Studenica Monastery
Stefan Nemanja founded Studenica in the late twelfth century. The monastery is known for its white marble churches and Byzantine-influenced paintings. UNESCO inscribed it on the World Heritage List in 1986.
Stefan Nemanja and the dynasty
Stefan Nemanja founded Studenica in the late twelfth century. After his abdication he became a monk, taking the name Simeon. His tomb is in the Church of the Virgin, where the monastery preserves the memory of its founder.
Two churches and their paintings
The white marble Church of the Virgin combines Romanesque details with a Byzantine layout. The smaller King’s Church was commissioned by King Milutin. Compare the early thirteenth-century frescoes in the first church with the fourteenth-century paintings in the second.