Permission to build the first Orthodox Church in Mostar was granted in
the 19th century. The Church was built in Bjelušine in 1833 on the
place where an even older church existed from before. It is not known how the
previous Church looked like, the only thing that is certain is that it was
constructed before 1776. This was the reason why it was named “the old church”.
A part of the Orthodox Church was built under the ground, so it would
not be noticeable from the city.
Several reasons make it a very interesting monument. In addition to a
magnificent collection of icons and its great location, much attention was also
given to the graves inside the courtyard. Concerning the collection of icons,
we can find various icons of Serbian, Russian, even Italian, schools.
The church was sat on fire during the war. The only thing that was left
of the building was the walls, the tower bell and a bell like a reminder on the
previous times.
In the last years it has been reconstructed, and is an important
monumental showing the old Mostar.
The New Orthodox Church
The construction of the new church lasted for ten years, and was
finished in 1873. As a contribute to the construction of the largest Orthodox
Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina, even Sultan Abdul-Aziz gave 100,000
groschens.
The church was a beautiful sight, and was placed in the hill of the left
bank of Neretva.
In the recent war, the church was mined twice, just as the Old Bridge
was bombed for two days. It was completely destroyed, and still waits for it to
be restored.
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