Ancient shrines of Montenegro: Ostrog monastery
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Ancient shrines of Montenegro: Ostrog monastery
Ostrog Monastery, one of the main Orthodox shrines of Montenegro (and the whole world), located between Podgorica and Niksic, takes the 3rd place in attendance after the Holy Sepulcher and Golgotha.And, it is not necessary to profess Orthodoxy or even to believe - a monastery built in a rock at an altitude of 900 meters is already a majestic and significant structure in itself. Ostrog must be visited if you find yourself in Montenegro. It is better to take this event all day, especially if you go with an excursion, not yourself.
Ostrozhsky monastery, founded in the 17th century, is named after Vasily Ostrozhsky, the Holy Wonderworker. In fact, the whole Ostrog is divided into two monasteries: Upper and Lower, from which only the upper one is "embedded" into the rock. They are separated by several kilometers of road along the serpentine, but for pedestrians there is a direct road to the stairs. They say that after walking the road you can leave all your sins on it. Honestly, the road is not easy - both pedestrian and automobile.
When you turn off the main road, you will need to drive 10 kilometers along a narrow mountain road to the Lower Monastery, from where the terrible serpentine will go up, and it will be great if you do not get an oncoming car-I can not imagine how to miss there. They say it's true that there has never been a single accident or incident, but, nevertheless, be careful. From the Lower Monastery to the Upper One, several taxis run, and if the driving experience is little, it will be safer to take advantage of one of them - local drivers know Ostrog well and the nuances of movement along its roads.
In the Upper Monastery, after walking along the terrace, you will enter the temple of the Blessed Virgin. This room, for which many pilgrims specially travel to Ostrog Monastery, is a room of 3x3 meters, where 15 years before his death Vasily Ostrozhsky spent his time in prayers. You can not shoot there. There is always a priest here, but if you do not speak Serbian, you are unlikely to understand each other. And the old atmosphere and significance of this place, of course, are exciting.
Pay attention to the vine, which, according to legend, grew on the site of the death of St. Basil, despite the absence of soil there - it is located on the territory of the Upper Monastery. At the end of March 2015, when we were there, reconstruction was in full swing, and some of the structures were in the scaffolding, and something was completely closed for visiting. About the time of completion of work is not known, but this is not a reason not to visit the Ostrog Monastery.
Hence the monks during the Turkish occupation watched the movements of the enemy's army and reported everything to the Metropolis, which was in the ancient capital of Montenegro, Cetinje. So the temple, apart from its religious significance, had a strategic one.
Bogov Vladimir
#BogovVladimir
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