SERBIAN MONASTERIES
IN THE WORLD HERITAGE OF UNESCO

 

 

PREFACE

The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (the World Heritage Convention) was adopted in 1972 by the General Conference of UNESCO. Until present, more than 170 countries have adhered to the Convention, making it one of the most universal international legal instruments for the protection of the cultural and natural heritage.
Serbia and Montenegro could not continue automatically the membership of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). Accordingly, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, became a Member State on 20 December 2000. Following the adoption of the Constitutional Charter of Serbia and Montenegro by the Assembly of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on 4 February 2003, the name of the State has been changed to Serbia and Montenegro.
For the purposes of this Convention, the following shall be considered as CULTURAL HERITAGE:
- monuments: architectural works, works of monumental sculpture and painting, elements or structures of an archaeological nature, inscriptions, cave dwellings and combinations of features, which are of outstanding universal value from the point of view of history, art or science;
- group of buildings: groups of separate or connected buildings which, because of their architecture, their homogeneity or their place in the landscape, are of outstanding universal value from the point of view of history, art or science:
- sites: works of man or the combined works of nature and man, and areas including archaeological sites which are of outstanding universal value from the historical, aesthetic, ethnological or anthropological point of view.

CRITERIA for the inclusion of properties in the World Heritage List

To be included on the World Heritage List, sites must satisfy the selection criteria. These criteria are explained in the Operational Guidelines which, besides the text of the Convention, is the World Heritage Committee’s main document.
A monument, group of buildings or site – as defined above – which is nominated for inclusion in the World Heritage List will be considered to be of outstanding universal value for the purpose of the Convention when the Committee finds that it meets one or more of the following criteria and the test of authenticity. These criteria are defined by the Committee in its Operational Guidelines. Each property nominated should:
i. represent a masterpiece of human creative genius; or
ii. exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design; or
iii. bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultura; tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared; or
iv. be an outstanding example of a type of building or architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history; or
v. be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement or land-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change; or
vi. be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance (the Committee considers that this criterion should justify inclusion in the List only in exceptional circumstances and in conjunction with other criteria cultural or natural);

 

- ST. PETER’S CHURCH IN RAS

The Church of St.Apostles Peter and Paul in Ras, near Novi Pazar, known as St.Peter’s Church was probably built in the 9th-10th century on the remains of an early christian church from the 6th century. Its basic architectural core consists of the earlier structure, that is the central part in the form of rotonda combined with a cross-quatrefoil with a dome added and constructed on squinches, with a storeyed gallery that circles the interior all around except on the eastern side. It was enlarged and rebuilt several times in the past and a narthex was added on the western side in the period of the Turkish rule.

It is said by the written sources that Stefan Nemanja was baptized just in this church which became the main ecclesiastic centre of his new state of Raška (medieval name of Serbia), as it was located near his capital of Ras and was already the bishop’s seat of Greek orthodox church.
All of the State Councils during his reign were held in this church and his ruler’s throne was there, too. It had probably been the coronation church of Serbian rulers in Ras before Žiča monastery was built and was promoted into the Serbian Archbishop’s seat. In the first quarter of the 13th century St.Peter’s Church became the cathedral church of Rascian bishops as it was established by Saint Sava. He created the rules for the new independent Serbian church raised to the level of an archbishopric and then he became the first Serbian Archbishop. In the 15th century the Rascian bishopric was raised to the level of a metropolis and at the end of the 18th century was joined to the Prizren bishopric.
The fresco decoration in the church from the earliest period (9th-10th century) has been preserved in a few fragments depicting ornaments and some of the scenes illustrating Great Feasts. The sanctuary was decorated with frescoes in the 12th century. The third layer of the fresco painting was probably executed at the end of the 13th century. The only parts that are preserved are depictions of the Virgin, standing figures of the Apostles and the other saints, the Church Fathers in Procession of the Holy Liturgy and some others. There are different opinions about the fact whose endowment are these paintings (King Uroš’s I or King Dragutin’s) as the founder’s composition is too damaged and the portraits cannot be identified for certain.
St. Peter’s Church was damaged at the end of the 17th century and was renewed (renovated) at the beginning of the 18th century according to the inscription above the entrance. At the beginning of the 19th century it was used as a military storehouse by the Turks.
St. Peter’s Church is the eldest Serbian Orthodox Church. It was restored after the Second World War when the frescoes from the 13th century were discovered and conserved.

