Banja Monastery

Banja Monastery

Манастир Бања
Banja Monastery
Location within Serbia
Monastery information
Order	Orthodox Christianity
Established	unknown, before the 12th century
Controlled churches	Church of St. Nicholas, of St. Elijah and the Church of Assumption of the Holy Virgin
People
Founder(s)	Stefan Dečanski
Architecture
Heritage designation	Cultural Monument of Exceptional Importance
Designated date	1979
Completion date	1329
Site
Location	Banja, Priboj, Serbia
Coordinates	43°32′51″N 19°33′37″E / 43.547625°N 19.560202°E / 43.547625; 19.560202Coordinates: 43°32′51″N 19°33′37″E / 43.547625°N 19.560202°E / 43.547625; 19.560202
Public access	yes

Banja Monastery (Serbian Cyrillic: Манастир Бања) is a Serbian Orthodox Monastery located near Priboj, Serbia. Monastery Banja presents Cultural Monument of Exceptional Importance in Serbia.

Time of founding of the monastery is unknown, but the first historical sources (Studenica Typicon) mention it in the 12th century. In 1220 Banja became center of Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Dabar. There are three churches within the monastery, the Church of St. Nicholas, of St. Eliah and the Church of Ascension of the Holy Virgin. St. Nicholas Church, the main monastery church, was founded by King Stefan Dečanski (r. 1322–31) in 1329. The original church was burned during the Ottoman invasion. The church was restored in 1570 and gained its present look in 1904 when the last restoration took place. The monastery was not only center of the bishopric but the mausoleum of Vojnović noble family.