Did you know that in the village of Mrsać, located on the right bank of the West Morava, along the so‑called old road connecting Kraljevo and Čačak, there is a wooden church which, according to legend, was built at the request of fairies? According to this legend, the fairies appeared from the clouds after a great storm that destroyed the wheat fields. They then ordered the villagers to build a church so that the village would have a sanctuary to protect it from future disasters.
Written records about the construction of this wooden church, dedicated to the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, have unfortunately not been preserved. According to tradition, the original church was built before the First Serbian Uprising and the time of Karađorđe. The patron of the existing wooden church was priest Nikola Krstić, adjutant of Antonije Pljakić, Karađorđe’s son‑in‑law. Later, Prince Miloš Obrenović appointed him as the prince of the Požega district. Krstić was originally from Mrsać. In addition to this church, he also built a smaller one in Vrdilа, as a church of repentance, after organizing the killing of Milić Radović from Kaona in Dragačevo on Miloš’s orders. Today, at the site of Krstić’s church in Vrdili, there is a newer church dedicated to the Epiphany, built after World War I.
The Mrsać wooden church is modest in size, with a simple rectangular plan. It consists of the nave and altar, which ends semicircularly. The ceiling is flat, formed by aligned beams placed at right angles. The low roof, with a gentle slope, is built on four sides, now covered with tiles that probably replaced the original shingles during one of the renovations. The eaves on the front side are finished with decorative woodwork. Two iron crosses are placed on the ridge. The windows are rectangular with iron bars, larger in size like those found on ordinary houses, while the doors — one on the west and one on the north side — are semicircularly arched without profiling. The current floor is made of laid bricks, probably replacing the original wooden floor, arranged on two levels. In the raised part of the nave is a small stone ambo, typical of wooden churches, with a central circle surrounded by radiating segments like petals. The altar table is also original. The narthex, in the lower part, was often separated by a wooden partition in churches of this type, though the original solution in Mrsać is unknown. The structure is skeletal, with horizontal and vertical posts reinforced at the corners by braces, and the infill made of vertically aligned beams in three rows. The foundation is low, built of broken stone. Wooden churches built with aligned beams are rare, as this was a weak construction method, but likely chosen due to limited resources and materials.
The iconostasis has not been preserved in full. It was made simply from six vertical beams carved with geometric motifs in the shape of the letter X, painted in bright colors. This type of decoration was also present in the Middle Ages. The X‑shaped motif can be seen as a symbolic representation of St. Andrew’s cross. Based on the spacing of the beams, it is assumed the iconostasis had two throne icons, with a festive icon placed to the side. Given the height of the church, it may have had another row of icons with a cross and medallions at the top. Unfortunately, none of the older liturgical books or objects have survived.
The church in Mrsać is unique for its painted ornamentation inside and out, intended to compensate for its simple construction. The exterior beams are colored with multicolored vertical lines, imitating aprons and skirts. Floral ornaments on the beams were made using stencils most likely brought from Austria‑Hungary, indicating that the church was painted during the renovation of 1896.
Around the church are tombstones of notable villagers and cenotaphs. On the right side are two “crosses with apples” from the second half of the 19th century, erected as gravestones for brothers Miloš and Konstantin Kolarević. In the churchyard are three sandstone monuments erected after World War I in the form of pillars, inscribed with long texts including the names of craftsmen or details of significant events, with each letter and ornament painted. The churchyard also contains an old half‑wooden parish house, a newer building for parishioners and clergy, a wooden bell tower, and a newer church.
This newer church, also dedicated to the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, was built in 1968.
Milena Baltić
Editor of the Educational‑Scientific Program
of the Official Internet Presentation of the National Museum Kraljevo