 

ST. GEORGE MONASTERY IN RAS known as DJURDJEVI STUPOVI IN RAS (St.George Pillars or Towers of Saint George)

Djurdjevi Stupovi Monastery in Ras near Novi Pazar was founded by the first Serbian ruler Stefan Nemanja in 1170-1171 according to the incarved inscription from the main church portail. It was built on a hilltop near old Ras and its location is a significant point in the area at his new just established state with the tour of Ras as a capital.
As an endowment of gratitude it is consecrated to Saint George who helped Stefan Nemanja the founder in the battles and in liberation from the prison as is noted in the written sources by his biographers.
The monastery complex included secular buildings with residences and two rows of defensive walls. The main monumental church was built of stone and covered with plaster as a representative architectural work of art which very successfully combined Romanesque (i.e. Western) and Byzantine (i.e. Eastern) elements into a new very original architectural entity. In this masterpiece of architectural work a new manner of building was introduced, well known as Raška style. Generally it was adapted to the configuration of the hill so that the monumental stairs coming up to the church had to be constructed.
On the front side the two large bell towers of Italian-Dalmatian type about 20 m of height were constructed after which the monastery received its common name Djurdjevi Stupovi (pillars = towers=columns means stupovi in serbian).
In the late 13th century (1282-1283) the Serbian King Dragutin, Nemanja’s great grand-child had made some changes and further works inside the monastery complex. He transformed the entrance tower of the monastery into the chapel and opened the new entrance on the south-eastern side and did some other rebuilding so that he became the second founder. He was buried in the monastery so it became his grave church, too. As one of the most privileged royal foundations Djurdjevi Stupovi had a highest rank in the state of Nemanjic’s in the 13th century together with Hilandar and Studenica monasteries.
The enterior of the church was decorated by the frescoes in the 8th decade of the 12th century during the reign of Stefan Nemanja. Only fragments of these richly paintings survived. The new fresco decoration done during the reign of King Dragutin in the 9th decade of the 13th century is also heavily damaged. Some of the pieces were translated into the National Museum in Belgrade.
This was a result after several destructions of this monastery during the past wars when it was also used as a military fortress.
The remains of the 12th century paintings show that the painters, certainly Greeks as their inscriptions on the frescoes are in Greek, arranged the scenes very skillfully in real or painted architectural settings. The frescoes in the Chapel of King Dragutin painted in 1282-1283 are significant examples of historical scenes and are of great importance for Serbian medieval history depiction of the time (Serbian Councils). Some fragments of compositions illustrating the life of Saint George, the church’s patron have been preserved, including the portrait of Saint George on the horse, and the Nemanjićes portraits with a founder’s composition included, and also a wonderful depiction of the Holy Trinity, Mandilion and Keramion (holy images of Christ) and Descent of the Holy Ghost.
The monastery was heavily damaged and almost destroyed in the past centuries, firstly by the Turks in the wars of the late 17th century and remained in ruins. It faced (underwent) a final destruction in 1912. during the liberation battles by Novi Pazar and in 1941 also, during the Second World War. Only the ruins remains of the glorious monumental 12th century endowment of Stefan Nemanja survived. The monks had left it in the 17th century and it could not be used for religious services.
After archaeological excavations had been done (1960-1982) it has been restored after Jovan Nešković’s scientific plan for restauration and under (by, organized by) the Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments in Kraljevo and in Belgrade (Serbia).
In 2002 the residental secular buildings of the monastery were completed and monastic life and religious services were established again after 3 centuries of interruption.

