Pine of Tsar Dušan

Pine of Tsar Dušan (Albanian: Pisha e Car Dushanit,[1] Serbian: Бор Цара Душана) was a giant black pine tree located in the courtyard of the old Serbian Orthodox Monastery of the Holy Archangels, in the village cemetery of Gornje Nerodimlje, Ferizaj, Kosovo[a]. The pine tree was planted in 1336 by Emperor Dušan and cut down and burned by local Albanian villagers in 1999.[2]

Pine of Tsar Dušan before being cut and burned by local Kosovar Albanians

History

The old pine tree (Latin: Pinus heldreichii) as a relict, endemic tree, was one of the decorations of the Šar Mountains with its huge size. The pine was over 25 meters high, 1.5 meters wide, and had a bark thickness of 10 cm, and it was in good health prior to its destruction. It was visited by various state delegations. King Aleksandar Karađorđević had a memorial plaque placed by it in 1926 with the year of planting. The Monastery of the Holy Archangels in Nerodimlje was, together with the Pine of Tsar Dušan, added on Monuments of Culture of Exceptional Importance-list by the Republic of Serbia in 1961, as a historical monument and natural rarity.[3] Serbian institutions suggested that the Šar Mountains National Park be nominated for World Heritage under UNESCO protection, because of its biological, cultural and historical heritage; the pine tree was included in the proposal.[4]

Destruction

In June/July 1999, after the Kosovo War, the Monastery of the Holy Archangels and the cemetery was desecrated, while the pine was cut down and burned, by Albanian villagers returning from exile.[5] Only the stump remained, which was later burned completely.[6] As the entire complex was destroyed, there were no visible traces of Dušan's Pine, until 2014 when new branches started to sprout.[7]

See also

Annotations
a. ^ Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. The Republic of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on 17 February 2008. Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory. The two governments began to normalise relations in 2013, as part of the 2013 Brussels Agreement. Kosovo is currently recognized as an independent state by 98 out of the 193 United Nations member states. In total, 113 UN member states recognized Kosovo at some point, of which 15 later withdrew their recognition.

References
  1. Dr. Dragan Qukiq. Kosova: Monumentet dhe bukuritë. p. 103.
  2. Sacred Sites, After the War: The Destruction and Preservation of Sacred Sites in Kosovo Archived 2013-04-07 at the Wayback Machine: "The chapel was blown up and the famous pine tree cut down and burned in a revenge attack by local Albanian villagers returning from exile in June–July 1999."
  3. Monuments of Culture in Serbia: Црква Св. арханђела/Church of St. Arhangels (SANU) (in Serbian and English)
  4. Novosti, Ognjišta puna samoće
  5. Sacred Sites, After the War: The Destruction and Preservation of Sacred Sites in Kosovo Archived 2013-04-07 at the Wayback Machine: "The chapel was blown up and the famous pine tree cut down and burned in a revenge attack by local Albanian villagers returning from exile in June–July 1999."
  6. White bears on Kosmet?
  7. "Оживео бор цара Душана, на остацима престонице Немањића извијају се нови изданци".
  • Kosovo.com, Уништене и оскрнављене српске православне светиње на Косову и Метохији (1999-2000)-7. Манастир и црква Св. Арханђела, Горње Неродимље, Gallery of destroyed landmarks in Gornje Nerodimlje


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