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| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Holy Virgin's temple of Gračanica |
| Order | Serbian Orthodox |
| Established | 1321 |
| Dedicated to | Holy Virgin |
| Diocese | Eparchy of Raška and Prizren |
| People | |
| Founder | KingStefan Milutin |
| Important associated figures | Stefan Milutin, QueenSimonida, PatriarchMakarije Sokolović |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Serbo-Byzantine style |
| Site | |
| Location | Gračanica,Kosovo |
| Public access | yes |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | ii, iii, iv |
| Designated | 2004(28thsession) |
| Part of | Medieval Monuments in Kosovo |
| Reference no. | 724-004bis |
| Region | Europe and North America |
| Extensions | 2006 |
| Endangered | 2006–... |
| Official name | Manastir Gračanica |
| Type | Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance |
| Designated | 25 October 1947 |
| Reference no. | СК 1367[1] |
TheGračanica Monastery (Serbian:Манастир Грачаница,romanized: Manastir Gračanica;Albanian:Manastiri i Graçanicës) is aSerbian Orthodoxmonastery located inKosovo. It was built by the Serbian kingStefan Milutin in 1321. The monastery was declared aMonument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1990, and on 13 July 2006[2] it was placed onUNESCO'sWorld Heritage List under the name ofMedieval Monuments in Kosovo as an extension of theVisoki Dečani site, which was overall placed on theList of World Heritage in Danger.[3]
The Gračanica Monastery is one of King Milutin's last monumental endowments. The monastery is located inGračanica, a Serbian enclave in the close vicinity ofLipjan, the old residence ofbishops of Lipljan.
The monastery is located inGračanica, a Serbian enclave nearLipjan, some 5 km (3.1 mi) fromPristina. It is situated on theKosovo field, on the left riverbank ofGračanka, a right tributary of theSitnica. The name is derived from SlavicGradac, a toponym of fortified cities.[4]
Gračanica was constructed in order to replace an older 13th-century cathedral of theHoly Virgin, located on the same place, in the centre of theEparchy of Lipljan.[5][6] Stefan Milutin'sktetor comment are written on the southern wall, including "I have seen the ruins and the decay of the Holy Virgin's temple of Gračanica, the bishopric of Lipljan, so I have built it from the ground and painted and decorated it both from inside and outside".[7] In 1346, when the Serbian Archbishopric was raised to the rank ofPatriarchate, the bishop of Lipljan was granted the honorary title of metropolitan bishop, and since that time they were called metropolitans of Lipljan or Gračanica.
Of the former monastic compound, only the church has survived.[8] Thenarthex and the tower were added a few decades later, in order to protect the frescoes on the west facade. The narthex was heavily damaged by theOttomans several times between 1379–1383, when the tower was burned and a fire devoured a rich collection of manuscripts and other precious objects.[7] The narthex was reconstructed in 1383. Again, Gračanica suffered damages at the time of theBattle of Kosovo (1389).
During the early period ofOttoman rule, the monastery kept some of its lands (vineyards, fields, meadows, pastures), as attested in early Ottomandefters.[9] Gračanica also remained an important cultural center. In the time of metropolitan Nikanor (1528–1555) several icons were painted on thealtarpiece.[7] Also, Nikanor obtained various service books and objects for monastic use, and in 1538-1539 established acyrillic printing pres, publishing theGračanica Octoechos.[10][11][12]
The royal doors were commissioned in 1564 by Metropolitan Dionisije, whose death is represented on a fresco in the narthex.[7] Major restoration took place through efforts of PatriarchMakarije Sokolović. All the openings on the external narthex were walled up and new frescoes were completed in 1570. Thanks to PatriarchPajsije, the church got its leaden roofing, and in 1620 the large cross withcrucifix was made on the iconostasis.[7] The monastery was exposed to new damages toward the end of the 17th century, in theGreat Turkish War, after thesecond siege of Vienna - in which theSerbs took part on the Christian side. Turks removed the leaden cross and pulled out the floor tiles, together with the treasure hidden in the church byPatriarch Arsenije III.[7]
During World War II, the Gračanica Monastery was looted by Albanians.[13] After theWorld War II it was renewed bynuns and has been serving as aconvent since. Today there are 24 sisters in the monastery who are active inicon painting,agriculture,sewing and other monastic obediences.