 

SOPOCANI MONASTERY near the source of the Raska river in the district of Novi Pazar (South-Western Serbia)

Sopocani monastery was founded by the Serbian King Uros I, Nemanja’s grandson, at the beginning of 1260’s (the 7th decade of the 13th century). The main church of the Holy Trinity was built as a mausoleum for King Uros himself and his parents, his mother, the Serbian Queen Anna Dandolo and his father, the Serbian King Stefan the First-Crowned whose remains were translated from Studenica monastery to Sopocani in 1266.
This significant royal endowment, third in rank according to the written sources, was built of stone following the shapes of ground plan characteristic for Raska style, but viewed from the outside it looks like a triple-nave basilica. Many remarkable Romanesque features, including corbels under the roofline and sculptured marble portals and windows decorated with arches and capitals, show the Western European origin of the master architect, probably from the Adriatic Coast.
At the end of the 13th or the beginning of the 14th century an open exonarthex with belfry tower was added to the west side of the church together with two chapels flanking the narthex. This exonarthex was painted during the reign of the King Stefan Uros IV Dusan before he became tsar and was crowned as emperor.
The Greek master, one of the best from Constantinople painted the frescoes in the naos of the Sopocani church at the end of the 7th decade of the 13th century for the King Uros I, together with a few collaborators. He created so great and famous masterpieces of medieval monumental painting that made Sopocani the crucial monument for any study of the Byzantine and Renaissance art. His exceptional talent is performed in composing the monumental scenes of the Great Feast cycle in a new heroic style based on helenistic harmony of colours, emotions and gestures. He painted large scenes adapted to the architectural frame with monumental figures and massive architectural forms arranged with the great sense of volume and space. He executed the background of his frescoes in a special manner by covering it with gold leaf on a yellow ground imitating gold mosaics in Byzantium.
After the fall of Constantinople to the Latin powers in 1204 Serbian monarchs and archbishops remained the only patrons in the Byzantine World rich enough to obtain the best artists for their endowments and King Uros I was undoubtedly one of them. The Dormition of the Virgin is the most monumental composition in Serbian medieval painting and a masterpiece of religious painting as a whole. Procession of the Church Fathers in Holy Liturgy including the Serbian archbishops Saint Sava, Arsenije I and Sava II, some of the royal portraits of the members of the Nemanjic’s dynasty (Nemanjic Family Tree), Councils and some of the historical scenes illustrating the life of Stefan Nemanja and the Death of Anna Dandolo, as well as the Tree of Jesse, The Last Judgement cycles and the scenes depicting the life of Joseph make Sopocani fresco assembly rather unique than the traditional one. The head master was accompanied by the collaborators who tried to follow his style, and the others still rooted in the past.
The frescoes in the chapels and those in the open exonarthex were painted in the first half of the 14th century, certainly before 1346.
Sopocani monastery was destroyed and deserted in 1689 when its roof was completely gone and the frescoes were left unpreserved. In 1926 it was restored and renovated, the church was covered and the dome and vault were rebuilt. After the Second World War the special attention was paid to conserving the frescoes. Finally the open exonarthex and belfry tower have been restored, too.
The remains of residence and other buildings in the monastery complex, including a refectory, were conserved, too.

 

STUDENICA MONASTERY at Usce near Kraljevo (South-Central Serbia)

