Updates
25. February 2026.
Opening of the exhibition “A Spark Shines from the Ashes”
The grand opening of the exhibition of the Provincial Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Petrovaradin dedicated to the conservation and restoration of the iconostasis of the Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Čakovo will be held on March 1, 2026 at 1:00 p.m., at the National Museum of Art in Timisoara, as part of the Week of Orthodoxy. The exhibition is designed to take visitors through the world of conservation and restoration, presenting the process of resurrecting the appearance of an iconostasis damaged by fire. The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Čakovo was built in 1768. years. The iconostasis, carved between 1768 and 1771 and painted in 1771, is an exceptionally valuable achievement of Serbian Baroque church art and is the work of unknown carvers and icon painter Dimitrij Popović. In April 2004, the Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Čakovo was hit by a fire that severely damaged the iconostasis. Although it was relatively quickly controlled and extinguished, more than a third of the altar partition was irreparably damaged. The surviving icons, paneling, wood carving and gilding were damaged by high temperatures, soot and extinguishing agents. Conservators of the Provincial Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments began work on the restoration and reconstruction in 2023, and with the upcoming exhibition they will illustrate how they awakened a spark of brilliance from the ashes and, by restoring the iconostasis to its former appearance, revived a jewel of Serbian church art of the 18th century. century. The exhibition "Sparks of Glory from the Ashes" is one of a series of cultural events that the Institute will organize during 2026 on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the founding of this institution.
