{{Short description|Monastery in Serbia}} {{Infobox monastery | name = Manasija Monastery | image = DJI 0259-12.jpg | caption = Monastery church with main Despot's tower. | full = | other_names = Resava | order = Serbian Orthodox | established = 1406–1418 | disestablished = | mother = | diocese = | churches = | founder = Stefan Lazarević | dedication = Holy Trinity | people = | location = Despotovac, Serbia | coord = | oscoor = | remains = Stefan Lazarević<br>Vuk Lazarević | public_access = Yes<ref>{{cite web |title=Манастир Манасија |url=https://nasledje.gov.rs/index.cfm/spomenici/pregled_spomenika?spomenik_id=45889 |website=nasledje.gov.rs}}</ref> | embedded = {{Designation list | embed = yes | designation1 = Serbia | designation1_type= Cultural Monument of Exceptional Importance | designation1_offname = | designation1_date = 5 March 1948 | designation1_number = SK 140<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nasledje.gov.rs/index.cfm/spomenici/pregled_spomenika?spomenik_id=45889|title=Информациони систем непокретних културних добара}}</ref> }} }} The '''Manasija Monastery''' ({{lang-sr-Cyrl-Latn|манастир Манасија|manastir Manasija|separator=" / "}}, {{IPA|sh|manǎsija|pron}}) also known as '''Resava''' ({{lang-sr-Cyrl|Ресава}}, {{IPA|sh|rɛ̌saʋa|pron}}), is a Serbian Orthodox monastery near Despotovac, Serbia founded by ''Despot'' Stefan Lazarević between 1406 and 1418.<ref name="unesco">{{Cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5536/|title=Fortified Manasija Monastery|first=UNESCO World Heritage|last=Centre|website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre}}</ref> The church is dedicated to the Holy Trinity. It is one of the most significant monuments of medieval Serbian culture and it belongs to the "Morava school".<ref name="unesco" /> The monastery is surrounded by massive walls and towers. Following its foundation, the monastery became the cultural centre of the Serbian Despotate.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Panić-Surep |first1=Milorad |title=Yugoslavia: Cultural Monuments of Serbia |date=1965 |publisher=Turistička štampa |page=32}}</ref> Its '''Resava School''' was well known for its manuscripts and translations throughout the 15th and 16th centuries.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Federici |editor1-first=F. |editor2-last=Tessicini |editor2-first=D. |title=Translators, Interpreters, and Cultural Negotiators: Mediating and Communicating Power from the Middle Ages to the Modern Era |date=2014 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9781137400048 |page=1964, 1971-1972 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HBC-BQAAQBAJ&pg=PA1964}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Matejic |first1=Mateja |last2=Milivojevic |first2=Dragan Dennis |title=An Anthology of Medieval Serbian Literature in English |date=1978 |publisher=Slavica Publishers |isbn=9780893570552 |page=24}}</ref> Manasija complex was declared Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1979, and it is protected by the state, and the monastery entered the UNESCO Tentative List Process in 2010.<ref name="unesco" />
== Architecture and history == thumb|left|Monastery fortifications. thumb|right|Manasija monastery in 1875. thumb|right|Overview 1890 - 1900. The founding charter of the monastery has not been preserved. The Manasija Monastery, also known as Resava, was built two kilometres northwest from the town of Despotovac, in the picturesque ravine.<ref>{{cite book |title=Yugoslavia: Hotel and Tourist Directory |date=1976 |publisher=Privredni pregled |page=189}}</ref> Construction of the monumental mausoleum and the fortified town lasted about a decade. During this period, a church, large refectory, adjacent buildings, towers and walls, fortifications with protective walls and trenches were constructed.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Andrejic |first1=Ivan |title=Manasija Monastery – a jewel of medieval Serbian architecture |url=https://secretsedition.com/2021/07/05/manasija-monastery-a-jewel-of-medieval-serbian-architecture-2/ |website=secretsedition.com |date=5 July 2021}}</ref><ref name="ministry">{{cite web |title=Manasija Monastery |url=https://artsandculture.google.com/story/manasija-monastery-ministry-of-culture-and-media-of-the-republic-of-serbia/jwVB_HhK67mwjQ?hl=en |website=artsandculture.google.com |publisher=Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia}}</ref>
