Poganovo Monastery - Saint John Theologian
The Monastery of Poganovo with its Church dedicated to Saint John the Theologian was built in the last decade of the 14th century by the mighty Serbian nobleman, Master Konstantin Dejanović Dragaš, the nephew of King Dusan and one of the last Serbian rulers after fall of the Serbian Medieval State to the Ottoman Empire. The relatively small but well-preserved Poganovo Monastery Church of the base similar to three-leaf clove follows some of the patterns of Morava school of architecture. The Poganovo Monastery Church was built of layers of stone. The seven-sided dome of Poganovo Monastery sits above the central part of the naos while the belfry is located on the western side. The fresco paintings of Poganovo Monastery completed in 1499 by masters from North Greece rank amongst the real Balkans masterpieces of that time. There are several economic structures around the church of Poganovo Monastery that perfectly and harmoniously fit to the entire monastic complex. The so-called "twin icon" - double-sided icon, one of the most beautiful 15th century work of art, which was the gift from the Empress Jelena Dragas, the wife of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos (1391–1425) to commemorate the death of her father, Constantine Dejan in 1394, has been hidden in the monastery until the First World War. Nowadays this icon is exhibited in the Icon Museum in Sofia, Bulgaria, as well as the excellent example of iconostasis from the 17th century, taken during the First World War. Poganovo Monastery is located 25 km southeast of Pirot, at the very entrance to the wild and tranquil Jerma River Canyon, between the Odorovac and Vlach streams, one of the most impressive scenery in Serbia. Poganovo Monastery largely owes its tranquility and outstanding spiritual atmosphere to the breathtaking surrounding landscape which makes anyone who visit it - to come back. 
