Манастир Благовештење

Manastira Blagoveštenje

Useful Information

Location:	Breznica 161. In the valley of the Mlava River, between Petrovac na Mlava and Žagubica. 65 km southeast of Požarevac. (44.2722376, 21.5371201)
Open:	no restrictions. [2024]
Fee:	free. [2024]
Classification:	Cave Church
Light:	n/a
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Manastira Blagoveštenje, Breznica 161. Tourist organization of the Petrovac na Mlavi municipality, Radeta Moskovlića 15, 12300 Petrovac na Mlavi, Tel: +381-12-326-343 E-mail:
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History

1376-1380

monastery built as an endowment of King Lazar of Serbia.

Description

Манастир Благовештење or Manastira Blagoveštenje (Holy Annunciation Monastery) is located in the foothill of Mt. Mali Vukan, in the valley of the Mlava River, between Petrovac na Mlava and Žagubica. This section is a narrow valley cut deep into the limestone with many vertical cliffs on both sides of the valley. It is also known as Горњачка клисура or Gornjačka klisura (Gornjac Gorge), The monastery is thus also called Манастир Благовештење Горњачко os Manastira Blagoveštenje Gornjačko (Annunciation Monastery Gornjac), which is actually a very good idea, as there are numerous Annunciation Monasteries in the country. The gorge is 16 km long, begins with a normal valley, the last four meanders are called Gornjac Gorge, which ends in Ladni vode near Ždrel in the municipality of Petrovac na Mlava. Country road 161 leads through the gorge, the monastery is easy to see, as it is located right beneath the road,

The monastery was an endowment of King Lazar of Serbia and was built in the late 14th century. It was built into a huge cave portal in the limestone cliff. The facade is well-preserved, and so it is easy to see that the huge building has three levels. Although quite spectacular, its unfortunately not possible to enter. The entrance is located high above the ground, probably some 10 m high in a vertical wall. The wooden structure, most likely a staircase, or probably it was just a ladder, is long gone.

Today it is easily accessibel, but in the early times hard to reach. Steep and rocky sides of the high hills rose from the riverbed around the monastery, and any flood made the trails inaccessible. During each flood, the monastery was cut off. Nevertheless, it was a place where holy books were transcribed and educated monks from different countries visited the monastery. It was an important site for illuminating holy manuscripts, and the library contained famous books. This ended when the buildings were destroyed at the end of the 17th century, under the invasion of the Turkish army, and only the spectacular facade in the cave survived.

There are two monasteries in the valley of the Mlava River, about 1.6 km apart. Due to the numerous caves in the area, both use a cave, and thus both are listed on showcaves.com.