Sopoćani Monastery

Sopoćani, the monastery dedicated to the Holy Trinity, was an endowment of the Serbian King Uroš I, son to Stefan The First-Crowned  and Nemanja’s grandson. The church and its narthex were built in 1270’s. The exonarthex with a dome – a bell tower, were added in the first half of the 14th century. In the Sopoćani Book of Donors King Uroš is mentioned as the „the First Ktetor“. Important figures buried in the monastery are: the Ana Dandolo, Uroš’s mother, Stefan The First-Crowned (his remains were removed from the monastery and hidden from the Turks, now laid in Studenica), the Grand Prince George and the King Uroš I hinself.

ART

The earliest Sopoćani frescoes date from about 1273-1274. There is an outstanding composition of the Assumption of Virgin Mary on the west wall, as well as the Great Events cycle. The Sopoćani Monastery fresco paintings are the greatest artistic achievement not only in Serbia, but in Europe as well. What the Sopoćani painters accomplished in the drawings and colours will appear, in part, only in the Italian Renaissance period.

GEOGRAPHY

The monastery was built not far from the Raška river source, near Novi Pazar.  In 1979 Sopoćani was declared the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

OUTSTANDING FIGURES

King Uroš I, his mother Ana, Stefan The First-Crowned