Naupara monastery is a

Serbian Orthodox Christian The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the population in ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

situated 30 km south of the town of

Kruševac Kruševac ( sr-cyr, Крушевац, , tr, Alacahisar or Kruşevca) is a city and the administrative center of the Rasina District in central Serbia. It is located in the valley of West Morava, on Rasina river. According to the 2011 census, t ...

and about 190 km from

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

. The original building was completed in 1391 but was severely destroyed by Turks in 1454. It was not restored until 1835 when brothers Stojan Simić and

Aleksa Simić Aleksa Simić (Boljevci, March 18, 1800 – Belgrade, March 17, 1872) was a Serbian politician serving as Prime Minister of Serbia, Prime Minister on three terms and Government Minister on multiple terms. Biography Simić was a part of the ''U ...

took on the project. They offered the church a bell, sacred books, and other religious items upon its completion. Naupara is built in the Serbian architectural style of the

Morava school Morava architectural school ( sr, Моравска школа архитeктуре/Moravska škola arhitekture), also known as the Morava style (Моравски стил/Moravski stil), or simply as the Morava school (Моравска школа/M ...

and was constructed in the same style as the

Lazarica Church Church of the Holy First Martyr Stephen ( sr, Црква Светог Првомученика Стефана/Crkva Svetog Prvomučenika Stefana), better known as the Lazarica Church (Serbian: Црква Лазарица/Crkva Lazarica), is a Serb ...

. The paintings and

iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis ( gr, εἰκονοστάσιον) is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand t ...

within the monastery date to the 19th century since the original frescos were ruined during the restoration. Today, Naupara is an active nunnery, with a small number of nuns who tend to the land.

References

Serbian Orthodox monasteries in Serbia Kruševac {{Serbia-geo-stub