Istog / Istok Kosovo
Serbian Orthodox
The monastery's church is dedicated to St Nicholas. According to legend, King Stephen Decanski founded the church and dedicated it to St Nicholas as a votive, for this was the place where St Nicholas had healed his eyes. The original church was probably 14th century and restored a number of times. This building is probably from the 18th century. There are eleven protected 16th, 17th, and 18th century icons in the church. Albanian Nazis used it as a prison during World War II to hold Serbian and Montenegrin detainees. Today it is a convent for Serbian nuns and a protected cultural monument. The Gorioc Monastery is a dependency of the larger Decani Monastery.