Rajinovac Monastery

Rajinovac Monastery and its church dedicated to The Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary are located not far from Grocka, in the village of Begaljica. The first mention of the Monastery of Saint Rajko is found in a Turkish census dating from 1528. In its turbulent history, it was destroyed and rebuilt several times. The first major restoration of the monastery was undertaken in 1793, owing to the efforts of Obor-knez (Chief) Stevan Andrejić Palalija. At that time, Rajinovac was hiding the relics of Stefan the First-Crowned from the Turks, which had been returned from Srem by the Studenica Archimandrite Gerasim. The second major renewal lasted from 1833 to 1839, and, on this occasion, Prince Miloš issued a command to collect donations. Repairs done in 1920 significantly changed the building’s appearance. The narthex and both domes were taken down, which had been described by Joakim Vukić in 1827; the south wall was closed and supporting walls were added on the southern and northern sides. The Rajinovac Church is an elongated single-nave structure split into four bays by shallow pilasters, with a wide semicircular altar apse and rectangular choirs. In 1952, the iconostasis was brought from the Military Hospital chapel in Belgrade. It is the work of unknown authors, created in late 19th and early 20th century.