Description of the attraction
On the southern shore of Lake Skadar, near the Montenegrin town of Virpazar, there is an old monastery called Beshka. It was built on the islet of Beshka together with other nearby monasteries, and all of them together are historical cultural monuments and, in addition, an interesting tourist attraction in Montenegro.
The number of medieval monasteries on the shores of Lake Skadar alone numbers more than 2 dozen, this in turn undoubtedly indicates the important role of the spiritual life of the ancient Slavic Zeta (as Montenegro was formerly called). On the territory of the Beshka monastery there are 2 churches: the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos and St. George.
Zeta ruler George II Stratsimirovich Balshich at his own expense built a church dedicated to St. George at the end of the 14th century. The building of the temple is a single-nave structure with a dome and a bell tower in 3 rings, which just characterizes the architecture of those times. Currently, the floor has been partially preserved, which was lined with stone slabs.
After some time, by the will of the wife and daughter of the Great Martyr Lazarus, Helena Balshich, a second church appeared, slightly inferior in size to the previous one, which was erected in honor of the Mother of God. This fact is indicated on the inscription, located above the entrance to the church building, dated 1440. The temple was conceived as a burial vault for Elena, and subsequently it served these purposes. Fine stone carvings adorned the western façade of the church.
Both of these structures were covered with paintings, traces of which have not survived to this day. These buildings demonstrate the high skill of the architects of those years, who managed to skillfully fit them into the main natural landscape of the island.
The Beshka Monastery made its contribution to the history of the state through the rewriting of church books by monks. The surviving examples of their work are now in the centers of culture and art of Montenegro (Savina monastery, library of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts).
During the years of the occupation by the Turks, the monastery ceased to function and fell into desolation, and the churches were plundered and partially destroyed.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Church of the Annunciation was restored by Nicholas I, King of Montenegro, for the health of Milena, his wife. The church was given a different name. However, numerous wars throughout the century did not allow the monastery to function, it was again reduced to decay.
Only in 2002, its active restoration and reconstruction began. Now the Beshka monastery is not only a monument of the country's cultural heritage. It is an active nunnery.
