Tumane Monastery

Tumane sits in a narrow wooded valley south of Golubac and has become one of the most visited monasteries in Serbia, less for its architecture, which is largely nineteenth and twentieth century over medieval foundations, than for its relics: those of Zosim of Sinai, a hermit who lived in a cave above the valley, and of Jacob of Tuman. The traditional founding story involves a local nobleman who accidentally wounded the hermit while hunting and built the monastery in penance, and the phrase attributed to the dying man is said to give the place its name. Pilgrims come in large numbers, particularly at weekends and feast days, and there is a spring, a cave chapel above the monastery reached by a path, and a substantial guest infrastructure.

History

Building began in the second half of the 14th century and was finished just before 1389, endowed by one of Prince Lazar's voivodes, and the first surviving mentions date from the 16th century, when the Tuman Apocryphal Code was written here. Damaged by an earthquake in 1879 and repaired in 1883, it is now the second most visited pilgrimage site of the Serbian Church after Ostrog, with about 1 million visitors a year (Wikipedia, Tuman Monastery).

Highlights

• The monastery church - the rebuilt church over medieval foundations.
• The relics - the shrines that draw the pilgrimage.
• The hermit's cave - a chapel on the slope above the valley.
• Pilgrim crowds - the constant flow of visitors and their rituals.

When to go

April to October for the valley and the walk to the cave. Feast days and weekends bring very large crowds; weekday mornings are far quieter. The monastery is open year round.

Things to know

This is a functioning monastery with a heavy pilgrim flow: dress codes apply, photography is restricted, and quiet is expected. On busy days parking and access are difficult. The buildings are mostly modern and architecturally modest. The path to the cave is steep.

Nearby

Golubac fortress lies north; the Đerdap gorge is northeast.

Key facts