The architecture in Serbia, from about 1370 until its fall to the
Ottomans in 1459, was very experimental. During this time of adverse political circumstances, a remarkable flurry of building activity took place. Labeled the "Morava School" and declared a "national style" by
Gabriel Millet, it awaits a proper assessment from aesthetic and other points of view. The
katholikon of
Ravanica Monastery, built in the 1370s, may be considered the inaugural statement of this style, which drew its characteristics from
Mount Athos, from Serbian architecture itself of the 1340s and 1350s, and from other still unclear sources. The appearance of lateral
apses along the flanks of the Ravanica church clearly suggests the growing importance of the Athonite monastic formula, juxtaposed with the five-domed church scheme. The most perplexing aspect of this architecture however are its sculptural laments, whose sheer quantity, exuberance, and variety of motifs have defied explanations. Evident on a large number of buildings, from
Lazarica in
Kruševac to
Naupara,
Rudenica, Veluce,
Ljubostinja, and Milentija, the style of decoration displays affinities with
Armenia and
Georgia, the world of
Islam, and even
Venice and the West. Its persistence into the fifteenth century, on church facades such as that of
Kalenić Monastery (built 1413–1417), reveals the vitality of this new medium, which in its later stages began to incorporate human and animal forms, often related to mythological themes presumably drawn from manuscript illuminations. In the waning years of Serbia's independence, the imminent threat of Ottoman forces prompted major efforts in fortification architecture. Nor did this security-related phenomenon bypass religious settings. The
Manasija (Resava) Monastery in Serbia, for example, incorporates a system of massive walls, ten towers, and a huge dungeon, all built in 1407–1418. Endowed by the Serbian despot Stefan Lazarević, the strongly defended Manasija became not only his final resting place but also the last major center of cultural activity in Serbia before its fall to the Ottomans in 1459. ==Gallery==