At the fourth place in the hierarchy of monasteries in Agion Oros is the monastery of Chilandari. This monastery is Serbian and it is located on the northeastern part of the Athos peninsula while it is surrounded by mountains that construct an amazing landscape.
The name of the monastery comes from Gregorius Chilandaris, a hermit and founder of a small church built on the spot that the monastery stands now.
The most important date in the history of the monastery was the year 1198 AD when the emperor Alexios the Third the Angel gave the region to the Serbian Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja and his second-son Rastko as an eternal gift to Serbia. His first-born son was already a monk in Agion Oros and was named Savvas. A short while later, his father followed and he was named Symeon. Both of them worked to built and expand the monastery, which grew, gained wealth, and undoubtedly became a spiritual and religious center of the Serbian people.
Hilandar monastery is built 5 kilometers away from a small, natural harbor while it stands out for the extremely beautiful landscape that surrounds the monastery. The guests can admire murals of the 15th century and icons that are considered to perform miracles. In the monastery, there are numerous small churches dedicated to several saints.
In 2004 a big fire caused many damages but the restoration works started immediately with money from countless donations and the personal effort of the 70 monks that live in the monastery.