05.12.21.

The most valuable painting of Serbia from the beginning of the 13th century is being restored and one of the most beautiful endowments of King Milutin is being conserved

The most valuable painting of Serbia from the beginning of the 13th century is being restored and one of the most beautiful endowments of King Milutin is being conserved. Two very important projects were implemented in Studenica Monastery in 2021 under the authority of the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Serbia – Belgrade.

The first relates to the restoration of the most valuable painting in Serbia from the time of Saint Sava in the Church of the Virgin in Studenica, while the second concerns the performance of conservation and restoration works on the architecture of the King’s Church, built in 1314. The rulers of the Nemanjić dynasty, which reigned Serbia for two centuries, left many valuable endowments. In building endowments, King Milutin is considered an unsurpassed medieval founder. In the Studenica monastery complex, he built a small church dedicated to the Mother of God’s parents, Saints Joachim and Ana. In the year that we celebrate seven centuries since the death of Milutin Nemanjić, the King’s Church is being renovated.

Funds for both projects were provided by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia.

„А кад гледаше подизање храма Пресвете [Богородице у Студеници], овај мој господин свети, верујте ми, о господо и браћо, да сам видео како се његов ум диже у висину као неки небопарни орао, који је држан на земљи везан узама железним, па се истргао и у висину узлетео да дође до онога бесмртнога и светога источника и да види хлад божанственога града Вишњег Јерусалима, чији, уистину, постаде грађанин“

„Студеница је грађена да спаја небо и земљу, да буде лествица која узводи људе са земље ка небу, да слави Тросунчаног Бога у лепоти вишњега Јерусалима, у Царству небеском“.

„Наш свети манастир овај, као што знате, као пусто место беше, ловишта зверова беху. Дошавши, пак, у лов, господину нашем и самодршцу, царствујућем све Српске земље, Стефану Немањи, ловећи овде, изволи се њему у пустом овом месту да сагради манастир овај, на покој и на умножење монашког чина“.

"And when he saw the building of the temple of the Most Holy [Mother of God in Studenica], this holy lord of mine, believe me, O gentlemen and brothers, that I saw his mind rise in height like a eagle flying to the sky, held on the ground tied with iron ropes, so he tore himself and ascended to the heights to reach that immortal and holy wellspring and to see the shade of the divine city of the Most High Jerusalem, of which, indeed, he became a citizen."

"Studenica was built to connect Heaven and Earth, to be a Ladder that raises people from Earth to Heaven, to glorify the Triune God in the beauty of the Most High Jerusalem, in the Kingdom of Heaven".

"This, our holy monastery, as is known, was a wasteland, a wild hunting ground. Yet, upon arriving to hunt, our master and consolidator, Stefan Nemanja, who ruled the entire Serbian lands, whilst hunting here, decided to build, on this wasteland, this monastery, for peace and for the multiplication of the monastic order."