The Church of St Nicholas, widely known as Tutić's Church (Tutićeva crkva), is a small 14th-century single-aisled domed church in the historic core of Prizren, built and painted in 1331–1332 as the endowment of Serbian nobleman Dragoslav Tutić (monk Nikola) and his wife Bela. Listed as item #05 in the Reconstruction Implementation Commission (RIC) catalogue, this dossier holds special methodological significance: it distinguishes verified 2005 protective works and 2007–2009 internal repairs from the programmed 2009 wall paintings restoration, and restores the primary 2009 record behind a widely cited dead URL.
Historical and Architectural Significance
Erected in the historic urban fabric of medieval Prizren, the Church of St Nicholas (Tutić's Church) is precisely dated by its carved stone founder's inscription to 1331–1332. It was built and endowed by the Prizren nobleman Dragoslav Tutić—who subsequently took monastic vows under the name Nikola—together with his wife Bela during the reign of King Stefan Dušan, and was later gifted to Visoki Dečani Monastery. In the archived RIC dossier #05, the monument is described as a Late Byzantine small-sized single-aisled chapel with a dome, preserving remains of original 14th-century wall paintings and having previously undergone conservation and restoration in the 1960s.
Architecturally, Tutić's Church is a compact single-nave structure covered by a barrel vault and surmounted by a slender octagonal drum and dome, terminating on the east in a three-sided exterior (semicircular interior) apse. Built in the Late Byzantine cloisonné style with alternating courses of dressed stone and brick and intricate ceramoplastic detailing around the drum and apse, the interior preserves fragments of 14th-century frescoes in the dome calotte, drum, sanctuary, and nave walls.
Significance of this URL in digital historiography: For over a decade, the English path of this dossier has been cited on Wikipedia and in secondary literature as a primary reference for the post-2004 status of Tutić's Church.
Destruction and Recorded Damage (March 2004)
During the March 2004 unrest (17–18 March 2004), Tutić's Church suffered severe exterior and interior damage. According to the 2004-Damage Assessment section of the archived RIC dossier, the lead roof covering was removed, exterior stonework was partly damaged by hammering, the perimeter fence was partially lost, and the windows were destroyed.
Inside the chapel, a fire set during the riots badly damaged and vandalized the interior, cracking the marble/stone floor pavement and directly affecting the surviving 14th-century wall paintings through heat and soot deposition.
Reconstruction and Conservation Works (2005–2009)
RIC interventions at Tutić's Church were carried out in two confirmed operational stages—urgent protective works in 2005 and internal repairs contracted in 2007 and confirmed finished by April 2009—while the conservation of the medieval frescoes remained a programmed future activity as of May 2009. The table below details each documented phase.
| Year | Completed Works and Interventions | Stage Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Clearance of the yard; re-roofing with new lead cover; repair or substitution of damaged stones and bricks; installation of new door and windows with glazing; replacement of broken floor stone slabs; construction of a new iron fence; installation of temporary hoardings around the site. | Completed |
| 2006 | No interventions carried out. | Completed |
| 2007 | Internal repairs and electrical installation. Following the cancellation of initial tender 43000-07-014-5-2-1, works were contracted under combined Prizren tender 43000-07-020-5-2-1. | Completed |
| 2008 | No new separate interventions listed in dossier #05 ('No interventions carried out'), while completion of contract 43000-07-020-5-2-1 is confirmed in April 2009. | Completed |
| 2009 | Wall paintings restoration. | Planned |
The archival record of Tutić's Church demonstrates why cross-checking both language versions of the RIC site sheets alongside the tender lists and activity updates is essential. In 2005 (tender #8, grouped with the Old Church of St George — Runović), the RIC completed comprehensive protective works that sealed the building envelope: re-roofing the church and dome with new lead, repairing hammered stone and brick masonry, replacing broken floor slabs, installing new glazed windows and doors, and erecting a new iron perimeter fence.
