Gračanica monastery, near the town of Lipljan in the Kosovo province, is one of the last monumental foundations of King Stefan Uroš II Milutin Nemanjić. The church, now dedicated to the Dormition of the Holy Virgin, was built on the ruins of two earlier churches- the older from the early Byzantine period and the latter, the Church of the Holy Virgin, most likely built in the first half of the 13th century. The foundation of King Milutin was initially dedicated to the Feast of Annunciation and its construction was completed before 1321. That year, King Milutin issued the charter to the monastery, which is written on the west wall of the south chapel next to the sanctuary and includes the following words: "I have seen the ruins and the decay of the Holy Virgin's church of Gračanica, the bishopric of Lipljan, so I have built it from the ground and painted and decorated it both within and without".

The exonarthex and the tower were added a few decades later to protect the frescoes on the west facade. The Turks heavily damaged the narthex several times between 1379 and 1383, when the tower was burned and the fire devoured a rich collection of manuscripts and other precious objects. The exonarthex was reconstructed in 1383. Again, Gračanica suffered damages around the time of the Kosovo battle (1389). During Turkish rule, Gračanica became an important cultural center. Metropolitan Nikanor (1528-1555), founded a printing house in Gračanica, one of the first in the Serbian lands, and he also obtained a large number of manuscripts and printed books for the monastery. He also commissioned two representative icons of Christ and the Mother of God enthroned, which are now a part of the iconostasis. The Royal Doors were commissioned in 1564 by Metropolitan Dionisije, whose death is represented on a fresco in the narthex. A major restoration took place through the efforts of Patriarch Makarije Sokolović. Оpenings on the external narthex were walled up and new frescoes were completed in 1570. Owing to Patriarch Pajsije, the church was covered with a lead roof, and in 1620, the large cross with the Crucifixion was made for the iconostasis. The monastery was exposed to new damages toward the end of the seventeenth century, in the war between Austria and Venice against the Turks. The rebel Yeğen Pasha who terrorized Serbian lands, looted the treasure hidden in the church by Patriarch Arsenije III who moved the precious objects from the treasury of the Patriarchate of Peć to Gračanica. Difficult times continued during the 18th and the first half of the 19th century when the monastery became uninhabited by monks on several occasions and served as a parish church. A local overlord Yashar-pasha Džinić, who terrorized the population and Serbian churches and monasteries, removed the marble floor and lead roof from the Gračanica church to furnish his mosque and hammam. Even after Kosovo and Metohija were liberated from Turkish rule, following the Serbian victory in the Balkan War in 1912, Gračanica still suffered losses, as a couple of years later, during the Great War, Bulgarian soldiers raided the monastery and took many manuscripts with them.

Between 1957 and 1964, archaeological surveys on the monastery grounds were carried out, followed by conservation works. The last conservation campaign was conducted from 2010 to 2018, and it focused on the entire wall painting of the church. Since 2006, the monastery Gračanica has been enlisted in the Unesco World Heritage list, as a part of the Medieval Monuments in Kosovo group, together with Dečani, Mother of God Ljeviška, and Patriarchate of Peć, also inscribed in the World Heritage in Danger list of the same organization.

Gračanica represents one of the masterpieces not only of Serbian medieval art but also of late Byzantine art and architecture in general. It is a five-domed structure with a cross-in-square plan, parakklesia-side chapels flanking the tripartite sanctuary, nave, narthex, catichoumena above it, and side aisles. There is a sense of increased verticality, achieved in part by the placement of domes and other architectural elements. The church was built in alternate courses of brick and stone. The exonarthex was added subsequently, formed by massive pillars connected by arcades, that were later walled up, and during restoration works in the 20th century, shafts between columns and pillars were opened again and later covered with glass windows.

Painting in the church is relatively well-preserved. It is considered that it was made by Michael Astrapas, a member of the famous artist family from Thessaloniki, who was also responsible for the painting of some of the other foundations of King Milutin. He was undoubtedly accompanied by assistants and guided by a theologically educated advisor in some of the iconographic and programmatic choices concerning the fresco painting. Of particular interest are portraits of King Milutin and Queen Symonis with angels carrying crowns above them, while at the apex of the arch, Christ is depicted blessing. The theme of divine approval of royal power is continued on the adjoining wall where the first-ever composition of the Nemanjić family tree, based on compositions of the Tree of Jesse, is painted. On the other side, the parents of King Milutin, Queen Jelena and King Uroš are painted in their monastic garbs with Christ Emmanuel between them, holding their monastic veils. On the opposite side, on the west wall of the narthex, the complex scene of Last Judgment is painted, adjoined by the representation of the heavenly garden on the other side of the entrance to the church. In the nave, there are also extensive scenes from the cycles of Great Feasts, Christ’s Life and Miracles, as well as Passion; a significant portion of space is allotted to the cycle of Calendar. The scenes from the life of St. Nicholas are in the north parecclesion, while the walls of the south one display scenes from the Old Testament and the lives of Christ and the Mother of God.

There are also considerable frescoes from 1570 in the exonarthex, commissioned by Patriarch Makarije Sokolović. There are some paintings in the narthex that date back to the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, including the Baptism of Jesus, parts of the Virgin's Akathistos Hymns, and the Ecumenical Councils. Two subjects, however, dominate the narthex of Gračanica: the Doxology to the Holy Virgin and the procession of the Serbian archbishops from Saint Sava to Patriarch Makarije Sokolović. A historical composition of the death of the Metropolitan of Gračanica Dionisije covers the southeast part of the narthex.

Overall, the fresco painting and architecture of the church of Gračanica represent one of the finest monuments of Serbian medieval art. It attracts a great number of tourists from different parts of the world and the curiosity of researchers who devote themselves to its study.