Patriakana e Pejës

My favorite monastery we visited in Kosovo. Loved the entire complex. The stream, the flowers, the garden, the ruins, the nunnery, the tower, the buildings, the setting in the mountains and especially the monastery. Absolutely worthwhile visit while in Kosovo.

An amazing monastery within the nature!

Must visit while in Kosovo,l and see the amazing church and the engravings inside.

Seven stars. The one place you simply Must See in Kosovo. Stupendously beautiful frescos in the church. Right up there at the top of the best I have ever seen. An amazing product of religious art. And funny to see the black clad nuns walking around the place immersed in their god. Do they appreciate the glory of human endeavour? I’m suspecting that they do.

Definitely worth visiting , rather than the city itself. Then you can continue to the mountains. At the entrance you have to show your ID.

Beautiful buildings and setting. Stunning area. You need to show your passport or ID before being allowed into the grounds

Stunningly beautiful orthodox church. Take official ID because the guards by the barrier will ask for it. The complex took my breath away and although the church was locked a friendly nun soon came along to open it for me. The frescoes are simply wonderful, some date back to the 13th century. No photography indoors but some little books are available for sale and contain pictures of the paintings. Available in a few languages including English. I considered this 6 euro purchase as a sort of donation. The grounds are interesting and attractive too with remnants of older buildings, bells, graveyards and more all within the walls among trees and shrubs. Easily walkable from Peja/Pec it being approximately 2km from the centre.

Worth the visit, it's pretty close from the city if you have a car. When you go in you need to have your passport for a security check. After the gate there is a beautiful scenery before you enter the church

Quiet place. Patriarchate, in which only women live, completely self-sufficient. A place worth a visit.

Quiet oasis, access is free. Long dress code.

This is a beautiful and peaceful Serbian Orthodox Church and convent on the edge of town. ID has to be shown to Kosovar police at the entrance. Well worth visiting.

Very beautiful. The church is surrounded by grounds that are tended to by women who are all dressed in black but cheerfully greet visitors. This is a functioning environment, not a museum. A little stream runs through the monastery. The church is home to religious relics and hugely impressive frescos.

There are not many UNESCO heritage sites that you can have completely to yourself! This is one of them... I was the only person visiting and besides for 2 nuns chatting in the corner the place was completely empty... Read: quiet, peaceful and beautiful

Patriarchal Monastery of Peć, is a medieval Serbian Orthodox monastery located near the city of Peć, in Kosovo, it is situated by the Peć Bistrica, at the entrance of the Rugova Canyon. Built in the 13th century, it became the residence of Serbian Archbishops. It was expanded during the 14th century, and in 1346, when the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć was created, the Monastery became the seat of Serbian Patriarchs. Monastery complex consists of several churches, and during medieval and early modern times it was also used as mausoleum of Serbian archbishops and patriarchs. The Church of the Holy Apostles of Pec Patriarchate was built by Archbishop Arsenije I /St. Sava’s successor/ in the third decade of the 13th century, when the Bishopric seat was transferred from Zica Monastery to Pec, the mountainous hermitage at the edge of the fertile Metohija plateau. The Church of the Holy Apostles is the oldest church within the Pec Patriarchate monastic complex, planned and built according to the plans of Saint Sava and fresco-painted in 1250. Holy Apostles Church of Pec Patriarchate is unique combination of Rashka school and the Serbian-Byzantine style of architecture, constructed almost exclusively of stone and plastered. When built, the Church of the Holy Apostles was plastered and painted in dark red color /cherry-red/, likewise the Zica Monastery. In the complex of the latter Patriarchate of Pec, northward, the adjacent Church of St. Demetrius was built by Archbishop Nikodim in 1320, while Archbishop Danilo II built the churches of the Holy Archangels dedicated to Virgin Hodegetrios and the small Church of St. Nichola’s on its southern side. A morus nigra tree, 750-years-old, is preserved in the monastery yard, called Šam-dud, planted by Archbishop Sava II between 1263 and 1272. Almost all walls of the monastery are painted in frescoes of great artistic and historical value. The frescoes of the Holy Apostles Church date from different periods, but entire history of the styles of medieval wall painting can be seen on the walls of the Pec churches. The earliest frescoes of the Holy Apostles Church of Pec Patriarchate are in the sanctuary and the area beneath the dome and date from the middle of the 13th century. Those frescoes of the Saint Apostles Church of Pec Patriarchate, characterized by monumental quality and predominantly dark colors may be ranked among the most important achievements of the Serbian painting of the 13th century. The whole Patriarchate of Pec used to be girdled with a wall strengthened with five towers, one of the donjon additionally fortified. Of some monastic facilities, only foundations have survived. The residence at the back of the churchyard were set on fire by Albanian terrorists in 1981; the restoration begun in 1983 when the new residential quarters were erected and the reconstruction works in the northeastern part of the yard were completed in 1991. The Treasury of the Patriarchate of Pec was one of the richest treasuries in the Serbian medieval state. In spite of the unfortunate loss of most of the precious pieces, there is the oldest Cyrillic book of whole Balkans – the “Octoich Petoglasnika”, completed in Cetinje at the beginning of 1494 as the superb example of hand-written books. Today, the The Pec Patriarchate is still one of the most important Serbian Orthodox centers in the region with the sisterhood of 24 nuns. Since 2006 the Pec Patriarchate was accorded protected status as the part of UNESCO cultural Heritage of exceptional importance in danger.

Beautiful gardens and wonderful, historic frescos.

Fantastic peaceful orthodox place.

Another unbelievably beautiful monastery in the Balkans. A must…

I was duly impressed. I went without knowing much and after visiting I want to know more. The frescoes are incredible. The stones in the church are gorgeous. Very polished from all the footsteps. The Monastery grounds are peaceful and beautiful. It's Serbian in an area of Albanians. I don't know what the Peja locals think. I am an outsider.

Beautiful quiet church with stunning medieval frescoes. €2 for an audioguide.

One of the most amazing places I ever been. Monument of the God that has been under attacks most of the time and still holds there. People there are truly amazing doing the best they can to survive, but also protecting to history that is really important for Serbian people.All Orthodox people should visit this amazing monastery.

The historical seat of Serbian archbishops and patriarchs. Rebecca West wrote memorable pages about this place, and so did Sir Edward Gibbon.