Banjska monastery

The monastery Banjska is a Serbian Orthodox monastery which was originally built in 1313-1317 by the Serbian King Stefan Uroš II Milutin.

The monastery is situated on the territory of the municipality Zvečan in Kosovo on the river Banjska. The monastery was built as the final resting place for the Serbian King Stefan Uroš II Milutin. He was buried after his death in 1321 there. When the Ottomans attacked Serbia in 1389, his body was reburied. The monastery was destroyed by the Ottomans. They established there a military camp and a small mosque. It was not until 1912, the Ottomans were expelled. 1938 Catholicon of the monastery was partially restored. Other conservation and archaeological work was carried out after the Second World War and in 1990 started with a renewal of the monastery complex. On 15 August 2004, the restored monastery could be re-consecrated.

Architecture

Although prevailed under Milutin the Macedonian school in architecture and with the milutinschen foundations Gracanica Bogorodica Ljeviška and the King Church in Studenica monastery exemplary structures were established for further architectural development of religious buildings in Serbia, Milutin chose for his grave location, a building in Rascischen style. Choosing a historic style illustrates the strong bond within the tradition Nemanjic that cite over 150 years in the grave documents up to Stefan Decanski the architectural design of the katholikon of the monastery Studenica and the grave situation of the founder of the dynasty, Stefan Nemanja. A special feature of all royal grave sites of the Serbian rulers from the 15th century is also found in Catholicon of Banjska, cladding the exterior walls with marble. A marble cladding was royal mausoleums subject which particularly stands out in Banjska through the use of different colored marbles.

In addition to the central cupola, the monastery church originally had two towers, on the Exonarthex. Of significance, the architectural sculpture of katholikon was the model for the later sculptures in the monastery Visoki Dečani, Sv. Was Arhangeli and for the architectural decoration of the many buildings of the Morava school. From the formerly lavish architectural decoration only a single plastic has received, the sculpture of the Madonna and Child which was once above the portal between the narthex and naos and was rescued in the 16th century in the monastery Sokolica.