The Dobrićevo Monastery ( sr, Манастир Добрићево, Manastir Dobrićevo) is a

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

built in the first half of the 13th century in the Kingdom of Serbia (modern-day Republic of Srpska,

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

). The building was originally built by the river

Trebišnjica The Trebišnjica ( sr-cyrl, Требишњица) is a river in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It used to be a sinking river, long above the ground. With a total length of above and under the ground, it is one of the longest sinking rivers in the world ...

and moved in 1964 to the village Orah in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

of Bileća because its original location was flooded after

hydro power plant Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

near Bileća was completed in 1965.

History

The monastery was built on the foundations of earlier Christian basilica which was, according to the local legend, built by

Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...

and Helena.

Slava Slava may refer to: Ships * ''Slava'' class cruiser, a modern Russian warship ** Soviet cruiser Slava (1979), now Russian cruiser ''Moskva'', a ''Slava'' class guided missile cruiser sunk during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine * Russian ba ...

of Dobrićevo Monastery is

Presentation of Mary The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known in the East as The Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple, is a liturgical feast celebrated on November 21 by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and some Anglo-Catholic Churches. The feas ...

. The legend says that

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...

was built after the main church building by members of the Aleksić family whose descendants still lived in nearby Oputna Rudina village at the beginning of the 20th century. During its history the monastery was destroyed or damaged many times. In 1672 it was burnt by the Ottomans. Ottomans again razed this monastery in 1687, after they were defeated and expelled from

Herceg Novi Herceg Novi ( cyrl, Херцег Нови, ) is a coastal town in Montenegro located at the Western entrance to the Bay of Kotor and at the foot of Mount Orjen. It is the administrative center of the Herceg Novi Municipality with around 33,000 ...

. During the

Herzegovina Uprising (1875–78) Herzegovina uprising or Herzegovinian uprising may refer to: * Herzegovina uprising (1596–97), fought by Serbs in Herzegovina against the Ottoman Empire, 1596–1597 * Herzegovina uprising (1852–62), fought by Serbs in Herzegovina against the O ...

the monastery was again destroyed and robbed. On 5 August 1914 the monastery was seriously damaged by the soldiers of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

who put straw inside the church and burned it in order to destroy the frescoes. On that occasion many books and relics in the church were destroyed too, while only a part was saved by the monks. Near Dobrićevo Monastery was Kosijerevo Monastery, on another side of river Trebišnjica which today belongs to Montenegro. Like Dobrićevo, Kosijerevo monastery has also been moved to another location, to Petrovići village, near

Nikšić Nikšić ( cnr, Никшић, italic=no, sr-cyrl, Никшић, italic=no; ), is the second largest city in Montenegro, with a total population of 56,970 located in the west of the country, in the centre of the spacious Nikšić field at the foot ...

in the region of Banjani tribe. The Dobrićevo Monastery was designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2006.

History

See also

References

Further reading