Ostrag

Ostrog monastery

Monastery of Ostrog.
Monastery information
Full name	Манастир Острог
Order	Serbian Orthodox
Established	17th century Renovated 1923-1926
Dedicated to	Saint Basil of Ostrog
People
Founder(s)	Archbishop Vasilije
Site
Location	Bjelopavlići plain, Montenegro
Visible remains	Archbishop Vasilije

The Monastery of Ostrog (Serbian: Манастир Острог/Manastir Ostrog, pronounced [ǒstroɡ]) is a monastery of the Serbian Orthodox Church sitatued against an almost vertical background, high up in the large rock of Ostroška Greda, in Montenegro. It is dedicated to Saint Basil of Ostrog (Sveti Vasilije Ostroški), who was buried here. From the monastery, a superb view of the Bjelopavlići plain can be seen. The monastery is located 50 km from Podgorica and 15 km from Nikšić. Ostrog monastery is the most popular pilgrimage place in Montenegro.

The Monastery was founded by Vasilije, the Metropolitan Bishop of Herzegovina in the 17th century. He died there in 1671 and some years later he was glorified. His body is enshrined in a reliquary kept in the cave-church dedicated to the Presentation of the Mother of God to the Temple.

The present-day look was given to the Monastery in 1923-1926, after a fire which had destroyed the major part of the complex. Fortunately, the two little cave-churches were spared and they are the key areas of the monument. The frescoes in the Church of the Presentation were created towards the end of the 17th century. The other church, dedicated to the Holy Cross, is placed within a cave on the upper level of the monastery and was painted by master Radul, who successfully coped with the natural shapes of the cave and laid the frescoes immediately on the surface of the rock and the south wall. Around the church are the monastic residences, which together with the church building and the scenery make this monument outstandingly beautiful.

During World War II, a detachment of Chetniks led by Blažo Đukanović and Bajo Stanišić took refuge at Ostrog up to October 18, 1943, when Yugoslav Partisans promised the Chetniks that their lives would be spared if they surrendered. Đukanović and 23 Chetniks peacefully surrendered, expecting to be spared, but were all killed by the Partisans at Ostrog. Stanišić and three members of his extended family initially did not surrender, but did not survive at Ostrog. There are different accounts on what happened to Stanišić and his family; sources contradict each other on whether Stanišić and his family were killed fighting the Partisans or committed suicide at Ostrog.