The Visoki Dečani Monastery (Serbian: Манастир Високи Дечани, romanized: Manastir Visoki Dečani; Albanian: Kisha Deçanit) is a medieval Serbian Orthodox Christian monastery located near Deçan, Kosovo. It was founded in the first half of the 14th century by Stefan Dečanski, King of Serbia. Dečani is by far the largest medieval church in the Balkans. Its architectural style, which emerged in Kingdom of Serbia at the end of the 12th century, combines Orthodox traditions with Romanesque influences and is regarded as one of the most complex architectural achievements of the 14th century. The monastery reflects the cultural exchange between the East and West, representing Serbia's historical position during the medieval period. The Dečani church contains frescos that show defining moments from both Serbian history and Christian tradition. It also features the largest preserved collection of Byzantine painting. For centuries, Dečani has played a key role in preserving the spiritual, cultural, and national identity of Serbs in Kosovo. Dečani is often considered to be one of the most endangered European cultural heritage sites. The monastery has been under the legal protection of Serbia since 1947 and is part of the World Heritage list titled "Medieval Monuments in Kosovo", designated as a Cultural Monument of Exceptional Importance.
History
The region of Dečani had a long ecclesiastical history. Since the beginning of the 11th century, it belonged to the Eparchy of Prizren, under the jurisdiction of the Archbishopric of Ohrid. In 1219, the Archbishopric of Žiča was created in the medieval Kingdom of Serbia, and northern parts of the Eparchy of Prizren were reorganized as the new Eparchy of Hvosno. Such ecclesiastical order was as well in place in the first half of the 14th century, and thus also at the time when establishment of the Dečani monastery was initiated. The construction of the monastery began during the reign of the Serbian King Stefan Dečanski, in 1327. The original founding charter from 1330, also known as the Dečani chrysobull, has been preserved to this day. After his death in 1331, Stefan Dečanski was buried in the still unfinished monastery, the construction of which was continued by his son Stefan Dušan, who became the King of Serbia in the same year. The main architect of the monastery was the Franciscan friar Vito of Kotor. According to Bratislav Pantelić, the monastic church displays some features of Gothic architecture, Byzantine-Romanesque architecture and contains Byzantine style fresco paintings and numerous Romanesque sculptures, part of a "Palaeologan renaissance". The construction of the monastery lasted for a total of 8 years and covered an area of 4000 square meters. The outstanding artistic quality of the paintings took 15 years and were done by painters with origins from Serbia, Byzantine and Adriatic coast. The wooden throne of the hegumen (monastery head) was finished at around this time, and the church interior was decorated. Dečanski's carved wooden sarcophagus was finished in 1340. Those who contributed to the construction of the monastery were collectively gifted a village close to the city of Prizren named Manastirica, where many settled following completion. Serbian princess and Bulgarian empress consort Ana-Neda (d. ca. 1350) was buried in the church. During the Middle Ages, entire Albanian villages were gifted by Serbian kings, particularly Stefan Dušan, as presents to the Serbian monastery of Visoki Dečani, as well as those of Prizren and Tetovo. Bulgarian writer Gregory Tsamblak, author of the Life of Stefan Dečanski, was the hegumen (monastery head) at the beginning of the 15th century.
Under Ottoman rule
In the middle of the 15th century, the region was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, but the monastery continued to exist. In 1557, the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć war renewed, encompassing the region, and thus the monastery remained under its jurisdiction until the abolition of the Patriarchate in 1766. From that time, the region was under jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The painter-monk Longin spent two decades in the monastery during the second half of the 16th century and created 15 icons with depictions of the Great Feasts and hermits, as well as his most celebrated work, the icon of Stefan Dečanski. In the late 17th century, the Ottomans plundered the monastery, but inflicted no serious damage. In 1819, archimandrite Zaharija Dečanac became Metropolitan of Raška and Prizren.
20th and 21st century Following the end of the First Balkan War, the monastery fell within the administration of the Kingdom of Montenegro. The then King Nikola I of Montenegro placed much of the surrounding land under the monastery's jurisdiction. During World War I, the monastery's treasures were plundered by the Austro-Hungarian Army, which occupied Serbia between 1915 and 1918. The monastery fell within the territory of the Italian-ruled Albanian Kingdom during World War II, and was targeted for destruction by the Albanian nationalist Balli Kombëtar and Italian fascist blackshirts in mid-1941. The Royal Italian Army responded by sending a group of soldiers to help protect the monastery from attack.
The monastic treasure was exhibited in the rebuilt medieval refectory in 1987. The monastery's monks sheltered refugees of all ethnicities during the Kosovo War, which lasted from March 1998 to June 1999. On 7 May 1998, the corpses of two elderly Albanians were found 400 metres (1,300 ft) from the monastery. They were reportedly killed by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) for allegedly collaborating with Serbian forces. The KLA staged an attack not far from the monastery on 8 May, killing one person and wounding four others. That evening, Deçan's 300 remaining Serbs came to the monastery to seek shelter. Albanian civilians seeking refuge in the monastery returned to their homes following the withdrawal of Serbian military from Kosovo in June 1999. An Italian unit of the Kosovo Force (KFOR) was subsequently assigned to guard the monastery, which was attacked on several occasions. Dozens of Romanis sought sanctuary in the monastery over the next several months, fearing retaliatory attacks by their Albanian neighbours, who accused them of collaborating with the Serbs and looting Albanian homes.
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