Gradac Monastery

From Studenica Monastery, we will continue south for about an hour through the winding roads of the Golija Mountains Nature Reserve or through the Ibar River Valley to the next historical site, Gradac Monastery. This is one of the gems of the Valley of the Kings—a monastery and cathedral built by a beloved Serbian queen, Helen of Anjou, at the end of the reign of her husband, King Uroš I (1276), and at the beginning of the reign of her son, King Dragutin.

Queen Helena arrived in Serbia in 1245 from France and gave birth to Uroš’s four children, two of whom became kings (Dragutin and Milutin). She was highly influential in the kingdom and was recognized by the Pope as a role model. On her initiative, the first monastery of its kind for women was built in Gradac, which also had a school where noble families sent their young daughters to receive a general education. It was the first women’s school in Serbia—a kind of court of culture and education, inspired by the courts of the great queens of France in the 12th century, Eleanor of Aquitaine and Marie of Champagne. The place was of great importance to Helena, who lived until 1314 and was buried there.

Helen of Anjou brought with her the Gothic style of architecture from France, and thus, the Cathedral of Gradac features both Gothic and predominantly Romanesque influences. At the same time, the cathedral is one of the best examples of the unique Raška style that developed in Serbia. The monastery and church were abandoned during the Ottoman period but were restored in 1975. Today, it is an active nunnery and a national tourist and heritage site, located not far from the town of Raška in the Valley of the Kings, at the foot of the beautiful Golija Mountains.

inside gradac monastery Serbia

painting gradac monastery Serbia