Serbian Holy Places and Miraculous Events – Based on Nineteenth-Century Travel Books

Abstract

Serbian holy places to which nineteenth-century travel books ascribed miraculous powers are numerous. With their supernatural power, they healed the sick of different religions from numerous illnesses, or protected Orthodox shrines from Turkish devastation. The belief that Serbian holy places were invested with such powers could be explained by the fact that in the 19th century the organized medical service did not exist in the Principality (Kingdom) of Serbia and Serbia Proper (Old Serbia), and by the hopes of the subjugated Serbian population that holy places could protect them from the severe harassement of the Turkish conqueror.