Manasija monastery

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Fresco portrait of Despot Stefan Lazarević in Manasija 1407-1418.

Manasija (Serbian Cyrillic: Манасија), also known as Resava (Serbian Cyrillic: Ресава), is a Serb Orthodox monastery near Despotovac, Serbia, founded by Despot Stefan Lazarević between 1407 and 1418. It is one of the most significant monuments of medieval Serbian culture and it belongs to the "Morava school". Immediately following its foundation, the monastery became the cultural centre of the Serbian Despotate. Its Resava school was well known for its manuscripts and translations throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, even after the fall of the Despotate to the Ottoman Turks.

The monastery complex consists of:

the church
the refectory, placed to the south of the church
the fortress with 11 towers, the largest of which is the keep, also known as the Despot's Tower (to the north of the church)

During the five centuries of Ottoman rule, the monastery was abandoned and wrecked several times. The lead roof was removed from the church, and so for over a century the frescoes inside were subject to damage by rainfall. As a result, about two-thirds of them were irremediably lost. In the 18th century, the western part of the church - the narthex - was heavily damaged in an explosion and was later rebuilt. The mosaic floor of that part of the church was fortunately preserved.