Things to see and do Peja (Peć)

With its red-walled churches contrasting with the green of the surrounding hills, the Patriarchal Monastery of Peć (Манастир Пећка патријаршија/Manastir Pećka patrijaršija, Manastiri Patriarkal i Pejës) marks the entrance to Rugova Gorge. Founded by St. Sava around 1330 and listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site since 2006, this 3-hectare Serbian Orthodox complex is, due to its historical significance, one of the most valuable religious sites in Europe. Important home of the Serbian culture, it conceals medieval frescos among the richest of the Balkans. Today occupied by about twenty nuns who follow the Julian calendar and the Code of Saint Sava, the monastery shelters the tombs of Serbian Orthodox primates, the oldest tree in Kosovo, the ruins of ancient monastic buildings and, above all, four churches and a narthex adjoining each other, which form an ecclesiastical complex almost without equivalent in the history of Christian architecture.

Ecclesiastical complex. Built between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the heart of the monastery of Peć is composed of four adjoining churches and a monumental narthex. A tour following the chronology of the realization of the buildings and their frescoes is almost impossible as the periods are so intertwined. We propose the following route

:1 - Narthex. Added around 1330 and remodeled two centuries later, this monumental portico links three of the four churches together and constitutes the "vestibule".
2 - Church of the Holy Apostles. This is the oldest of the churches and the catholicon (main church) of the monastery. Dating from 1230-1240, it is located in the center of the complex.
3 - Church of Saint Demetrios. Located to the north (left) of the Church of the Holy Apostles, it was completed in 1324.
4 - Church of the Mother of God-Hodegetria. Located south (right) of the Church of the Holy Apostles, it was built almost at the same time as the narthex (1330s).
5 - Chapel of Saint Nicholas. Significantly smaller than the other churches, it is also the only one not connected to the narthex and the only one without a dome. Built at the same period as the narthex and the church of the Mother of God, it is attached to the south wall of the latter.

An architectural rarity.

Seen from above, the ecclesiastical complex gives the impression of a single church with three domes. This is an almost unique example in the history of Christian architecture. The only monument that comes close is the Pantocrator Monastery (12th century) in Constantinople/Istanbul. The comparison with the great Byzantine buildings was in fact constantly in the minds of the commissioners of the Peć complex. For the Serbian primates and rulers, it was a matter of affirming the existence of an autocephalous patriarchate, i.e., independent of that of Constantinople. This desire is felt in the architecture of the buildings, marked by two local artistic currents (the school of Raška, then the Serbo-Byzantine school), in the inscriptions no longer written in Greek but in Old Slavonic (ancestor of the current Serbian-Croatian language) and, above all, in the frescoes.

Frescoes. The entire interior surfaces of the narthex and the four churches were painted. The frescoes date mainly from the 13th-14th centuries and the 16th-17th centuries, and are particularly well preserved with a few exceptions. Combining techniques of pigment application on wet plaster (affresco) or dry plaster (a secco)

, the painters produced works of great variety, both in their artistic qualities and in the themes treated. Largely influenced by Byzantine iconography, they also tried to break away from this heritage by creating rare or original themes. Thus, the series of portraits of Serbian saints created here have become a standard for all Serbian Orthodox churches. Created at different times, the frescoes in the five buildings also reflect the artistic and political developments of the Balkans, even incorporating elements of Ottoman culture, the Italian Renaissance, and Russian iconography. Conceived in the context of a largely illiterate society, these works can be read today as an immense comic strip recounting the life, myths and hopes of medieval man.

Red walls.

In 2006, all the exterior walls of the churches and part of the narthex were painted brick red (or ochre). This color evokes the first Byzantine churches built in brick and symbolizes the blood of Christ. For the Serbian patriarchate that commissioned the operation, it was to imitate the color of the catholicon of the monastery of Žiča (Serbia), which itself takes the traditional red of some monasteries of Mount Athos (Greece). The intervention has provoked strong criticism from many art historians for whom it distorts the original appearance of the complex. In fact, the exterior walls were designed to remain blank or to be decorated with frescoes.

Visit. Three things to know. The monastery is under police protection and you must leave an ID at the security station. An audio guide in French is available (2 €). The monastery store offers honey, Velika Hoča wine, and icons and raki made by the nuns.

A visit to the Patriarchal Monastery of Peć is worthwhile mainly for its ecclesiastical complex (churches and narthex). But it is possible to walk around almost the entire 3-hectare compound to discover the traces of a long history. The monastery is surrounded by powerful walls inherited from the Middle Ages. At that time, the site was also defended by four towers and a keep, which have now disappeared. During the Ottoman era, in agreement with the higoumen (abbot), the Albanian inhabitants of the neighboring villages appointed voivodes (guardians) responsible for the protection of the monks. Thus, there remains a house of the voivodes, outside, on the north bank of the Pećka Bistrica. Inside the monastery grounds, once you pass the large wooden gate, you find yourself facing ruins. These are the foundations of conventual buildings destroyed by an accidental fire in 1940 (before the Italo-Albanian occupation of 1941-1943): a bakery, a refectory and a guest house from the Middle Ages, the monks' cells, two kitchens, a water mill, an attic and a stable from the 18th century. Excavations in the 1960s also revealed the presence of other ancient buildings to the north and east.

The treasure: saved, but inaccessible. To the right of the entrance, the belfry houses the bells of the monastery. This tower is about 15 m high and is in the Serbo-Byzantine style, but it dates from 1970. Two buildings have been added nearby since 2007: the store and a guesthouse. The ruins of the old belfry (14th century), destroyed in 1940, can be seen opposite the narthex. The northwestern part is dominated by modern conventual buildings dating from the 1980s and 1990s. They are located on the site of the old conventual buildings destroyed by a fire set by Albanian nationalists on the night of 15-16 March 1981. This attack on the churches resulted in the loss of the patriarch's residence, the nuns' refectory, the infirmary, the workshops and the monastery treasury. There were no casualties, but many documents and liturgical objects disappeared in the flames. However, a large part of the treasure accumulated since the 13th century, including icons, could be saved. The treasure remains on site, only shown to distinguished guests. Finally, throughout the complex are visible the tombs of the monks who succeeded each other here for seven centuries. They stand alongside those of the nuns who have occupied the monastery since the 1950s.

The city centre (Qendra e qytetit, Centar Grada) extends over a small area on either side of the Pećka Bistrica (Lumbardhi i Pejës) river. The liveliest part is on the northern bank, along the korso (or korza), a typical promenade of former Yugoslav cities, here named Toni Bleri in honour of the former British Prime Minister (1997-2007). Lined with green spaces and café terraces, the korso stretches for 800 m to the Hotel Dukagjini, which is an excellent landmark. The hotel overlooks "Peja Square" (Sheshi i Pejës), where the tourist office and the statue of Mother Teresa are located. To the west, the landscape is dominated by the Albanian Alps and the Rugova Gorge, towards which the Queen Teuta Street (Mbretëresha Teutë or M9 road) runs. In the foreground stands the old Austrian-style pastel town hall erected in 1929 and, just next to it, a dome and tower from the socialist period. In fact, almost the entire district was rebuilt at that time, as was the wide pedestrian Adem-Jashari Street, which runs northwards, lined with trees and restaurants, to the House of Culture and the small municipal park. Towards the east, the korso passes the statue of Shkëlzen Haradinaj, a local KLA activist who died in 1999, and brother of former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj (2017-2020). Then, still walking along the Pećka Bistrica, the walk leads to Haxhi Zeka Square, which marks the beginning of the old Shariah.