Studenica Monastery
UNESCO-listed Serbian monastery of about 1190, with marble churches and Byzantine frescoes.
Studenica was founded in the late twelfth century by Stefan Nemanja, the grand prince who established the Nemanjić dynasty, and became the most important monastic house in medieval Serbia. A circular wall encloses the complex, within which stand the Church of the Virgin, the King's Church and the ruins of a third church. The Church of the Virgin, completed around 1196, is faced in white marble and combines a Romanesque exterior of carved portals and windows with a Byzantine plan, a pairing that came to define the Raška school of architecture.
The monastery is also known for its wall paintings. The Crucifixion in the Church of the Virgin, dated 1209, is a landmark of Byzantine monumental painting, and the King's Church, added by King Milutin in 1314, holds a cycle including the Life of the Virgin. Stefan Nemanja, who retired to Mount Athos as the monk Simeon, is buried here. Studenica was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1986 and remains an active monastery with a small community.
Highlights
- White marble Church of the Virgin, completed about 1196
- Crucifixion fresco of 1209 in the main church
- King's Church of 1314 with the Life of the Virgin cycle
- UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986
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