Studenica monastery was founded by Stefan Nemanja in 1186. He built the main church consecrated to the Virgin which was completed by his sons Sava Nemanjic (i.e. Saint Sava) and Stefan the First-Crowned after his abdication and taking monastic orders in this church as the monk Symeon. It was his endowment of a highest consideration being one of the most important royal monasteries (together with Hilandar monastery and Djurdjevi Stupovi) and his mausoleum, as well. Nemanja’s relics had been translated to Studenica after his death in Hilandar at Athos in 1208/1209. His son, the first Serbian King Stefan the First-Crowned was also buried in the Church of the Virgin at Studenica monastery, as well as King Radoslav, the Nemanja’s grandson and Nemanja’s wife Ana (Anastasia).
Nemanja’s third son Sava became abbot of this monastery in 1208 and established its typikon as the set of rules in organization of monastic life and behavior. As a biographer of his father and the first Serbian writer he wrote down these facts about Studenica monastery which very soon became the main political, cultural and spiritual center of the Serbian state.
The Church of Holy Virgin is built of polished marble and is a marvelous work of architects who blended Romanesque and Byzantine elements into a new architectural entity. Byzantine ground plan and structure were enriched by Italian-Dalmatian façade sculptured decoration with pilasters, friezes, floral and geometric and zoomorph ornaments on onelight, twolight and threelight windows and figural marble carving on a tympanum over the west door representing the church’s patron, Holy Virgin with Christ flanked by two angels. The church of Studenica became the prototype for monuments of the so-called Raska style in Serbia and not only in the 13th century, but later on, too.
Fresco decoration in the church is dated in 1208/1209 as it is provided by a painted inscription in the dome. Remains of the original painting show completely new monumental style inaugurated by Saint Sava’s artist, Greek of origin, and his remarkable sense of volumes and space. Brilliant in realizing and achieving classic harmony of composition, colours, feelings (emotions) and gestures, the master of Crucifixion imitated mosaic applying gold leaves to the background. For the first time Serbian instead of Greek is used as the language of the painted inscriptions in Studenica after Saint Sava’s recommandation as certain.
These original famous blue background frescoes from the begining of the 13th century were overpainted in the 16th century when the monastery was renewed. These repainting was done by the eminent Serbian painters of that time such as Longin.
In the 3rd decade of the 13th century a large exonarthex was added to the church with two chapels appended by Nemanja’s grandson King Radoslav who also adorned one of them with the scenes from Nemanja’s life including that of the Translation of his body from Hilandar to Studenica as the earliest extant historical composition in Serbian monumental painting.
At the beginning of the 14th century (in 1313/1314) according to an inscription carved on the façade of the apse Nemanja’s great grand-son King Stefan Uros II Milutin built a small church, rather chapel, within the monastery complex dedicated to Saints Ioakim and Anna, parents of the Virgin which as well known as the King’s Church. Extremely talented painters Michael Astrapas and Eutychios executed the fresco decoration inside this church promoting (introducing) a new style of Palaiologan Renaisance in Serbian monumental painting. They also painted in other King Milutin’s endowments at the time. The scenes of the Life of the Virgin, the portraits of serbian rulers, all of the Nemanjics as the kings and the monks, Great Feasts, the Divine Liturgy, the founder’s composition with the portraits of King Milutin and Queen Simonis highly individualized in rich contemporary costumes are the masterpieces of the age, especially depictions of the Birth of the Virgin and Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple that look like the scenes taken out of the court of the time.
There are other two chapels built within the enclosure: Chapel of St.Nicholas with fragments of frescoes of the first half of the 13th century and the ruins of a Chapel of St.John the Baptist. The old refectory of the monastery built in the 13th century has been preserved in the monastic range and residence dating from the 18th century.
In the past Studenica monastery was fortificated and there were more churches as it is depicted in old engravements of it. The west beltry tower is also decorated with frescoes from the beginning of the 13th century.
Studenica monastery was damaged by the Turks in the 17th, and again in the 18th and 19th centuries and by an earthquake in the 18th century and again by a fire, but survived and was repaired again. It was renovated many times and as the main monastic and cultural center of the state where Nemanja’s cult as a saint was established it shared the fate of the Serbian people.
The rich treasury of the monastery has survived but unfortunately not completely. It is a collection of wonderful icons (such as Georgije Mitrofanovic’s icons painted for the templon), manuscript books, embroideries, jewelry and liturgical objects made of gold and silver, relics, engravings and other exemplars of applied arts, but many of them have been lost or destroyed. The most famous is the wedding ring of King Stefan the First-Crowned (12th century).
The entire monastery including all of the churches was restored after the Second World War under the Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments of Serbia.

