Pridvorica Monastery

A shrine in the shadow of Studenica

Pridvorica Monastery, dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Lord, was built in the 12th century, at the same time as nearby Studenica. It belongs to the Raška school and is a typical example of medieval Serbian architecture: a single-nave church with a dome and a semicircular apse.

The name “Pridvorica” derives from the tradition that it was built by a servant who served at the court of the Nemanjićs (“pri dvoru”, at court). It is mentioned in the charter of Stefan Nemanja granted to Studenica as a women's monastery whose nuns engaged in weaving and passed on their skills to the local population.

Renovations and life today

Over the centuries the church was renovated several times (after 1557 and in the mid-19th century), which changed its exterior appearance. The iconostasis was painted by Sreten Protić Molerović in 1835. For a long time it was a village church, and since 2007 it has again been a men's monastery with an abbot and novices.

Surrounded by unspoiled nature on the slopes of Mount Golija, Pridvorica is a cultural monument of great importance and one of the few Serbian monasteries with its own coat of arms. Even today it bears witness to the spiritual heritage of the Nemanjić era.