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During this excursion two monasteries are to be visited. One was built as the endowment and burial church of Prince Lazar and the other by his son Prince Stefan.
The intriguing story of this family and 14th and 15th century Serbia, which was slowly retreating its borders towards the North until it finally disappeared, only to resurrect in the 19th century.
Some of the most important events in Serbian history are connected with the father and his son. The father was the leader of a Christian army which lost a battle which will mark Serbian mentality forever. His son was a friend of the Hungarian king, but at the same time went to war for the Ottoman Empire.
The son promised himself that his burial church and monastery would be larger, better and more beautiful than his father's. Everything he did had to be better than his father. The father lost the battle and his son had to continue ruling Serbia.
In both monasteries nuns pray every day for the salvation of the souls of the father and the son, surrounded by biblical scenes painted in fresco technique on the walls of their burial churches. Even after all the centuries that have passed the Holy Warriors look as they are going to jump off the walls and fight a battle which was already lost forever.
Ravanica Monastery is the endowment of Prince Lazar and it is the birthplace of the new artistic movement called the Morava school.
The Church of the Holy Ascension and its buildings are surrounded by strong defensive walls with 7 towers. The church was built from alternating rows of stone and brick and was decorated with ceramic ornamental elements and rich sculpture. Its trefoil floor plan inspired the future development of church layout. Its frescoes representing scenes of Major Festivals, the Passions of Christ, Miracles and Parables became standard in the painting of later churches.
Manasija Monastery, one of the last monuments of Serbian mediaeval culture was founded by Prince Stefan, the son of Prince Lazar.
The Church of the Holy Trinity with its original mosaic floor and fine architecture is surrounded by impressive walls with11 towers, and a trench. Next to the church there are remains of the Refectory and the Library which housed the Scriptorium where numerous books were copied for church use. The so-called “Resava orthography” was created here and influenced later scribes for a long time to come.
Although many of the fresco paintings have been lost over the centuries and the remaining fresco paintings faded, they still represent some of the best frescoes of Medieval Serbia.
We will have a lunch at a country inn where they are serving fresh trout and afterwards enjoy the walk through the village to the the Veliki Buk waterfalls.
