[1] Mentioned in the 16th century, the Rakovica Monastery is the oldest holy object in Belgrade, where the regular service is still being held.

It is situated on the eastern slopes of the 209-metre-high (686 ft) Straževica hill, 11 km (6.8 mi) south from downtown Belgrade.

The earliest written mention of the monastery was found in the travel accounts of Feliks Petančić from 1502, under the title of "Ranauicence monasterium".

[7] Located on the unfavorable place, in the vicinity of the major crossroads and settlements, the monastery was destroyed during the Ottoman advances towards Vienna in 1592 and the national riots in 1594.

The remains of the old building on its original location in Selo Rakovica (the traces of the walls, the column of the honorable table, etc.)

It is assumed that it was the voivode Radu I of Wallachia, Prince Lazar's son-in-law.,[1][9] which would place the period of the rebuilding in the 1370s or the 1380s,[3] as Radul ruled from 1377 to 1385.

Monk Grigorije, from the monastery, played an important role in the diplomatic efforts bringing to the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699, between Austria and Ottoman Empire.

Doing various favors to the Russian side, the monastery received numerous gifts, including money, church books, icons, etc.

[6] The most important for the reconstruction of the monastery was the ruling prince Miloš Obrenović (1815–1839; 1858–1860), who buried his infant son in Rakovica.

During World War II, Patriarch Gavrilo for a short period was held in detention in Rakovica by the occupational German army.

In 1958 the faculty was relocated to the newly finished educational facilities, including the campus, in the part of the Karaburma neighborhood, which today became known after the Serbian name for the seminary, Bogoslovija.

"[13] Though open for visits, after the burial of Patriarch Pavle in 2009, in order to preserve the peace in the complex, the weddings and baptisms are no longer performed in the monastery.

Within the yard of the monastery are the churches of Archangel Michael and Dormition of the Mother of God, while other objects are located just outside of it.

It was designed as a one-nave building in a three-conched plan, with the visible influence of the Morava architectural school.

Horizontal division on the facade, was performed using cordoned cornice, separating upper and lower zone into two unequal parts.

However, in 1862, the new iconostasis was set up, of the smaller dimensions, whose construction was financed by the Prince of Serbia Mihailo Obrenović.

[3] Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God, or as it is called Velika Gospojina among Serbs, was added to the complex in 2002.

The source supplies the entire monastery with water, and the small church dedicated to the Annunciation was finished in 2015 next to it.

It is expected that the construction will be finished by October 2018 and the interior by 19 December, which is when the Saint Nicholas feast day is observed by the Serbian Orthodox Church.

[2][16] The small church covers an area of 110 m2 (1,200 sq ft) and was projected by architect Olivera Dobrijević.

Hence, it is mainly built with bricks, the windows are made of oak, the floor is paved with the natural stone while the roof is covered with copper sheets.

[14][16] Across the monastery, there is a natural water spring Svetka Petka, named after the Parascheva of the Balkans, with small chapel.

[2] The chapel is sometimes simply called Svetinja ("holy relic"), and the folk myths claim the water has healing powers.

[7] A number of important historical and religious figures or the members of the royal Obrenović dynasty are buried within the monastery complex.

Son of the ruling prince Miloš Obrenović, Todor, who died as a baby in 1830, was buried in the monastery.

It was the reason why Miloš supported the renewal of the monastery during his reign, so as his successor, and Todor's brother, Mihailo Obrenović.

Simka Obrenović (1818–37), Jevrem's and Tomanija's daughter, is buried next to the church dedicated to the archangel Michael.

Patriarch Pavle specifically asked to be buried in the Rakovica Monastery and his tomb became sort of a pilgrimage site as it is toured by numerous visitors.

[1][2][17] The tombstone is in the shape of the cross made of white marble with the inscriptions "Patriarch Pavle" on one, and "I await the resurrection of the dead" on the other side.

[6] On 19 December 1909, the Saint Nicholas feast day, Nikolaj Velimirović took his monastic vows in the monastery.