Medieval Monuments in Kosovo

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Medieval Monuments in Kosovo
Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List
Clockwise from top left: Church of the Patriarchate of Peć Monastery, Our Lady of Ljeviš, church of the Visoki Dečani, a window at Visoki Dečani, church of the Gračanica, fresco of Christ at Our Lady of Ljeviš
Location	Kosovo
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iii, iv
Reference	724
UNESCO region	Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription	2004 (28th Session)
Extensions	2006
Endangered	2006–present

The Medieval Monuments in Kosovo are a World Heritage Site consisting of four Serbian Orthodox Christian churches and monasteries which represent the fusion of the eastern Orthodox Byzantine and the western Romanesque ecclesiastical architecture to form the Palaiologian Renaissance style. The construction was founded by members of Nemanjić dynasty, the most important dynasty of Serbia in the Middle Ages. The sites are located in the disputed territory of Kosovo.

In 2004, UNESCO recognized the Dečani monastery for its outstanding universal value. Two years later, the site of patrimony was extended as a serial nomination, to include three other religious monuments: Patriarchate of Peć, Our Lady of Ljeviš and Gračanica monastery.

In 2006 the property was inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger due to difficulties in its management and conservation stemming from the region's political instability.

There is an ongoing controversy over Kosovo's bid to join the UNESCO, which would result in the sites being listed as part of Kosovo and not Serbia. These monuments have come under attack, especially during the ethnic violence in 2004, during Kosovo's UNMIK rule, when the Our Lady of Ljeviš was heavily damaged. In October 2015 Kosovo was recommended for membership by the UNESCO Executive Board. The bid for membership was voted at the UNESCO General Conference in November 2015.