Mileševa monastery, Serbian Orthodox monastery in Prijepolje Municipality, Serbia

Mileševa is a Serbian Orthodox monastery near Prijepolje, in the valley of the Mileševka River. Its church, dedicated to the Ascension of Christ, belongs to the Raška school: a single nave that widens from west to east, a dome raised on stepped arches, and a narthex added in 1236 with a dome from the 19th-century restoration. The white stone church has two octagonal towers with grey domes and a low rounded apse projecting from the facade.

King Stefan Vladislav I founded the complex between 1234 and 1236 as an endowment of his rule. Later the relics of Saint Sava were brought here from Trnovo in Bulgaria, turning the site into a pilgrimage destination.

Visitors enter a sacred space covered in frescoes from the 13th century, where royal portraits from the Nemanjić era appear alongside religious figures. The fresco of an angel painted in pale tones remains one of the most recognizable works of Byzantine painting in Serbian territory and draws people from many countries.

The complex follows set visiting hours and requires appropriate clothing that covers shoulders and knees. Visitors who allow extra time after arriving through the gorge can take in the painted interiors without hurry.

In the 16th century a printing press was set up here, one of the first on Serbian soil, producing liturgical books with hand-colored decoration. Monks transferred texts onto paper and added color, with each page passing through several stages of work.