View source for Devič

{{Short description|Monastery in Kosovo}}
{{Infobox monastery
| name = Devič Monastery
| image = 12-Devic.jpg
| caption = Devič Monastery reconstruction after it was burned down in 2004
| full = Манастир Девич
| other_names = Manastiri i Deviçit
| order = [[Serbian Orthodox]]
| established = 1434
| disestablished = 
| mother = 
| diocese = [[Eparchy of Raška and Prizren]]
| churches = 
| founder = [[Despot (court title)|Despot]] [[Đurađ Branković]]
| dedication = [[Joanikije Devic|St. Joanikije of Devič]]
| people = Đurađ Branković<br>[[Patriarch]] [[Makarije Sokolović|Makarije]]<br>Euphemia the Nun
| location = [[Skenderaj]], [[Drenica]], [[Kosovo]]
| public_access = Limited
| heritage_designation = [[Immovable Cultural Heritage of Exceptional Importance (Serbia)|Cultural monument of Exceptional Importance]]
| designated_date = 24 March 1948
}}
The '''Devič Monastery'''  ({{langx|sr|Манастир Девич|Manastir Devič}}; {{langx|sq|Manastiri i Deviçit}}) is a [[Serbian Orthodox]] [[abbey]] in [[Kosovo]]. It was built in 1434 and is dedicated to [[Joanikije Devic|St Joanikije of Devič]]. Devič was declared [[Monuments of Culture of Exceptional Importance (Serbia)|Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance]] in 1990. 

==History==
The founder of the monastery is [[Despot (court title)|Despot]] [[Đurađ Branković]], who had it built in memory of his daughter. In the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] census from 1455, the monastery is mentioned as the church of the [[Theotokos]] (dedicated to [[The Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple]]). During Turkish occupation the monastery was pulled down, but the church and the site with the grave of St. Joanikije was reconstructed, and was painted in 1578.
[[Image:Kosovo-metohija-koreni-duse048.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Serbs leaving monastery after [[2004 unrest in Kosovo|2004 unrest]]]]
The monastery was destroyed and burnt down during [[World War II]] in 1941 by forces of the [[Albanian Fascist Party]], the prior Damaskin Bošković was killed, and Italian troops disassembled the two big bells and took them away in 1942. It was rebuilt in 1947.

Devič was a target of the [[Kosovo Liberation Army]] (KLA) in 1999. The monastery was vandalized and all food and two cars were stolen. The marble tomb of the patron saint St. [[Joannicius of Devič]] was desecrated by local Albanian in June 1999. Since then it has been under the constant protection of [[France|French]] [[Kosovo Force|KFOR]] troops.<ref name="cnn">{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9906/17/kosovo.04/|title=CNN - KLA rebels accused of vandalizing Serb monastery - June 17, 1999|publisher=CNN|access-date=2014-03-03|archive-date=2016-03-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304095609/http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9906/17/kosovo.04/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sv-luka.org/Kosovo2000Part1.pdf |title=DESTRUCTION OF CHRISTIAN CHURCHES AND MONASTERIES IN KOSOVO AND METOHIJA SINCE ARRIVAL OF NATO |website=Sv-luka.org |access-date=2016-11-11 |archive-date=2014-08-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140828014859/http://www.sv-luka.org/Kosovo2000Part1.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

It was the target of new attacks by Albanians in the most serious [[unrest in Kosovo]] on 18 March 2004 when the nuns were evacuated for safety reasons by [[Denmark|Danish]] KFOR troops. Following that the monastery was pillaged and torched. The [[Serbian Orthodox Church]] received confirmation of the monastery's plight the following day from the [[United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo]] ([[United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo|UNMIK]]).

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Devič Monastery_interior.jpg|Burned and desecrated interior of the Devič. Note [[Kosovo Liberation Army|UÇK]] graffiti in the church apse.
File:10-Devic.jpg|Burned monastery lodgings covered in snow
File:11-Devic.jpg|Burned monastery lodgings covered in snow
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Monuments of Culture of Exceptional Importance (Serbia)|Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance]]
*[[Tourism in Kosovo]]
*[[List of Serbian Orthodox monasteries]]

==Notes==
{| style="margin-left:13px; line-height:150%"
|-
|  style="text-align:right; vertical-align:top;"|a.&nbsp;&nbsp;
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{commons category|Devič}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book|last1=Ferrari|first1=Silvio|last2=Benzo|first2=Andrea|title=Between Cultural Diversity and Common Heritage: Legal and Religious Perspectives on the Sacred Places of the Mediterranean|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lhUGDAAAQBAJ|year=2014|publisher=Routledge|location=London & New York|isbn=9781317175032 }}

==External links==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4O91unM_dY Video] of the burned, destroyed and desecrated Devič monastery complex
*{{cite web|title=Манастир Девич у близини Србице|publisher=Споменици културе у Србији|url=http://spomenicikulture.mi.sanu.ac.rs/spomenik.php?id=419}}
*[http://www.kosovo.net/edevic.html Official page on Devic Monastery]
*[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/balkans/stories/letter052599.htm WashPost: Serbian Nun Stands Her Ground Against Albanians 5-25-1999]
*[http://www.kosovo.net/pogrom_march/devic1/page_01.htm Photo story on destruction of Devič, ERP KIM, March 2004]

{{Cultural Heritage of Exceptional Importance}}
{{Serbian Orthodox Church}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devic}}
[[Category:Christian monasteries established in the 1430s]]
[[Category:Serbian Orthodox monasteries in Kosovo]]
[[Category:Cultural Monuments of Exceptional Importance (Serbia)]]
[[Category:Medieval Serbian architecture]]
[[Category:Medieval Serbian sites in Kosovo]]
[[Category:Destroyed churches in Kosovo]]
[[Category:15th-century Serbian Orthodox church buildings]]
[[Category:Skenderaj]]
[[Category:Cultural heritage of Kosovo]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials in Kosovo]]
[[Category:Churches destroyed by arson]]
[[Category:Patriarchate of Peć]]