 

HILANDAR MONASTERY on Athos (Greece)

Hilandar monastery is the Serbian monastery on Mt.Athos, located at the northeastern coast of the peninsula, 2 km inland near the Greek Esphigmenou monastery, with a large area to the southeast included with the Tower of St.George and Hrusia at the seaside. It was founded in 1198/1199 by Serbian ruler Stefan Nemanja (being at that time the monk Symeon who died in Hilandar in 1199) and by his son Rastko who became monk (Sava respectively) at the place of a deserted Greek foundation from the 10th century. The Byzantine emperor Alexius III Angelos in 1198 granted it to them and confirmed it by his chrysoboulon.
Soon after their new church, katholikon, of the monastery was erected Sava composed a Typikon of Hilandar based on the typikon of the Evergetis monastery in Constantinople, i.e. set of rules to organize monastic life in the monastery (later on this typikon was revised and completed in his Typikon for Studenica monastery). In the 13th century Hilandar was inhabited by 90 monks and was higly ranked at the fourth place in the Athonite hierarchy.
At the begining of the 14th century Nemanja’s great-grandson Serbian King Milutin replaced Nemanja’s church with his new representative endowement, built in a traditional Athonite triconch ground plan form and he also restored the refectory, strengthened the fortifications around the monastery and built (erected) a Tower of Hrusia at the harbor. His master painters decorated the main church (katholikon) consecrated to the HolyVirgin Hodegetria and honoured in the memory of the Presentation of the Virgin with frescoes of a high artistic quality. The icons were also painted for the church templon (iconostasis) during King Milutin’s reign performing the same artistic value, especially the one depicting the patronal feast of the church, Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple. Later on (in the middle of the 14th century) Serbian Prince Lazarus added an exonarthex to the church with reflections of the Morava style of Serbian architecture, especially performed in its sculptured decoration.
During the 13th and 14th centuries Hilandar was endowed by all of the Serbian rulers so that became very wealthy owning 36o villages or parts of lands from Macedonia to Serbia and a number of the churches and monasteries in Serbia became its metochs, i.e. Hilandarian properties. Many great benefactors of Hilandar, not only the Serbian rulers, enriched its treasures with manuscripts, icons and many splendid works and liturgic objects of applied arts.
When Hilandar was established as completely independent of the Greek authorities it very soon became the main and the most important spiritual and cultural center of the Serbs from the 12th century onwards. Saint Sava spent a lot of his life time in Hilandar, formerly as a monk and after as a founder of the Serbian literature. It was Hilandar where he wrote Typikon for Studenica monastery with St.Symeon’s biography included. The famous Serbian medieval writers Domentian, Teodosije and Danilo II were all monks of Hilandar and many archbishops of Serbia previously had been hegoumenoi of Hilandar. Hilandar also became a treasurehouse of Serbian art, the archives of Serbian charters and documents (monumenta serbica) with 172 Greek documents included, and the richest library of Serbian manuscript books from the 12th century onwards, many of them written and illuminated in Hilandar. All of these manuscripts and documents from the middle ages provide informations necessary to know history of the Serbian state, literature and culture as a whole.
Hilandar collection of icons is one of the greatest in the world. It includes some of the masterpieces of icon painting from the 12th century onwards, notably a mosaic patron icon of the Virgin Hodegetria (12th century), the monumental partes of two icons the Virgin Hodegetria and Christ the Pantocrator (13th century), Set of Deisus Čin (14th century) and the famous Virgin Threehanded (14th century) traditionaly miraculous one and by the legend considered the hegoumenoi of Hilandar monastery. Great number of icons and manuscript books were done in Hilandar which housed a scriptorium, a center for translation and bilingual library where the Serbian variant of Old Church Slavonic developed and from there many books were done and set up for the monasteries and donors in Serbia.
Hilandar monastery complex include, besides the main church (katholikon) many other churches built from the 13th till the 18th centuries, chapels, cells and paraklesis decorated with frescoes, some of them of great artistic quality, and also the refectory which is decorated with frescoes depicting Saint Sava’s Life (17th century, master painter was Serbian monk Georgije Mitrofanović), the library, guest-house and many other auxiliary buildings.

