Manasija Monastery

Manasija monastery

Monastery church with main Despot's tower
Monastery information
Full name	Манастир Манасија
Other names	Resava (Ресава)
Order	Serbian Orthodox
Established	1406-1418
Dedicated to	Holy Trinity
People
Founder(s)	Stefan Lazarević
Site
Location	Despotovac, Serbia
Visible remains	Stefan Lazarević Vuk Lazarević
Public access	Yes manasija.rs

Yes

Manasija (Serbian pronunciation: [manǎsija]), also known as Resava ([rɛ̌saʋa]) (Serbian Cyrillic: Манасија, Ресава), is a Serbian Orthodox monastery near Despotovac, Serbia, founded by Despot Stefan Lazarević between 1406 and 1418. 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". The monastery is surrounded by massive walls and towers. Immediately following its foundation, the monastery became the cultural centre of the Serbian Despotate. Its School of Resava was well known for its manuscripts and translations throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, even after the fall of the Despotate to the Ottoman Turks. Manasija complex was declared Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1979, and it is protected by Republic of Serbia, and monastery have entered a UNESCO Tentative List Process in 2010.

The founding charter of the monastery has, unfortunately, not been preserved. The Manasija Monastery, also known as Resava, was built two kilometres northwest from the town of Despotovac, in the picturesque ravine. Construction of the monumental mausoleum and the fortified town lasted about a decade, with breaks. During this period, a church, large refectory, lodgings, adjacent buildings, towers and walls, fortifications with protective walls and trenches were constructed.