L'Eglise de St-Sava a Belgrade

The history of construction of the Church of St. Sava reflects the ongoing political and national discourse over an entire century. Initially planned in the late nineteenth century and intermittently under construction over the past seven decades, this ambitious monument is still not nearing completion. Although one might be tempted to see the protracted construction of the national monument as the result of Serb discord and historical ill-fate, as indeed nationalist discourse does, the unfinished church remains, in fact, a testimonial to a century of hesitations and uncertainties in defining the nation’s identity.