Mileševa Monastery

Mileševa was founded around 1235 by King Vladislav as his burial church, and it holds the fresco known as the White Angel: the angel at the empty tomb, painted on a deep blue ground, gesturing toward the place where Christ had lain, in a style that owes more to classical models than to later Byzantine convention. It is reproduced everywhere in Serbia and was famously among the first images transmitted by satellite from Europe to America. The church also held the relics of Saint Sava for a period. Much of the building was damaged and rebuilt over the centuries and the frescoes have suffered, with later overpainting removed in restoration to expose the thirteenth-century layer beneath. A community lives at the monastery.

History

King Vladislav founded the monastery between 1234 and 1236, and in 1236 he brought here the relics of his uncle Saint Sava from Trnovo, where they stayed until 1594. Travellers such as Cornelis de Schepper recorded their visits, it received gifts from Ivan IV and from Wallachian and Moldavian rulers, and it was declared a Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1979 (Wikipedia, Mileševa Monastery).

The main sights

• The White Angel - the thirteenth-century fresco on its blue ground.
• Early painting - the exposed original layer under later overwork.
• The burial church - King Vladislav's foundation and tomb.
• The valley setting - the monastery below wooded slopes near the Lim.

When to go

April to October for easy travel; the monastery is open year round. Mornings on weekdays are quietest. Feast days bring pilgrims in numbers.

Practical notes

Photography inside is usually forbidden, which surprises visitors who come specifically for the fresco. The interior is dark and the painting takes time to read. Dress codes apply. Prijepolje is a plain town and services are limited.

Nearby

Prijepolje lies west; Zlatibor is north.

Key facts