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The monastery church is dedicated to St. Cosmos and St. Damianos. According to a legend written in 1704, Rakovac is the heritage of a certain man, Raka, courtier of desktop Jovan Brankovic. The legend states that Raka erected the monastery in1498. The monastery got its name after him. The monastery was mentioned in the first Turkish census of Srem in 1546. The addition of a baroque bell-tower on to the west church facade, in 1735, entalied certain changes in the trefoil shape of the church and the whole monastery complex. The monks' quarters acquired their final appearance in 1771, surrounding the church on three sides. The church was supposed to be painted at the beginning of the 16th century. The only preserved parts of the frescoes are those in the tambour of the dome. The icons on the baroque Iconostasis were done by Vasilije Ostojic, in 1763. The single-nove chapel in the monastery graveyard, dedicated to the Shroud of the Mother of God, built in 1751, houses the iconostasis painted by Janko Halzovic and Vasilije Ostojic, in 1755. The monastery was severely damaged in World War II and a lot of cultural, historical and artistic valuables were irretievably lost. The church has been reconstructed. |