BANJSKA MONASTERY (MANASTIRI I BANJSKËS - MANASTIR BANJSKA)

This Serbian Orthodox monastery is located in the village of Banjska, which has a population of about 350, mostly Serbs. It was founded in 1313 as a mausoleum for the great Serbian king Stefan Milutin (reign 1282-1321). Although it remains an important historical site, its buildings have suffered extensive destruction over the past seven centuries. It is dedicated to Saint Stephen, called "Saint Stefan the Archdeacon" (Sveta arhiđakona Stefana) in Serbo-Croatian, and considered as the first Christian martyr.

History. Built between 1312 and 1316, the monastery was then considered the fourth most important Serbian religious site in the Middle Ages. It had a royal palace, a church, a library and annex buildings. He received the remains of King Milutin in 1321. But after the battle of Kosovo Polje in 1389, it was transferred to Trepča and then, in 1460, to Sofia (Bulgaria) where it is still buried today. With the Ottoman advance and the disappearance of the Nemanjić dynasty (1371), the complex experienced a long decline. Some of the buildings were destroyed by fire in the 15th century, and others were razed to the ground in retaliation for a Serbian revolt in the 16th century. The church, which was badly damaged, was transformed into a mosque in the 19th century. Recovered by the Serbian Orthodox Church in 1918, the monastery underwent extensive restoration/reconstruction work in 1939, 1990 and 2012

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Only two buildings stand today on this small plateau covered with medieval ruins. It is the long monastery building where only one monk lives, and the church of Saint-Étienne. The latter, partly rebuilt in 1990, now houses only small fragments of 14th century frescoes in the dome. Apart from that, all the interior walls are now blank. Outside there are still magnificent portions of the original walls adorned with three types of stones, at the apse and to the south.