Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Манастир Бањска је започео своју обнову у веома тешком времену за српски народ.
Молитвама светих: архиђ. Стефана, краља Милутина и свих светих, после 520
година поново је оживео. Прослава тог догађаја била је 15. августа 2004. г., са
светом литургијом на којој је служио његова светост Патријарх Српски господин
Павле са још осам архијереја и много свештенства и верног народа.
BANJSKA MONASTERY
Banjska Monastery is located near the present day village of Banjska in Zvecan
municipality, north of Kosovska Mitrovica. Banjska is the pious endowment of the Holy
Serbian King Milutin, who had it built during the period from 1312 to 1316. After his
death the King's holy relics were preserved in the church of Banjska Monastery. Because
it was a royal sepulcher, this church was far more richly decorated than the other 40 odd
pious endowments built by Milutin.
The monastery church dedicated to the Holy Archdeacon Stefan was built in the same
location where the seat of the Banjska diocese existed in the 13th century, during the rule
of Milutin's father, King Uros I. During Milutin's reign the monastery was restored and
became the fourth most important monastery in the Serbian Archdiocese. After receiving
the blessing of Archbishop Sava III (1309-1316) and his mother, Queen Jelena, Milutin
entrusted the building of the shrine to his spiritual father, Abbot Danilo (who was later
appointed archbishop), who arrived from Chilander at this time. When the Holy King
Milutin passed away in his summer palace in Nerodimlje (near Urosevac) in the year
1321, Archbishop Danilo II (1324-1337) transferred his body to Banjska where he was
buried with full royal honors. Queen Theodora, the mother of the Emperor Dusan, was
later buried in the northern chapel of the church. After the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 the
monks transferred the relics of King Milutin to Trepca; later, in 1445, they were
transferred to Sofia, Bulgaria, where they still rest today in the church of St. Alexander
Nevsky.
During the 17th century the Turks transformed the church of the already dilapidated
Banjska Monastery into a mosque. The monastery suffered great destruction in 1689
when the Turkish and Austrian armies alternately used it as a fortress during the course of
the Austrian-Turkish War. At the end of the 17th century the Turks dug up the marble
floor of the church in quest of the gold of Archbishop Danilo. The first more serious
investigations began immediately after the liberation of Kosovo and Metohija in 1912. In
1915 two rings, one silver and one gold, were found in the grave of Queen Theodora.
These rings are considered to be the most beautiful examples of Serbian medieval
jewelry. In 1938 after the end of the investigation and the digging up of the foundations
of the surrounding residence halls, the church was partially restored and placed under a
temporary roof.
The church of Banjska Monastery is a part of the Raska church school. It was built using
the plan of the church of the Theodokos in Studenica as a model.
The base of the church consists of a single nave building with an apse. Chapels are
located to the right and the left sides of the main nave. On the west side there is a parvis.
the facade is done in a combination of tricolored marble. The church was also richly
decorated with stone sculpture. The most significant preserved sample, a relief sculpture
of the Theodokos with Christ that decorated the main portal, is today located in the
nearby Sokolica Monastery. Only fragments bearing the likenesses of the saints in arch
medallions under the main cupola from rich frescoes done during the period from 1317 to
1321 have been preserved.
Phase I of the conceptual plan for the reconstruction of Banjska Monastery foresees the
building of the monastery residence hall to house the brethren. Later phases foresee the
restoration of other monastery buildings, as well as the church of the Holy Archdeacon
Stefan.
The beginning of the spiritual and material restoration of Banjska Monastery is of great
significance for all of northern Kosovo because this area, where almost half of all Serbs
now remaining in Kosovo and Metohija now live, will gain one more powerful spiritual
and monastic center.