Shkoder to Ostrog Monastery: Private day trip

This Serbian Orthodox church was founded by Vasilije, the Metropolitan Bishop of Herzegovina, in the 17th century. Most of what we see today is from renovations following a fire in the early 1920s. During World War 2 a bomb was dropped on it, but by some miracle, it wasn’t destroyed. In fact, the bomb has been kept in the church as a testament to its sanctity. As an active place of worship, the lower church offers monks and pilgrims lodging, while the upper holds the reliquary, and frescoes painted directly onto the cave walls by the local master Radul. Of course, being situated high on a cliff, the Monastery offers superb views of the surrounding area. If the panoramic view takes your breath away, you can pray to the remains of St. Basil, the Bishop formerly known as Vasilije, for healing in the monastery’s cave.