MORAČA MONASTERY (MANASTIR MORAČA)

This monastery is, together with Ostrog and Piva, one of the major religious buildings in Montenegro. It is a perfect example of Serbian medieval orthodox architecture and is part of the Serbian neo-renaissance art. Founded in 1252 by order of Stefan Nemanjić, the first crowned Serbian king (1217), it is set in a bucolic location, on the edge of the Morača River canyon near a waterfall. Composed of a konak (monks' living quarters) and two churches, it houses wall frescoes and icons of exceptional value, starting with the one depicting the prophet Elijah being fed by a crow and the one of the birth of St John the Baptist. They date from the 13th century and are the only ones from that period. The central part of the building contains magnificent examples of late Byzantine frescoes, mainly centred on the life of Christ. Imposing portraits of the great saints of the Orthodox tradition complete the iconographic programme. Devastated by the Turks in the first half of the 16th century, the monastery was restored a few years later before becoming the seat of a veritable artistic renaissance in the first half of the 17th century. Three major painters of this period exercised their talents here: the priest Strahinja from Budimlje (originally from the Berane region), the monk George Mitrofanović (frescoes painted in 1616 on the western facade of the building) and the master Kozma.