Unique in their architecture, sculpture and ornamentation, frescoes, icons, manuscripts and numerous works of applied art, the monasteries of Serbia have long been a focus of attention for tourists and mediaeval art experts alike. The frescoes and icons in Serbia’s churches are a significant part of Serbia’s cultural, historical and national wealth.
Today, there are more than 200 monasteries in Serbia, 54 of which have been declared cultural monuments, while Stari Ras with Sopocani, Studenica and medieval Serbian monasteries in Kosovo and Metohija (Decani, Gracanica, Pecka patrijarsija and Bogorodica Ljeviska) are listed as UNESCO world heritage sites. At the area of Kosovo and Metohija King Milutin raised more than 40 churches. The masterpiece is surely symmetrical monastery of Gracanica, which is decorated with stone and brick.
In the Ibar River`s valley, on the stretch lying between Kraljevo and Novi Pazar, there is a group of monasteries built at the end of XII century and in XIII century, called Monasteries of Old Raska. These monumental edifices are the bearers of the original style merging Romanesque and Byzantine art influences.