In 2007, the RIC initially issued tender 43000-07-014-5-2-1 (Internal repairs in the Churches of Saint Nicholas (Tutic’s) and Saint Kyriake), which is marked as Cancelled in the 2007 tender register. The Commission subsequently re-tendered the works under a broader three-church contract, 43000-07-020-5-2-1 (Internal repairs in the Episcopal Church of Saint George, Saint Nicholas (Tutic’s) and Saint Kyriake in Prizren), covering internal repairs and electrical installations. Crucially, the April 2009 Current Activities report (under entry RIC04) explicitly confirms: Internal repairs to the Episcopal Church of Saint George, Saint Nicholas (Tutic’s) and Saint Kyriake are finished.
Regarding the 14th-century frescoes, however, comparing the English and Serbian versions of dossier #05 reveals an important discrepancy in heading precision: the English dossier titles the final section 2009- FURTHER INTERVENTIONS PROGRAMMED with the entry Wall paintings restoration, clearly indicating a planned future intervention, whereas the Serbian version uses the abbreviated heading 2009-DALJE INTERVENCIJE ('2009-Further interventions'). Our editorial methodology preserves the precision of the English original so that a planned 2009 conservation programme is never misrepresented as a confirmed completed restoration.
Conservation Context and Monument Condition
As of the April/May 2009 cutoff of the historical RIC website, protective roofing, masonry, flooring, joinery, and fencing works (2005) as well as internal repairs and electrical installations under contract 43000-07-020-5-2-1 (by April 2009) are confirmed as completed. The restoration of the 14th-century wall paintings remained in the status of a programmed intervention.
Subsequent photographic documentation—including the June 2019 field photographs by the BLAGO Fund included in this collection's photo registry—shows the intact lead roof and restored exterior masonry of Tutić's Church, while also documenting the surviving fragments and fire/plaster damage inside the dome. This collection explicitly maintains that documentary boundary.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who founded Tutić's Church in Prizren and when was it built?
The Church of St Nicholas in Prizren was built and decorated with frescoes in 1331–1332 by the Serbian nobleman Dragoslav Tutić (who became the monk Nikola) and his wife Bela, after whose family name the church is known as Tutić's Church.
What damage to Tutić's Church was recorded in the 2004 RIC Damage Assessment?
According to the archived RIC dossier (#05), the lead roof was removed, exterior stonework was partly damaged by hammering, the perimeter fence was partially lost, windows were destroyed, and the interior—including the marble/stone floor pavement and 14th-century wall paintings—was badly damaged by fire and vandalism.
Which reconstruction works at Tutić's Church are confirmed as completed in the RIC archives?
Two phases of physical works are confirmed as completed: (1) the 2005 protective interventions (yard clearance, new lead roof, repair/substitution of damaged stones and bricks, new glazed door and windows, replacement of broken floor stone slabs, and a new iron fence under 2005 tender #8), and (2) the 2007 internal repairs and electrical installation executed under combined Prizren contract 43000-07-020-5-2-1, which the April 2009 Current Activities report explicitly confirms as finished.
Does the May 2009 RIC dossier confirm that the wall paintings in Tutić's Church were restored?
No. The English dossier explicitly lists 'Wall paintings restoration' under the heading '2009- FURTHER INTERVENTIONS PROGRAMMED'. Although the Serbian heading ('2009-DALJE INTERVENCIJE') omits the word 'programmed', the primary record documents only a planned intervention as of May 2009, not completed fresco conservation.
Why did the old Wikipedia link to this URL from April 2012 fail to show the church dossier?
The authentic RIC dossier text is preserved in the earlier snapshots from 17 May 2009, which form the basis of this restored page.
Sources and Further Reading
- EU/CoE Support to the Promotion of Cultural Diversity in Kosovo (PCDK) & Previous Reconstruction Action — Council of Europe (Directorate of Culture and Cultural and Natural Heritage) (2010–2014) · Source document ↗
- Report Submitted by UNMIK Pursuant to Article 2.2 of the Agreement Between UNMIK and the Council of Europe Related to the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (ACFC/SR/II(2009)002) — Council of Europe / UNMIK (31. maj 2010.) · Source document ↗
- RIC Archival Site Dossiers (/inc/{eng,srp}/sites/*.html, May–July 2009) — Reconstruction Implementation Commission (RIC) — archival snapshots (17. maj 2009. / 28. jul 2009.)
- RIC Archival Page: Current Activities / Trenutne aktivnosti — Reconstruction Implementation Commission (RIC) — archival snapshot (april 2009.)
