Kalenić Monastery
The Kalenić Monastery is an endowment of the wealthy Serbian medieval protovestiar (high Byzantine title) Bogdan, treasurer to the court of Prince Lazar and later despot Stefan Lazarevic from the 15th century. This beautiful Serbian Medieval Monastery is situated in secluded area of the Central Serbian, on the gentle slopes of Gledićke planine Mountains, close to Rekovac village, west of Oparić village in Levac area. For its highly refined and lavish sculptural and ornamental decoration of the facade, the Kalenić Monastery is renown as the unique and one of the best example of the Morava school of the Serbian Medieval architecture.
The church of the Kalenic Monastery is dedicated to the Presentation of the Holy Virgin in the temple and was erected and fresco painted between 1407 and 1413. The Kalenic church has trefoil base with the narthex added on the western side. Above the central part of the church is the high elongated dome, while above the narthex rises also the dome, without windows. The church of Kalenic Monastery rises to the heights, and features the facade with two horisontal corniches that encircle it. The Church of Kalenic Monastery is uniquely beautiful from the outside thanks to the masterly-laid blocks of white stone and red bricks and wonderful stone-carved relief decoration. The most beautiful parts of the shallow relief outer decoration of the Kalenic Monastery church which depict birds, griffins, humans and lions are the two-stranded braids around windows and portals.
The fresco decoration of Kalenić Monastery was completed in 1413 and makes the masterpiece of master Radoslav and his companions who were the greatest Serbian artists of the first part of the 15th century. In the narthex of the church of the Kalenic Monastery there is the fresco depicting founders Bogdan and his wife Milica and his brother Peter, as well as the portrait of Despot Stefan Lazarević. The scenes of Wedding in Cana and the Holy Warriors and Healing the Leper distinguish themselves among wonderful frescoes of Kalenic Monastery.
After repeated Turkish assaults and attacks, the Kalenic Monastery was abandoned in the late 17th century. The Kalenic Monastery was restored in 1766, but during the rebellion against the Turks, in which the Kalenic Monastery monks took part, 1788-1791, the monastery was set aflame. The monks returned to the Kalenic Monastery only towards the end of the 18th century. From 1815 until 1839 the church of Kalenic Monastery hosted the holy relics of King Stefan the First-Crowned, afterwards transferred back to the Studenica Monastery. The Museum exposition of Šumadija Diocese exists in Kalenic Monastery.
Kalenic Monastery is nunnery and belongs to Sumadija Bishopric. Our guests are always happy to visit the Kalenic Monastery, but are also excited to stay in the new, highly comfortable, traditionally appointed Hospice /Dormitory/, built in 2008. Rooms of the Kalenic Dormitory are single, twin and triple built of natural materials – stone and wood and equipped with wooden furniture, with nicely appointed bathrooms with showers. During their stay at the Kalenic Monastery Dormitory, guests are served with true monastic – non meat- or traditional food and wine prepared by nuns with love and dedication of produces grown at the monastery estate.
