The story of Studenica monastery

Studenica is called the mother church of all Serbian churches, and it is the largest and richest of Serbia's Orthodox monasteries. It was founded in the late 12th century by Stefan Nemanja, founder of the medieval Serbian state. The first stage of works was finished by the spring of 1196, when Nemanja gave up his throne and became a monk here.

His son Rastko, better known as Saint Sava, reconciled his quarrelling brothers and brought their father's relics back to Studenica, which under his care became the political, cultural and spiritual centre of medieval Serbia. Its two main churches are built of white marble. The Church of the Virgin blends Romanesque and Byzantine styles into what became known as the Raška School, and the small King's Church, built by King Milutin in 1314, holds some of the finest Byzantine painting of its time.

UNESCO listed Studenica as a World Heritage Site in 1986.