Study: Les Monastères orthodoxes dans les Balkans, Serbian Medieval Monuments (2003). (Serbia and Montenegro) Date of ICOMOS approval of this report: 15 January 2006 No 724 bis 3. THE PROPERTY Description The property consists of three churches, the Patriarchate of 1. BASIC DATA Peć Monastery, Gračanica Monastery and the Church of State Party: Serbia and Montenegro the Virgin of Ljeviša, Prizren, as a serial nomination linked to the Dečani Monastery, inscribed in 2004. Name of property: Serbian Medieval Monuments of Kosovo and Metohija The churches are presented with Dečani as representing the high points of the discrete ecclesiastical culture that Location: Province of Kosovo and Metohija developed in the Balkans in the 13th century under the Serbian Nemanjič dynasty (1166 – 1371), and persisted Date received by until the 17th the World Heritage Centre: 4 January 2005 century. Included in the Tentative List: 18 March 2002 The three nominated properties and the Dečani monastery (Gračanica Monastery) / 28 January 2005 (Patriarchate of comprise a group with shared donors, builders or master Peć Monastery and Church of the Virgin of Ljeviša) painters as well as similar architectural principles and typologies. Together their buildings represent the International Assistance from the World Heritage Fund for development of art and architecture in the Balkans from preparing the nomination: No the 13th to the 17th centuries and particularly the th Category of property: achievements of the 14 century. In terms of the categories of cultural property set out in Patriarchate of Peć Monastery Article 1 of the 1972 World Heritage Convention, this is a serial nomination of several sites. The Patriarchate of Peć Monastery consists of a group of four churches, on the outskirts of Peć at the entrance to the Brief description: Rugovo gorge. Three of the churches, of the Holy Apostles, St Demetrius and the Holy Virgin, were built A group of three churches, the Patriarchate of Peć against each other and are interconnected with a shared Monastery, Gračanica Monastery and the Church of the narthex, giving the impression from above of one building Virgin of Ljeviša, mainly built in the 13th and 14th with three domes, a unique architectural symbiosis. All centuries reflect with Dečani Monastery the high points of the churches display an extensive series of wall paintings. the discrete Byzantine-Romanesque ecclesiastical culture Slightly separate is the fourth church or chapel of that developed in the Balkans in the 13th century under the St Nicholas. The churches were originally part of a large Nemanja dynasty, and which persisted until the 17th monastic complex enclosed by a wall with five towers, but century. The churches contain significant manifestations of none of the early secular buildings survive. the Palaiologos Renaissance style of mural painting. The churches still preserve their picturesque setting. Around the churches and in caves in the Rugovo gorge, 2. ACTIONS many smaller churches and hermitages developed: the Background: This nomination is a proposal for an name Peć, adopted later than the churches, comes from the extension of Dečani Monastery inscribed on the World Old Slavic pest, a cave. One of the remaining hermitages, Heritage List at the 28th session of the World Heritage Marko’s cave, is included in the Buffer Zone. Committee (Suzhou, 2004) on the basis of criteria ii and iv. The nominated area of 1.53ha covers the area enclosed by the monastic wall. The buffer zone of 99.80ha extends to Date of the Technical Evaluation Mission: 21-28 the south over a portion of the Rugovo Gorge and to the September 2005 north over the outskirts of the town of Peć. The Serbian th Dates of request for additional information and of receipt Archbishopric was transferred to Peć in the late 13 from State Party: None century. The main construction of the churches, incorporating existing buildings, was in the second half of Consultations: ICOMOS has consulted its International the 13th century, but building work continued until the end Scientific Committee on Wall Paintings. of the 16th century. Peć became the spiritual centre and mausoleum of Serb Patriarchs, and the place for the Literature: Many publications on Byzantine art and coronations of kings. architecture including: Byzantium: Faith and Power (1261-1557) Edited by Helen C. Evans, The Metropolitan The monastery is now enclosed by a high wall with an Museum of Art and Yale University Press, 2004; Panić, entrance tower. The main church of the Holy Apostles was D., & Babić, G., Bogorodica Ljevisa, 1975; Ćurčić, S., built in the third decade of the 13th century. Its layout Gračanico, King Milutin’s Church and its Place in late conforms to the 13th century Ras school of Serbian Byzantine Architecture, 1979; Djurić, V. J., Ćirković, S., & Korac, V., Pećka patrijaršija, 1990; ICOMOS