Regional Diversity

With the weakening of central authority, distinctive regional styles emerge in the Balkan states. Serbia relied heavily on Byzantine styles and Byzantine craftsmen in the early fourteenth century but by the end of the century had developed a distinctive national style, often called the Morava School. Bulgarian architecture maintained close ties to Constantinople, but with a greater emphasis on the decorative features of the exterior. Romania, a latecomer on the scene, found its initial architectural inspiration in Serbia; the region of Moldavia developed a distinctive church architecture with its exterior walls decorated with fresco. Church architecture continued in all these areas to serve the Christian communities after the Ottoman Conquest.