04 — The Founder of Churches

Nemanja poured the wealth of his realm into monasteries. This section surveys his foundations — the Toplica churches of his appanage years, the fortress-monastery of Đurđevi Stupovi above Ras, and above all Studenica, the white-marble mausoleum-church that became the mother-house of Serbian monasticism and the shrine of his own relics — and the Raška architectural school they created.

Tradition: Serbian Orthodox

Contents

• Đurđevi Stupovi and the Endowments — the first foundations of his appanage (St. Nicholas at Kuršumlija, the Theotokos on the Toplica) and the fortress-monastery of St. George’s Towers above Ras.
• Studenica, the Marble Mausoleum — the great white-marble katholikon Nemanja built to be his own resting-place, the mother-church of the Serbian tradition and the birthplace of the Raška school.

See Also

• The Great Renunciation — Nemanja’s tonsure at Studenica, the church he had built
• The Relics and the Translation to Studenica — the relics brought back to rest in his mausoleum
• St. Sava: Bringing Back Symeon — Studenica as the shrine of the myrrh-streaming founder