St. Jovan Vladimir's Church
Elbasan, Albania
Open to visitors
The interior is normally open, possibly ticketed.
Strollie cannot guarantee access — always check before you travel.
Saint Jovan Vladimir's Church in Shijon, Elbasan County, Albania is a Byzantine basilica dedicated to the Dukljan prince and saint Jovan Vladimir, son-in-law of Bulgarian Tsar Samuil. The original temple, built as the oldest large Orthodox basilica from Samuil's era, was rebuilt in its present form by the Thopia family in 1381; Prince Karl Thopia, who died in 1388, was buried within it. During the 18th century, Kostandin Shpataraku painted the church's walls, and an Orthodox monastery developed around it, eventually becoming the seat of the newly founded Archdiocese of Dyrrhachium. The monastery gained historical significance as a center of Albanian Orthodox literature and language development—Archbishop Gregory of Durrës wrote the Elbasan Gospel Manuscript there between 1768 and 1772, the oldest work of Albanian Orthodox literature and the only document in the Elbasan script. The site later became an important center for writing in the Todhri alphabet in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and was designated a Cultural Monument of Albania in 1948.
Movement
- Type
- church building
- Heritage
- Cultural Monument of Albania
- Place
- Elbasan, Albania
This building on
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Location