Ostrog Monastery private tour from Kotor

Ostrog Monastery is the largest Montenegrin Orthodox sanctuary and most important site in Montenegro. This sacred place is annually visited by up to a million pilgrims and tourists of all religions, from all over the world. Embedded into an almost vertical cliff face, high up in the hills, in the large rock of Ostroška Greda, 900 m above the sea level, it looks almost miraculous and surreal.

It is dedicated to Saint Basil of Ostrog, the Metropolitan Bishop of Herzegovina, a founder of the Monastery. His remains are kept in one of the cave churches, and guarded by priests standing as a prayerful sentinel while visitors of all religious come to show respect. It was built in 17th century and consists of the Lower Monastery with the Church of The Holy Trinity and the Upper Monastery, as well as the newly built church dedicated to the Holy Martyr Stanko, 15 year-old shepherd who was tortured and killed by the Turkes. According to tradition, the Turkes cut off his hands, because he didn’t want to give up his faith. His remains are kept in the church. The Upper Monastery is 900 meters above sea level, and consists of two cave churches, the Church of the Presentation and the Church of the Holy Cross. Both churches are indented in a natural dent of a cave and the most impressive thing about the frescoes on the cave walls, still well preserved, is that they had to be painted around the natural contours of the rock.