Church of St. Petka in Staničenje
| St. Petka Church in Staničenje | |
|---|---|
Crkva svete Petke u Staničenju | |
| 43°12′25.45″N 22°30′51.02″E / 43.2070694°N 22.5141722°E | |
| Location | Staničenje, 18300 Pirot, Serbia |
| Country | Serbia |
| Denomination | Orthodox |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Cultural monument of Great Importance |
| Designated | 9 May 1967 |
| Years built | 1331-32 |
The Church of St. Petka in Staničenje (Serbian Cyrillic: Црква Свете Петке, Bulgarian: Църква „Света Петка“) is the oldest church in Staničenje, Serbia. In the Middle Ages it was known as the Church of St. Nikola, a Bulgarian monument dating from the beginning of the rule of Tsar Ivan Alexander in the 1330s.
The church is located near Pirot, about 10 kilometers west at the foot of Belava Mountain. It was built on an elevated plateau above the river coast of Nišava, near Staničenje village and the confluence of Temštica, near the main road from Sofia to Niš. A fresco notes that the church was built in 1331-1332.
In 1967, the church was declared a Cultural Monument of Exceptional Importance in Serbia. Radivoje Ljubinković (1910–1979), adviser of the Archeological Institute in Belgrade, visited the building in 1972 and again between 1974 and 1977. Final conservation and restoration of painted walls (frescoes) was made between 1975 and 1978 by Zdenka Živković, a picture restorer from Belgrade.