{{quote|... across hills and fields and deserts he went looking for a place on which to build the desired family, the silent home. Having found the most suitable and the best site to build the home and having said a prayer, he approached the task and laid the foundations in the name of the Holy Trinity, universal Divinity .... (Constantine the Philosopher, 1433<ref name="ministry" />)}} [[File:Stefan Lazarevic-freska.JPG|150px|thumb|right|Despot Stefan Lazarević (founder's portrait (Fresco) on the left-hand wall in monastery church to the Holy Trinity (1413—1418).]] Monastery founder Despot Stefan Lazarević built Manasija to serve as his mausoleum.<ref name="ministry" /> The monumental and imposing Church of Manasija, together with the contemporary monuments (such as Ravanica, Ljubostinja, and Kalenić), bear witness to the last great artistic achievement of Morava's Serbia.<ref name="real guide">{{cite book |editor1-last=Dunford |editor1-first=Martin |editor2-last=Holland |editor2-first=Jack |title=The Real Guide: Yugoslavia |date=1990 |publisher=Prentice Hall |isbn=9780137838387 |pages=307-308 |chapter=The Morava School Monasteries}}</ref>
The refectory was built parallel to the church,<ref name="ministry" /> and is one of the largest known structures in medieval Serbia, which was completely covered in frescoes. The monastery compound was encircled and protected by strong walls with eleven towers and trenches.
The monastery complex consists of:<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Ćurčić |editor1-first=Slobodan |editor2-last=Chatzētryphōnos |editor2-first=Euangelia |title=Secular Medieval Architecture in the Balkans 1300-1500 and Its Preservation |date=1997 |publisher=Aimos, Society for the Study of the Medieval Architecture in the Balkans and its Preservation |isbn=9789608605916 |page=236}}</ref> * The church to the Holy Trinity * 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), with living quarters for the monks and other buildings
The Church of Manasija Monastery was consecrated on the Feast of Pentecost /Whitsun/ in 1418, after about 2,000 square metres of frescoes had been painted. Only a quarter of the paintings survived. History records that Despot Stefan invested great effort in finding the "most honoured and skillful workers, the most experienced icon painters".{{cn|date=August 2024}}
During the five centuries of Ottoman presence, 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Manasija Monastery - Winterfell in the heart of Serbia |url=https://castlesandfamilies.com/news/manasija-monastery-true-medieval-fortress-in-serbia |website=castlesandfamilies.com}}</ref> As a result, about two-thirds of them were irremediably lost.<ref name="real guide" /> In the 18th century, the western part of the church - the narthex - was heavily damaged in an explosion and was later rebuilt.<ref name="nisgazprom">{{cite web |title=On the road with us to Manasija monastery and Resava cave |url=https://www.nisgazprom.rs/en/blog/on-the-road-with-us-through-serbia/on-the-road-with-us-to-manasija-and-resava-cave/ |website=nisgazprom.rs |date=20 November 2019}}</ref> The mosaic floor of that part of the church was partially preserved.<ref name="nisgazprom" />
Architecturally, the church belongs to the Morava school.<ref name="unesco" /> The ground plan is in the form of a floral inscribed cross, combined with a trefoil. The twelve-sided dome above the central space rests on four free-standing pillars.<ref name="Mileusnić">{{cite book |last1=Mileusnić |first1=Slobodan |title=Medieval monasteries of Serbia |date=1998 |publisher=Pravoslavna reč |isbn=9788676393701 |pages=120-125, 182}}</ref> At the eastern end, there are one large and two small apses, whereas two large choir conches flank the altar. Above the corners of the church, there are four small octagonal domes.<ref name="Mileusnić" /> The narthex consists of nine bays. Above the central bay, there is yet another dome that rests on four pillars.<ref name="Mileusnić" /> The church was built on ashlars and thin mortar beds. The facade decoration includes low pilasters, engaged colonettes on the conches and apses, as well as a frieze of small blind arcades on brackets running below the roof cornice.<ref name="Mileusnić" />
On the inside, the original floor has been preserved in the narthex, made of marble tiles in various colors. Despot Stefan is portrayed with the church model on the left-hand wall.<ref name="Mileusnić" /> The lower register of the north choir depicts warrior-saints in armour with swords and lances, as an authentic representation of contemporaneous soldiers. The vault above the main door contains a picture of the Souls of the Righteous held by the Divine hand.<ref name="Mileusnić" /> On the left and right, the prophets David and Solomon are portrayed respectively. There are also 24 portraits of the Old Testament prophets and patriarchs in the spacious dome. Two compositions cover the whole first and second registers in the altar: the first represents the Adoration of the Lamb, the other the Communion of Apostles.<ref name="Mileusnić" /> The towers are mostly rectangular, save for two hexagonal ones and one square-shaped.