In 1999 the monastery was bombed twiceby NATO airplanes.[14] After theKosovo War (1998–99),Bishop of Raška and PrizrenArtemije Radosavljević transferred his official seat to this monastery from Prizren and since then the monastery has become not only the most important spiritual but also the national and political center of theSerb community in Kosovo.
The monastery was declared aMonument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1990, and on 13 July 2006 it was placed onUNESCO'sWorld Heritage List under the name ofMedieval Monuments in Kosovo as an extension of theVisoki Dečani site which was overall placed on theList of World Heritage in Danger.[1][15]
Gračanica represents the culmination of theMedieval Serbian art of building in theSerbo-Byzantine tradition. The church has the form of a double inscribed cross, one inside the other, the inner one providing for a vertical silhouette so as to raise the central dome upwards on a graded elaboration of masses. Thedome rests on four free-standingpillars.[7] Above the spaces between the cross-shafts, four smaller domes give a regular structure to the wholecrowning complex. Three three-sidedapses (the central one being the largest) put a mild distinction on thealtar space externally.[16] Thediaconicon and theprothesis are separated by full walls. Between thenave and thenarthex there are wide, heavypillars and thekatolikon (conventual church) is on a level higher. The church was built in alternate courses of brick and stone. At the end of the 14th century anexonarthex was added with doublearcades, but these were blinded in the 16th century.[7]
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In the church three kinds ofpainting can be discerned. The earliest is found in thenave, whereas two later ones can be recognized in thenarthex. Thefrescoes were painted in 1321–1322. The painting works have been well preserved. The compositions in the nave deal with the earthly life ofJesus and theecclesiastical calendar.[7]
The focal paintings of Gračanica include theFestival Cycle, thePassion and themiracles ofChrist. Inside the narthex, there are portraits of the founders:King Milutin andQueen Simonida, QueenHelen (king's mother) as anun and King Milutin as amonk. Of particular importance is theNemanjić dynasty genealogy,[17][18] the first ever painted, which starts withStefan Nemanja and ends with Milutin. Also in the narthex, there is an exhaustive illustration of theLast Judgment. The scenes from the life ofSt. Nicholas are in the northparecclesion, while the walls of the south one display scenes from theOld Testament and the lives ofChrist and theMother of God. The master painters supposedly wereMichael and Eutihije with their assistants.[7]
There are also considerable frescoes from 1570 in the exonarthex, commissioned by PatriarchMakarije Sokolović. There are some paintings in the narthex that date back to the late 14th and early 15th centuries, including theBaptism of Jesus, parts of the Virgin'sAcathistus Hymns and theEcumenical Councils. Two subjects, however, dominate the narthex of Gračanica: theDoxology to the Holy Virgin and the procession of the Serbian archbishops fromSaint Sava to PatriarchMakarije Sokolović. A historical composition of the death of the Metropolitan of Gračanica Dionisije covers the southeastern part of the narthex.[7]
The paintings of Gračanica rank highest among the achievements of Milutin's period, characterized by influences of theByzantine splendiferous and luxurious style called thePaleologan Renaissance. In terms of style, they are also related to the art of the other of Milutin's foundations.[19]
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The design of theChurch of Saint Sava inBelgrade is based on the models of Gračanica andHagia Sophia. In Chicago, theNew Gračanica church is a detailed replica of Gračanica, completed and consecrated in 1984.[20][21] The Hercegovačka Gračanica Monastery (Serbian: Манастир Херцеговачка Грачаница,romanized:Manastir Hercegovačka Gračanica), completed in the year 2000, is a Serbian Orthodox monastery located inTrebinje, inBosnia and Herzegovina, and is largely a copy of the Gračanica monastery in Kosovo.[22][23]
There are poems dedicated to Gračanica by Zorka Stojanović and Desanka Maksimović.
42°35′54″N21°11′36″E / 42.59833°N 21.19333°E /42.59833; 21.19333
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