Despite its prominent place in Serbian history, the Studenica Monastery nowadays is a simple and quiet place. I drove there from Vrnjacka Banja (a spa town near Kraljevo), stopping on my way at the rather grand Zica Monastery. Well, at least they have a car park that is made for hundreds of visitors. And its bright red colour (after Mount Athos) draws attention from afar.

None of that awaits at Studenica. It's a little more remote, uphill on a winding road through the pretty mountains that also are a Unesco Biosphere Reserve. I ended up at the backside of the monastery, where I took the last parking spot among 8 or so. The monastery is fully surrounded by a stone wall, including a tower and two gates.

The inner area of the monastic complex is quite small. Around the edges lie the rooms that are in use by the current monks - this is an active monastery. I visited on Sunday, May 5th, which happened to be Easter Sunday in the Julian Calendar which is used by the Serbian-Orthodox Church. The Serbian visitors were dressed in their Sunday best, and two families had their little babies baptized in the Church of the King by a bearded priest clothed in black.

The larger church (Church of the Virgin) has a pretty typical Rascian design, a mix of white marble and a romanesque front combined with Byzantine murals inside. Unfortunately, photography is not allowed inside, so I cannot show what it looks like. The paintings featuring mainly blue and gold colours cover most of the walls. The state of repair varies - the site does look as if it could use some extra money. No entrance fee is asked though.

What struck me most about this visit is the monastery's quietude and pleasant atmosphere. The areas between the churches are filled with flowering trees, great to smell, and a real attraction to large amounts of endless zooming bees. I sat on a bench in the garden for a while, just to enjoy it all.