Visoki Dečani monastery

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Christ Carrying the Cross, a fresco from Dečani.

Visoki Dečani (Serbian: Манастир Високи Дечани or Manastir Visoki Dečani) is a major Serb Orthodox Christian monastery in the southern Serbian province of Kosovo, 12 km south of the town of Peć. Its cathedral is the biggest medieval church in the Balkans which contains the largest preserved monument of Byzantine fresco-painting.

The monastery was established in a chestnut grove by King Stefan Dečanski in 1327. Its original founding charter is dated to 1330. The following year the king died and was buried at the monastery, which henceforth became his popular shrine. Indeed, the epithet Dečanski refers to the king's foundation of the monastery. The construction was continued by his son Stefan Dušan until 1335, but the wall-painting was not completed until 1350.

The cathedral, dedicated to Christ Pantocrator and built from blocks of red-purple, light-yellow and onyx marble, was constructed by master-builders under the Franciscan monk Vitus of Kotor. It is distinguished from other contemporary Serbian churches by its imposing dimensions and obvious Romanesque features. Its celebrated frescoes comprise some 1000 portraits and cover all major themes of the New Testament. The cathedral contains the original 14th-century wooden iconostasis, hegumen's throne and carved sarcophagus of King Stefan.

In 2004, UNESCO listed the monastery on the World Heritage List, citing its frescoes as "one of the most valued examples of the so-called Palaeologan renaissance in Byzantine painting" and "a valuable record of the life in the 14th century".

Nowadays the monastery is under the protection of the United Nations and KFOR. Their mission is to protect Dečani from attacks by ethnic Albanians.