Studenica Monastery is a Serbian Orthodox monastery located 39 km southwest of Kraljevo in the central part of Serbia. The founder of the medieval Serbian state, Stefan Nemaña, founded the monastery in 1190. Its fortified walls contain two churches, the Virgin and the King, both built in white marble. The monastery is known for its Byzantine art frescoes from the 13th and 14th centuries. In 1986, UNESCO included it on the list of World Heritage Sites, highlighting both its architecture and the works it houses.
Archimandrite Julijan Knežević was a monastery higumen (1961-2001)
The Studenica monastery dedicated to the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the main church of all Serbian temples. Built over a long period. The first stage of work was completed in the spring of 1196 when Stefan Nemanja stepped down from the throne and established the foundation of the monastery. Later Stefan Nemanja moved to the Chelandariou monastery on Mount Athos and his son and his successor Stefan took over Studenica. In 1199 Nemaña died in Chelandariou.
His third son Saint Sava, after reconciling his brothers Stefan and Vukan, transferred his father’s remains to the monastery. Under his tutelage the monastery became the medieval political, cultural and spiritual center of Serbia. Sava also composed the Studenica Typikon, the rulebook where he described the life of Saint Simon (Nemaña) leaving evidence of the monastic and spiritual life in his time.
The monastery enjoyed the continued care of members of the Nemanjić dynasty. King Radoslav in 1235 added a splendid narthex to the church. King Milutin built a small church dedicated to Saints Joachim and Anna. Since the fall of the last of the medieval Serbian states in 1459, the monastery was frequently raided by the Turks.
In 1569 the first of the significant restorations of the monastic complex was carried out. In this restoration the frescoes of the church of the Virgin were repainted. At the beginning of the XVII century an earthquake and a fire destroyed part of the buildings as well as historical documents that were in it.