Raška architectural school
| Raška architectural school | |
|---|---|
View of the Studenica Monastery built in the Raška style. | |
| Branch | Architecture |
| Years active | c. 1170–1300 (originally) |
| Location | Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Macedonia |
| Major figures | Nemanjić dynasty ktetors |
| Influences | Middle Byzantine and Romanesque |
| Influenced | Serbo-Byzantine |
Raška architectural school (Serbian: Рашка школа архитектуре), also known as the Raška style (Рашки стил, Raški stil), or simply as the Raška school, is an ecclesiastical architectural style that flourished in the Serbian Middle Ages (ca. 1170–1300), during the reign of the Nemanjić dynasty. The style is present in several notable churches and monasteries: Studenica, Peć, Sopoćani, Morača, Arilje and many others. This style descends from the traditional Byzantine architecture with early Christian church-design, and often utilizes a combination of stone and wood material. The Byzantine style was contrasted with that of the Latin-Romanesque style in Zeta. With the reunification of Serbia proper (Raška) and Zeta (Duklja) under Stefan Nemanja, a cultural bridge connected Serbia with the best-known centers of world art, Thessaloniki and Constantinople on the one side and the Republic of Venice and the Adriatic coast on the other.