MACUT: ENDANGERED SERBIAN HOLY SITES IN KOSOVO AND METOHIJA MUST BE PRESERVED

BELGRADE, JULY 30 /SRNA/ - An exhibition dedicated to Serbian cultural heritage sites on the List of World Heritage in Danger featuring the monasteries of Dečani, Gračanica and the Patriarchate of Peć, as well as the Church of Our Lady of Ljeviš in Prizren, was opened this evening at the National Museum in Vranje.

Serbian Prime Minister Đuro Macut opened the exhibition, titled "Serbian Medieval Monuments in Danger," saying that these holy sites are not only masterpieces of medieval architecture and art, but also centuries-old testimonies to the identity, faith, culture and historical continuity of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija. At the same time, he stressed, they are also part of Europe's and the world's cultural heritage, which is precisely why their preservation is a shared responsibility. He reminded that the exhibition was first presented at UNESCO headquarters on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the inclusion of the Visoki Dečani Monastery on the World Heritage List. Macut stressed that, through a combination of art and modern digital technologies, the creative team had succeeded in bringing to visitors not only the beauty of these holy sites, but also their vulnerability and the need for them to be preserved. He emphasised that the Government of Serbia would continue to invest responsibly in the protection of cultural heritage, the restoration of museums, monasteries, churches and other cultural monuments throughout Serbia, as well as to work persistently, in cooperation with relevant international institutions, to preserve Serbian cultural heritage sites in Kosovo and Metohija, the Government of Serbia said in a statement.