DEČANI MONASTERY near Peć at Kosovo

Dečani monastery with the Church of Christ the Pantocrator is located by the village of Dečani near Peć at Kosovo. It is founded in the 3rd decade of the 14th century by the Serbian King Stefan Uroš III Dečanski (Stephen of Dečani) and his son King Dušan, later Emperor. The main church of the monastery consecrated to Christ the Pantocrator has been built from 1327 till 1335 as King Stefan Dečanski’s royal mausoleum according to the founder’s charter dated from 1330. As he died before it was finished his son the Serbian Emperor Dušan continued the work on completing his endowment so that hе became the second founder confirming it by his founder’s charter in 1335.
The church was built by franciscan monk Friar Vita from Kotor as the master architect, according to the carved (incised) inscription on the southern portal. He has made a remarquable architectural entity (work), never seen in Serbia before it, constructing it in the form of five-aisled basilica with a high elevated dome using cross vaulting strengthened by ribs. In this combination of Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic elements he realized a unique masterpiece of Serbian architecture of the 14th century. Dečani’s height became famous. He used three coloured marble blocks (yellow, mauve and white) in alternate order so that created harmonious polychrome facades enlivend by lesenes and friezes and enriched by the Romanesque sculptured decoration of the portals, windows and capitals. The most representative is the sculpture of the main western portal representing the patron of the church Christ the Pantocrator on the throne flanked by two angels, and the southern portal with depiction of the Baptism of Christ.
Threelight (triple) windows are also richly decorated: the one in the altar apse with fantastic animals, creatures and vegetation ornaments, and the one of the front façade with depiction of St.George killing the dragon. The details of this sculptured decoration are executed in tradition of high quality workmanship. The monastery complex was completed by the residences, a monumental refectory and a hospital and as a whole was surrounded by a high wall with a tower. All of the artistic works in Dečani were superwised by the Serbian Archbishop Danilo II. The master Friar Vita’s collaborators were the Serbian builders Djordje, Dobrosav and Nikola.
The Emperor Dušan was the donor of the fresco decoration in the church which was completed (finished) at the end of the 5th decade of the 14th century. It has been done (executed) by the several groups of painters as one of the largest wall painting ensembles in Serbian medieval art.
Not only the twenty major cycles of Byzantine iconography program were depicted, but also many new ones appeared (only some of them have been seen before), such as the Cycle of the Genesis, the Acts of the Apostles, Calender in 365 scenes, The Tree of Jesse and the Nemanjić Family Tree, Virgin Mary Akathistos, the Songs of Solomon, Seven Ecumenical Councils etc. With the greatest gallery of portraits of the Serbian rulers, glorifying Nemanjić dynasty, the archbishops and bishops and more than a thousand other figures Dečani fresco painting represent an encyclopaedic treasury of Byzantine art, theological complexity of its iconography and a real illustrated Bible.
The several master painters differed in their stylistic trends and artistic value of their works is not of the same level. Only one of them inscribed his name at one of the capitals as Srdj the Sinful.
Not only the complete fresco decoration was preserved, but also the old iconostasis with the icons painted in the 14th century, such as the one of the Virgin with Christ and the one of St.John. In the church there is also the original wooden sarcophagus of King Stefan Dečanski who was buried in it and which is a significant (remarquable) example (exemplar) of old woodcarving with painted relief, as well as the Emperor Dušan’s throne made of stone.
The treasury of Dečani monastery is one of the richest Serbian medieval treasures containing the valuable collection of icons from the 14th to the 19th centuries, such as monk Longin’s monumental icon of St.Stephen of Dečani with the scenes from his life (16th century), over 150 manuscript books and old printed books and many valuable objects of applied arts (crosses, reliquaries, liturgic dishes, jewelry etc.). The monastery scriptorium was very active in the middle ages, producing a great number of Serbian manuscript books.
In the past Dečani have had many donors and benefactors, such as Princess Milica whose large bronze polycandilion (choros) decorated with reliefs of twoheaded eagles and gryphons was presented to Dečani’s church, or Djordje Ostouša Pećpal who was buried in the narthex of the church and was donor of the frescoes in his chapel.
At the beginning of the 15th century Grigorije Tsamblak, the famous Serbian medieval writer, was the prior of Dečani monastery and wrote the Life of St.Stephen of Dečani. Most of the monastery buildings were renovated and rebuilt in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Church of Christ the Pantocrator is preserved in its original form and has been conserved since the fourth decade of the 20th century.

