Description of the attraction
Morachnik Monastery is located in the east of the island of the same name, on the southern shore of Lake Skadar. It is 13 kilometers from the border with Albania and 19 kilometers from the Montenegrin Virpazar.
The first mention of the construction of the Morachnik Monastery can be found in the letter of the ruler of the principality Zeta Balshi III. At his request and entirely at his expense, the Church of the Assumption was built, consecrated in honor of the unique icon of the Most Holy Theotokos of the Three-Handed, in the period from 1404 to 1417. Like all churches of the Balshich era, the church is a small one-domed building with three conchs. In addition to it, an additional chapel of St. John Damascene. Previously, the interior of the church was painted with various frescoes depicting saints. By our time, barely noticeable traces have remained from the former painting.
From the original buildings to the present day, only a part of the monastery complex has survived. It includes: a stone fence that adorns the monumental entrance gate; cell building in the east; refectory in the south; the remains of a four-story tower, at the top of which there was a chapel. Previously, the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord was located on the territory of the monastery, but today it is only a ruin. The monastery did not last long, since after the Turks came to power, it quickly became empty and was practically destroyed.
Partial restoration of the monastery was carried out in 1963 - the dome over the church was restored. In 1985, archaeological work followed, during which the remains of another church, located on the highest point of the island, were found. It was the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord, built at about the same time as the Assumption Church. Near Morachnik is the island of Topoana, on the territory of which the remains of a church with a characteristic Triconchus base were also found.
The revival of the monastery falls on the 1990s. During this period, Hieromonk Jovan (Chulibrka), a famous Serbian Orthodox publicist who worked on the radio and in the Svetigora magazine, was appointed its rector.
