Peja

Peja, also called Peć, stands on the river that descends from the Rugova mountains into the western Kosovo plain. Near the town is the Patriarchal Monastery of Peć, a group of churches adorned with medieval frescoes. Serbian archbishops established their seat here, and in 1346 the monastery became the centre of the Serbian patriarchate. The Ottomans captured Peja in 1455 and called it İpek. The town became a district centre, with mosques and public buildings as well as the older Christian monastery. The Serbian patriarchate was restored in 1557 under Ottoman rule, linking Orthodox communities across a wide territory. Its abolition in 1766 brought the church at Peć under the Patriarchate of Constantinople.