Visoki Dečani

Medieval Monuments in Kosovo*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	Serbia
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iii, iv
Reference	724
Region**	Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription	2004  (28th Session)
Extensions	2006
Endangered	2006-
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. ** Region as classified by UNESCO.

Visoki Dečani (Serbian Cyrillic: Високи Дечани) is a major Serb Orthodox Christian monastery located in Kosovo,^[a] 12 km (7 mi) south of the town of Peć. The monastic katholikon is the largest medieval church in the Balkans containing the most extensive preserved fresco decoration.

The monastery was established in a chestnut grove by Serbian King Stefan Uroš III 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 Emperor Stefan Uroš IV Dušan until 1335, but the wall-painting was not completed until 1350.

The monastic church, dedicated to Christ Pantocrator and built from blocks of red-purple, light-yellow and onyx marble, was constructed by builders working under a Franciscan monk, Vitus of Kotor. The church is distinguished by its imposing size and Romanesque and Early Gothic structure and design. Apart from the extensive and well preserved fresco cycles the interior features the original 14th-century stone templon, the throne of the hegumen and the carved wooden sarcophagus of the founder King Stefan.

On the "The Crucifixion" fresco, painted in 1350, objects similar to UFOs can be found. They represent two comets that looks like space ships, with two men inside of them, and are often quoted by Ufologists. ^[1][2][3]

Visoki Dečani was declared Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1990, and it is protected by Republic of Serbia. 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". In 2006, it was added to the List of World Heritage Sites in danger due to the potential for attacks by ethnic-Albanian partisans; it is protected by the United Nations' KFOR.

On 30 March 2007 an explosion was heard near the monastery. The explosion was confirmed by Serbian and international sources in Kosovo. Bishop Teodosije, the prior of the Visoki Dečani monastery, stated that the incident was a grenade attack on the monastery, with an objective of sending threatening messages to the monks and KFOR forces. [2]

Burials

• Stefan Uroš III Dečanski of Serbia

Gallery

Christ Carrying the Cross, a fresco from Dečani.

The Marriage at Cana, fresco from Dečani.

The House of Nemanjić, fresco from Visoki Dečani monastery

Relic of the True Cross

See also

• Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance
• Tourism in Serbia
• List of Serb Orthodox monasteries
• Serbian Orthodox Church
• Medieval Monuments in Kosovo
• Serbs in Kosovo

Notes and references

Notes:

References:

• Bratislav Pantelić, The Architecture of Dečani and the Role of Archbishop Danilo II, Reichert Verlag, 2002.

External links

• Evaluation by the World Heritage Committee
• Decani Monastery on www.kosovo.net

Cultural Heritage of Serbia Archaeological sites Archaeological Sites of Exceptional Importance • Archaeological Sites of Great Importance • Protected Archaeological Sites Monuments of Culture Monuments of Culture of Exceptional Importance • Monuments of Culture of Great Importance • Protected Monuments of Culture Historic Landmarks Historic Landmarks of Exceptional Importance • Historic Landmarks of Great Importance • Protected Historic Landmarks Spatial Cultural-Historical Units Spatial Cultural-Historical Units of Exceptional Importance • Spatial Cultural-Historical Units of Great Importance • Protected Spatial Cultural-Historical Units

World Heritage Sites of Serbia Gamzigrad-Romuliana, Palace of Galerius · Stari Ras and Sopoćani · Studenica Monastery Medieval Monuments in Kosovo (Visoki Dečani  · Patriarchate of Peć  · Our Lady of Ljeviš  · Gračanica Monastery)