An archaeological team from the United Kingdom led by Marin Brmbolić,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CMFVAAAAYAAJ&q=Marin+Brmbolic|title=Historical Abstracts: Modern history abstracts, 1775-1914. Part A|date=July 11, 1991|publisher=American Bibliographical Center, CLIO|via=Google Books}}</ref> located the remains of a person whom some claim to be Despot Stefan Lazarević in the southwestern part of the monastery floor. DNA comparison with the remains of his father, Knez Lazar, confirmed that the remains belong to two closely related individuals. However, there is no doubt that Stefan's brother Vuk was buried in Manasija and the remains could as well easily be his.{{citation needed|date=March 2010}} The Serbian Orthodox Church has already officially proclaimed the remains in the Koporin Monastery, a smaller legacy of his, as those of Despot Stefan.{{citation needed|date=March 2010}}
== Burials == * Stefan Lazarević
== Gallery == <gallery perrow="5"> File:Сцена Рука Божија са душама праведних.jpg|Mankind in God's hand. Fresco from the entrance in the west wall. Painted 1410-1418. File:Manasija monastery - south.JPG|Side view of monastery church File:Man mas kul4.jpg|Monastery fortifications. File:Manastir-manasija-despotovac-serbia-atipiks.jpg|Manasija monastery overview File:Manasija kapija.JPG|Entrance is through west walls File:Stefan Lazarević tomb.JPG|Tomb of despot Stefan Lazarević File:Куле Манасије.jpg|Inside of fortifications. File:Sveti ratnici Manasija.jpg|Fresco of Holy warriors, Areta, Nestor and Nikita, north choir (1413-1418). </gallery>
== See also == * List of Serbian Orthodox monasteries
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == *[https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5536/ UNESCO Tentative List Process - Fortified Manasija Monastery ] *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pL8rjFOTQw International Knights Festival - Just Out - Manasija] *[http://www.lessing-photo.com/search.asp?a=L&lc=20202020654A&ln=Monastery%2C+Manasija%2C+Yugoslavia&p=1 Picture of Frescos in monastery church to the Holy Trinity] *[https://www.blagofund.org/Archives/Manasija/ Blago Manasija Collection]
{{Serbian Orthodox monasteries}} {{World Heritage Site 'Tentative List' applicants in Serbia}} {{Cultural Heritage of Exceptional Importance}} {{Castles, fortresses and palaces in Serbia|state=autocollapse}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Manasija Monastery}} Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1418 Category:15th-century Serbian Orthodox church buildings Category:Serbian Despotate Category:Cultural Monuments of Exceptional Importance (Serbia) Category:Forts in Serbia Category:Tourism in Serbia Category:Christian monasteries established in the 1410s Category:Fortified church buildings Category:Serbian Orthodox monasteries in Serbia