Thematic 141 churches. Built of stone, it has no aisles, a transept and a ruins of an older 13th-century church of the Theotokos, dome. which was in turn built on the ruins of a 6th-century early- Christian, three-naved basilica. Only the church remains Between 1316 and 1324 the church of St Demetrius was from the original monastery complex, which was intended constructed to the north and adjoining the earlier church. It as the seat of the Lipljan bishops. is slightly smaller and has similarly a single nave and dome but walls of alternating lines of stone and brick. The nominated area of 1.22 ha consists of the monastery church and a rectangular area of grass surrounding it In 1328 the third church of the Holy Virgin of Hodegetria enclosed by a low wall. The buffer zone of 12.10 ha was built adjoining on the south side of the Holy Apostles, includes part of the village of the same name. The church and at the same time a monumental narthex porch was has five domes, arranged in a sort of pyramid formation, built on the west side linking all three churches. The and polychrome walls of alternating courses of grey stone narthex has a barrel vault covering a central space and two and red bricks, with raised light mortar courses, in the so- aisles. Originally open on the west side with a series of called Byzantine ‘cloisonné’ system. The interior is richly elegant arcades, this was later filled in. decorated with further examples of Palaiologian Renaissance paintings. The similarity of construction of certain parts of the structure with the Dečani Monastery could imply that the The church is in two parts; the main church and a narthex builders of the Peć churches were master Dorde, and his added to the west façade. The central part of the church is brothers Nikola and Dobrosav, who worked on the Dečani a cross-in-square naos (nave). The narthex is a three aisled Monastery. structure roofed with barrel vaults either side and a central blind calotte (low window-less dome). By 1260, the Church of Holy Apostles was adorned with frescoes, preserved in the dome and altar space. These The plan, spatial arrangement, decorative wall treatment paintings reflect a mature phase of a plastic monumental and wall paintings together have made it an emblematic style of painting for which no analogies have been structure for Balkan architecture of the 14th century discovered. reflecting the spirit of the Byzantine tradition but slightly modified by western influence. Half a century later the west side of the church of the Holy Virgin and the narthex were decorated with a series of The interior paintings were carried out by painters from frescoes in a new style, the so called Palaiologian King Milutin’s workshop headed by Michael Astrapa and Renaissance style of Byzantium (after the dynasty of that Eutychios from Thessaloniki who worked at the church for name). These frescoes, along with those in the churches in almost two decades, completing the work in 1321. They Gračanica and Prizren, came to play a decisive role in the are fine examples of the Palaiologos Renaissance style and development of art in the Balkans. have been preserved almost in their entirety. In the altar, main dome and smaller domes are depictions of the In the church of the Holy Apostles, on the ceiling are the Eucharist and Old Testament themes. On the upper part of cycle of the passion of Christ, on the south wall, portraits walls numerous cycles show Great Feasts, Christ’s Public of members of the ruling Nemanjič dynasty and two Ministry, miracles, parables and the passion of Christ. grandiose half length portraits of St Nicholas and the Beneath these around the whole church are lines of saints Virgin Eleousa with Christ are on the west wall. and holy warriors. In the narthex passage the founder, King Milutin and his wife and ancestors are portrayed. In the church of the Holy Virgin there are paintings in the dome, on vaults, on the upper walls and on the walls of the Paintings were added to the external narthex at two periods diakonikon and prothesi, as separate chapels of Christ, the in the 16th century. These include a gallery of around 30 Divine Liturgy, prophets, the Resurrection and the life of pictures of Serbian bishops painted by artists from local the Virgin. These differ from the formal ‘classicism’ of workshops. those in the narthex and for the first time in the choir holy warriors and holy monks were painted against each other – Church of the Virgin of Ljeviša a pattern that was to persist in Serbian wall paintings. The church sits on the banks of the river Bistrica in the centre of the town of Prizren. Around 1345, in order to prepare the church for its new function as the seat of the Serbian Patriarchate, the church The nominated area of 12.39ha includes the church and a of St Demetrius had further paintings added including small open area surrounding it.