Description of the attraction
The Savina Orthodox Monastery (Savinov Monastery) was founded in 1030 by fugitive monks who left the territory of modern Bosnia and Herzegovina - Trebinje. It is located in the city of Herceg Novi, a fifteen-minute walk from the Bokatorskaya embankment.
Savinovski Monastery is one of the oldest Serbian monasteries. It is surrounded by a picturesque deciduous-coniferous forest (Savinova Dubrava), divided into paths. Also on the vast territory of the monastery you can see orange trees and banana palms.
The monastery complex consists of the Small Assumption Church, the Big Assumption Church, the Church of St. Sava, two cemeteries and a cell building. Side by side are the Assumption Churches - Small and Large, surrounded by pine trees and adjacent buildings, as well as old stone tombs.
In church architecture, the Great Assumption Church serves as an excellent example of the Baroque style. It was erected in the 17th century, especially for its construction, a stone was brought from Korcula, an island on the territory of modern Croatia. Inside, the church houses a unique fifteen-meter iconostasis, a giant golden chandelier and a miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Savvinskaya.
The Small Church is famous for its fresco paintings dating from the 15th century. It depicts scenes of religious holidays and the torment of Christ.
The Church of St. Sava is located higher on the hill. According to legend, it was built by Savva himself in the 13th century - the patriarch and creator of the independent Serbian church. There is an observation deck next to the church, where you can see magnificent views of the Bokator Bay and the Great Assumption Church.
The library of the monastery has about five thousand books, among which fifty are handwritten (for example, the Gospel of 1375). There is also a Russian primer, thanks to which the ruler of Montenegro, Metropolitan and poet Peter II Petrovic Njegos, a representative of the legendary Montenegrin dynasty, studied with a monk in the 1820s.
The monastery sacristy is famous for the fact that it houses a large 18th century icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the 13th century cross of St. Sava and many other items from the monasteries of Tvrdos (Herzegovina) and Mileshevo (Serbia).
