Dobrićevo Monastery
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The Dobrićevo Monastery (), the
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, is a
Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the populat ...
monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
located in
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, modern-day Bileća municipality,
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. The monastery was originally built in the 15th or 16th century by the river
Trebišnjica The Trebišnjica ( sr-cyrl, Требишњица) is a river in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the right tributary of the Neretva. Before it was utilized for hydro exploitation via various hydrotechnical interventions and systems with different purp ...
and then moved in 1964 upstream to Orah village, near town of
Bileća Bileća ( sr-cyrl, Билећа) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the town has a population of 7,476 inhabitants, while the municipality has 10,807 inhabitants. History The first traces of ci ...
in the eponymous
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
, because its original location was flooded after the completion of the Grančarevo Dam in 1965.
On 17 May 2006, the KONS of Bosnia and Herzegovina designated Dobrićevo Monastery a
National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina The National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina include: *sites, places, immovable and movable heritage of historical and cultural importance, as designated by the Commission to preserve national monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the basis o ...
.


History

There is no written record of the exact date when the Dobrićevo church was built, but two most frequent scholarly opinions put it between the first half of the 15th and early 16th century respectively. Architect Marica Šuput recognized the characteristic
architectural elements :''The following Outline (list), outline is an overview and topical guide to architecture:'' Architecture – the process and the product of designing and constructing buildings. Architectural works with a certain indefinable combination of d ...
of the church and the oldest layer of frescoes, which she concluded are placing the Dobrićevo church in the early 16th century. Zdravko Kajmaković has also addressed this problem by comparing the church to one other old
cruciform A cruciform is a physical manifestation resembling a common cross or Christian cross. These include architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described as having a cruciform ...
church in Sopotnica near
Goražde Goražde ( sr-cyrl, Горажде, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Bosnian-Podrinje Canton Goražde of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of the Drina rive ...
, concluding that it is the only "analogous" to the one in Dobrićevo, thus placing Dobričevo into the first half of the 15th century, and its renovation to the early 16th. During its history the monastery was destroyed or damaged several times. It was looted twice, in 1649 and 1680. The same year cistern was built, 1672, the fire swept through the church.damaging the frescoes. From around this period the monastery was abandoned and left unattended until at least 1730, a date of earliest information of its renovation. During the 1875–78 uprising, the monastery was plundered. On 5 August 1914, the monastery was seriously damaged by
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troops, who set the church on fire, destroying the entire
iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis () is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere withi ...
with many other valuables, such as books and relics, only a portion of which were saved by the monks; the murals were heavily damaged or destroyed.


Local oral traditions

According to the local legend, the monastery was built on the foundations of earlier Christian basilica which was, built by
Constantine the Great Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...
and
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. The legend says that
narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...
was built after the main church building by members of the
Aleksić Aleksić ( sr-Cyrl, Алексић) is a Serbian or Montenegrin surname, a patronymic derived from '' Aleksa''. Notable people with the surname include: * Adam Aleksic, American linguist and content creator *Danijel Aleksić (born 1991), Serbian ...
family whose descendants still lived in nearby Oputna Rudina village at the beginning of the 20th century.


Relocation

The monastery was originally built some upstream from
Trebinje Trebinje ( sr-Cyrl, Требиње, ) is a city and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the southernmost city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is situated on the banks of the Trebišnjica river in the region of East Her ...
, on the right bank of the
Trebišnjica The Trebišnjica ( sr-cyrl, Требишњица) is a river in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the right tributary of the Neretva. Before it was utilized for hydro exploitation via various hydrotechnical interventions and systems with different purp ...
river, above the village of Dubočani at the location called Manastirska Greda (328 m. a.s.l.). The original location was flooded with the creation of the Bilećko lake, a reservoir created after construction of the Grančarevo dam and
Trebinje-1 Hydroelectric Power Station Trebinje I Hydroelectric Power Station or Trebinje-1 Hydroelectric Power Station is Hydroelectricity, hydroelectric power plant (HPP) on the Trebišnjica River near Gornje Grančarevo in the municipality of Trebinje in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Treb ...
in 1967. The relocation upstream to a new location near the village of Orah, approximately to the south-southwest of
Bileća Bileća ( sr-cyrl, Билећа) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the town has a population of 7,476 inhabitants, while the municipality has 10,807 inhabitants. History The first traces of ci ...
, on the Bilećko Lake shore, was carried out in 1964-65 in parallel with the construction of the dam for the Trebinje-1 hydroelectric power station. Adjacent to the Dobrićevo Monastery was the Kosijerevo Monastery, just on the other side across the Trebišnjica river which today belongs to Montenegro. Like Dobrićevo, Kosijerevo has also been moved to another location, to Petrovići village, near
Nikšić Nikšić (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Никшић, ), is the second largest city in Montenegro, with a total population of 32,046 (2023 census) located in the west of the country, in the centre of the spacious Nikšić field at the foot of Trebjesa ...
in the region of the
Banjani Banjani ( sr-cyrl, Бањани) was a tribe in Old Herzegovina, and historical region in western Montenegro. Its territory comprises , west of Nikšić, in the centre between Nikšić and Bileća, from the top of Njegoš mountain to the Trebi ...
tribe.


Holydays and anniversaries

Slava 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 fea ...
.


Heritage designation

On 17 May 2006, the KONS of Bosnia and Herzegovina designated Dobrićevo Monastery a
National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina The National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina include: *sites, places, immovable and movable heritage of historical and cultural importance, as designated by the Commission to preserve national monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the basis o ...
.


Gallery

Dobricevo, klasterni kostel.jpg, Outside Манастир Ваведења Богородице, Добрићево (4).jpg, Inside Манастир Ваведења Богородице, Добрићево (1).jpg, Virgin, patron Manastir Dobrićevo 2 - Bileća NKD254 42.817815, 18.413309.jpg, Signs at the entrance


See also

*
List of Serb Orthodox monasteries This is a list of Serbian Orthodox Church, Serbian Orthodox Christian Monastery, monasteries in Serbia and near areas (Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, and Kosovo), also Romania, Hungary, Greece, Germany, United State ...


References


Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dobricevo monastery 16th-century Serbian Orthodox church buildings Serbian Orthodox monasteries in Bosnia and Herzegovina National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bileća Medieval Serbian Orthodox monasteries 16th-century establishments in Bosnia and Herzegovina Buildings and structures in Republika Srpska