Koporin Monastery
Koporin Monastery is located near the town of Velika Plana, tucked away in a forest valley, on the road connecting Velika Plana and Smederevska Palanka.The easiest way to reach the monastery is by car, by E75 highway from Belgrade to Velika Plana. Once you're in Velika Plana just follow the road signs, turn after the petrol station and go through the town passing by a nice little church. After a few more kilometers you will see a road sign pointing to the left, towards the monastery. From the sign, you have 1 more kilometer.
You can easily reach Velika Plana by bus or by train, since it’s on the main road going to the South of the country (there are at least five daily buses from Belgrade; all trains from Belgrade to Nis stop in Velika Plana).
From there you can catch a bus for Smederevska Palanka (buses operate very often, nine daily buses on workdays, three on weekends). Get off at the crossroads with the road to Koporin (ask the driver or any of the passengers for "Koporin"). From there, it's a short walk to the monastery.
If you don't manage to catch the bus, you can walk from Velika Plana to Koporin (5 to 10 km, which is about 1-2 hours walk) or hitchhike since the road is quite busy.
Koporin Monastery was built by Despot Stefan Lazarevic in 1408. The church is a one-naved, plain building with a dome, devoted to Sacred Martyr and Archdeacon Stefan. Only a minor part of frescoes has been preserved, including the portrait of Despot Stefan.
The monastery was devastated many times, and it played a very important role in the uprisings in 1788 (Koca’s Uprising) and in 1804 (First Serbian Uprising), as a hiding place for the rebels. This provoked the Turks to eventually burn it down. It was restored in the 19th century.
Near Koporin Monastery there's a spring of sacred water.
In the 1870’s, the relics of Despot Stefan Lazarevic were discovered in the monastery. Before that, it was believed that he was buried in his main foundation - Manasija Monastery. In his biography, written by Constantine the Philosopher, it is said that Despot Stefan died suddenly while hunting in Kosmaj Mountain in 1427, and that he was buried in his foundation, but it doesn’t say which one. Because of the sudden death and the looming danger of the Ottoman Turks, it was probably safer to have him buried in Koporin.
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