Medieval Monuments in Kosovo in the context of "Gračanica monastery"

Peja (Albanian indefinite form: Pejë, pronounced [ˈpɛj]) or Peć (Serbian Cyrillic: Пећ, pronounced [pêːtɕ]), is the fifth most populous city in region of Kosovo and serves as the seat of the Peja Municipality and the District of Peja. It is located in the Rugova region on the eastern section of the Accursed Mountains along the Peja's Lumbardh in the western part of Kosovo.

In medieval times, the city was under Byzantine, Bulgarian and Serbian rule. After its integration into Serbian territory, it became the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church in 1346. The Patriarchal monastery of Peć is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the Medieval Monuments in Kosovo. Under Ottoman rule the city became a district capital with mosques and civil architecture. From the end of the nineteenth century until today, the city has been the site of nationalist aspirations and claims for both ethnic Albanians and Serbs, often resulting in tense inter-ethnic relations and conflict.

Stefan Uroš IV Dušan (Serbian Cyrillic: Стефан Урош IV Душан), also known as Dušan the Mighty (Serbian Cyrillic: Душан Силни; c. 1308 – 20 December 1355), was the King of Serbia from 8 September 1331 and Emperor of the Serbs, Greeks, Bulgarians and Albanians from 16 April 1346 until his death in 1355. Dušan is considered one of the greatest medieval Balkan conquerors.

Dušan conquered a large part of southeast Europe, becoming one of the most powerful monarchs of the era. Under Dušan's rule, Serbia was the most powerful state in Southeast Europe and one of the most powerful European states. At the time, Serbia was an Eastern Orthodox, multi-ethnic, and multilingual empire that stretched from the Danube in the north to the Gulf of Corinth in the south, with its capital in Skopje. He enacted the constitution of the Serbian Empire, known as Dušan Code, perhaps the most important literary work of medieval Serbia. Dušan promoted the Serbian Church from an archbishopric to a patriarchate, completed his father's mausoleum Visoki Dečani Monastery (now a UNESCO site), and founded the monastery of the Holy Archangels, among others. Under his rule, Serbia reached its territorial, political, economic, and cultural peak.

The Patriarchate of Peć Monastery (Serbian: Манастир Пећка патријаршија, romanized: Manastir Pećka patrijaršija, pronounced [pɛ̂ːt͡ɕkaː patrijǎ(ː)rʃija]; Albanian: Patrikana e Pejës) or the Patriarchal Monastery of Peć, is a medieval Serbian Orthodox monastery located near the city of Peja (Serbian: Peć), Kosovo. 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. The monastery complex consists of four churches, and during medieval and early modern times it was also used as mausoleum of Serbian archbishops and patriarchs. Since 2006, it is part of the "Medieval Monuments in Kosovo", a combined World Heritage Site along with three other monuments of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

The monastery is ecclesiastically administered by the Eparchy of Raška and Prizren, but it has special (stavropegial) status, since it is under direct jurisdiction of the Serbian Patriarch whose title includes Archbishop of Peć. The monastery church is unique in Serbian medieval architecture, with three churches connected as one whole, and a total of four churches.

Our Lady of Ljeviš (Serbian: Богородица Љевишка, Bogorodica Ljeviška; Albanian: Kisha e Shën Premtës) is a 14th-century Serbian Orthodox church in the town of Prizren, in southern Kosovo. Since 2006, the church is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site named Medieval Monuments in Kosovo.

The church was built in the beginning of the 14th century on the orders of Stefan Milutin, King of Serbia, on the site of a former Byzantine church. The rebuilt church featured frescoes by Byzantine painters, Michael and Eutychios Astrapas. After the Ottomans completed its annexation of the region in the 15th century, a minaret was erected and the complex was converted into a mosque. In 1912, when the Serbian army annexed Kosovo, the status of the church was restored. After World War II, under SFR Yugoslavia, it saw extensive restoration and reconstruction and functioned as a museum. The site was heavily damaged during the 2004 unrest in Kosovo and has been going through several phases of restoration since then.