 

LIST OF FRESCO COPIES

St.Peter’s Church in Ras: The Saint (Holy ?), 237x 97 cm (copy painter Ivanka Živković, 1969)

Djurdjevi Stupovi (The Church of Saint George) in Ras: The Ornament, 200x54 cm (copy painter Dragan Vukosavljević, 1968)

Djurdjevi Stupovi (The Church of Saint George) in Ras: The Ornament, 148x49 cm (copy painter Dragomir Jašović)

Studenica monastery, The Church of the Virgin: St.Sabas of Jerusalem, 250x185 cm (copy painter Zdenka Živković, 1986)

Studenica monastery, The Church of the Virgin: St.Varlaam, 248x70 cm (copy painter Zdenka Živković, 1988)

Studenica monastery, The Church of the Virgin: St. Joaseph, 250x66 cm (copy painter Zdenka Živković, 1986)

Studenica monastery, The Church of the Virgin, St.Johm the Baptist, 250x85 cm (copy painter Časlav Colić, 1985)

Studenica monastery, The Church of St.Joachem and St.Anne (the King’s Church): St.George, St.Sava of Serbia, St.Symeon Nemanja, The Virgin with Christ, 138x270 cm (copy painter Svetislav Mandić, 1963)

Studenica monastery, The Church of St.Joachem and St.Anne (the King’s Church): Christ, St.Joachem and St.Anne, King Milutin and Queen Simonis, 138x350 cm (copy painter Svetislav Mandić, 1963)

Hilandar monastery, Katholikon (the Main Church of the Virgin Hodegetria): King Milutin, 210x74 cm (copy painter Branislav Živković)

Sopoćani monastery: St.Mark the Evangelist, 270x250 cm (copy painter Stanislav Čavić, 1985)

Sopoćani monastery: St.John the Evangelist, 270x250 cm (copy painter Zdenka Živković, 1985)

Sopoćani monastery: Nativity, detail – Bathing Christ, 139x169 cm (copy painter Svetislav Mandić, 1954)

Sopoćani monastery: Dormition of the Virgin, detail – Apostles with St.Peter, 338x194cm (copy painter Šime Perić, 1962)

Dečani monastery, The Church of Christ the Pantocrator: Christ the Pantocrator, 435x405 cm (copy painter Šime Perić, 1958)

Dečani monastery, The Church of Christ the Pantocrator: Holy Liturgy – detail, 171x235 cm (copy painter Milan Lađević)

Dečani monastery, The Church of Christ the Pantocrator: The Last Judgement, detail – Holy Cross, 250x460 cm (copy painter Rajko Nikolić, 1958)

Dečani monastery, The Church of Christ the Pantocrator: The Last Judgement, detail – hetymasia , the Holy Throne, 254x448 cm (copy painter Rajko Nikolić,1958)

Dečani monastery, The Church of Christ the Pantocrator: Serafime, 150x80 cm (copy painter Vera Marković, 1962)

Dečani monastery, The Church of Christ the Pantocrator: The Cain's and Abel’s Victim, 209x206 cm (copy painter Branislav Živković, 1949)

Dečani monastery, The Church of Christ the Pantocrator: Noa’s Boat, 180x95 cm (copy painter Šime Perić, 1958)

The Model of St.Peter’s Church in Ras, 44x36x36 cm

The Model of The Church of the Holy Trinity, Sopoćani monastery, 57x40x41 cm