The monastery in Žitomislići

In the valley on the left bank of Neretva, on the highway towards the Adriatic Sea, we find the Žitomislići-monastery and its church. 

There are several proofs found that the village Žitomislići existed in pre-historic time, and example of these are the ruins of a basilica and stones with various engraved patterns. Several churches and monasteries were re-established in the 16^th and 17^th century, and one of them was the monastery in Žitomislići (1602/03). The head master in the monastery was Milisan Hrabren, but he did not live long enough to see the full restoration of the monastery.

From the middle of the 19^th century, the monastery improved its economic, cultural and educational status. This led to the establishment of the Serbian national school and the Spiritual School in the village.

By the looking at the architectural aspects, the church of monastery is similar to the monasteries in Zavala and Pljevlji.

All the valuable documents from the Ottoman period, sacred items and the entire library were destroyed in a fire that took place in the monastery.

The place was recognized as a historical monument after the Second World War, but it was unfortunately totally destroyed during the recent war. The restoration is in progress, and the monastery is once again an active, spiritual centre.

Orthodox Church in Mostar

Permission to build the first Orthodox Church in Mostar was granted in the 19^th 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.