Mileševa monastery

Mileševa is a Serbian Orthodox monastery in Prijepolje Municipality, Serbia, built in Romanesque style above the Mileševka gorge. The church consists of a single nave with two low choirs and broad apsidal sections in the center and on the sides.

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.