a church devoted to St. Nicolas, with walls made of wooden planks. Instead of that church, which was destroyed in an earthquake, the present one, dedicated to St. Pantelemon, was built in 1752. In the new, single nave domed church, the throne icons, one the baroque iconostasis, were painted by Janko Halkozovic. During World War II, the church was damaged and iconostasis was dismantled. The church itself underwent conservation and restoration after World War II.