Zitomislic Monastery

Zitomislic was founded in the sixteenth century by the Miloradović-Hrabren family on the road down the Neretva from Mostar, a monastery of the Annunciation with a church, conventual ranges and a walled garden of cypress and vine, and it held a library and a collection of icons and manuscripts. It was destroyed in 1992 and the site levelled. Reconstruction began in 2002 using surviving drawings and salvaged stone, and the church and buildings were rebuilt to the original plan and reconsecrated, with a community returning. Some of the dispersed collection has come back. The monastery stands beside the main road with the Neretva below and the bare Herzegovinian hills around it.

History

In 1566 the kadi of Nevesinje gave the Miloradović-Hrabren family permission to build a monastery at Žitomislić over the ruins of an older church, and it took more than forty years to finish, monks being first recorded here in 1606. It had a fine iconostasis, a busy scriptorium and large estates worked by the monks, early in the 19th century the prior Simeon Miljković added guest quarters, a water supply and a new vineyard, a seminary opened in 1858, and the present monastery is a meticulous reconstruction begun in 2002, where the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church met in 2005 (Wikipedia, Žitomislić Monastery).

What's there

• The rebuilt church - the Annunciation church reconstructed to the old plan.
• The conventual ranges - the monastery buildings around the courtyard.
• The walled garden - the cypress and vine enclosure.
• The Neretva valley - the river and hills around the site.

When to go

April to October for the valley and the garden; Herzegovina is very hot in July and August. The monastery is open around service times. Feast days bring visitors.

Practical notes

Everything standing dates from the 2000s reconstruction. It is a working monastery with dress and behaviour expectations. The main road runs directly past and carries noise. The visit takes about an hour.

Nearby

Mostar lies north; Pocitelj is south down the valley.

Key facts