Ruzica Church

Ruzica Church, dedicated to the feast of the birth of the Mother of God, is today a revered sanctuary within the walls of the Belgrade Fortress. It was built in 1867 and was originally supposed to serve as a military temple. For that purpose, the Austrian gunpowder warehouse from the fourth decade of the 18th century was adapted. During the renovation of the building, the bell tower was erected and the altar apse was added. According to popular belief, there was a church of the same name in this place in the Middle Ages, but there is no confirmation of that. The very name of the church, Ruzica, was taken from the much older pagan holiday of Rosalie, which was celebrated by the participants of the festival being sprinkled with rose petals. As the Orthodox holiday of the Holy Trinity coincided with the ancient Rosalie, many churches that were built in the Serbian lands during the Middle Ages were popularly known as Ruzica.