The Žiča Monastery is a Serbian Orthodox monastery near Kraljevo and Vrnjačka Banja at the exit of the Ibar Gorge. The monastery is located on the outskirts of the village of Žiča (Kraljevo). In its position as the episcopal seat of the first Serbian exarch, it is one of the three Serbian-Orthodox monasteries that carry the honorary title (Carska-)Lawra, along with the Studenica Monastery and the Athos Monastery Hilandar.
Žiča Monastery was founded in 1208 by Stefan Nemanjić, the “First Crowned One”, on the initiative of Saint Sava of Serbia. When the Serbian Orthodox Church became autonomous in 1219, Sava in Žiča became the first Serbian Archbishop of the Autocephalous Church in Serbia. The monastery of Žiča was thus the first seat of the Serbian Orthodox archdiocese before it was moved to Peć around 1250.
A majority of Serbian rulers were crowned in Žiča. Today the Žiča monastery is a convent for women.
The church of the monastery, dedicated to the Ascension of Christ, belongs to the Raška school.
Source: Wikipedia