Monastery of the Holy Trinity of Pljevlja

Holy Trinity Monastery, Pljevlja
Holy Trinity Monastery, Pljevlja
Basic information
Location	Pljevlja
Region	Montenegro
Country	Montenegro
Date established	fifteenth century

Holy Trinity Monastery, Pljevlja (Serbian: Света Тројица Пљеваљска) is a medieval Serbian Orthodox monastery complex (lavra) in Pljevlja, Montenegro. It is located about 37 miles north of Durmitor, and 24 miles from Đurđevića Tara Bridge.

It is not known exactly when the monastery was founded. Today's see of the Eparchy of Mileševa was established before the 1465 Ottoman conquest of the city. Since the Ottoman law forbade the building of new churches, but permitted the rebuilding of those which had existed at the time of Mehmed the Conqueror, it is certain that a church had existed on the site of the present monastic church, before the Ottoman conquest and probably made of wood. The first reference to Holy Trinity Monastery in Pljevlja dates from 1573, when Sava, a monk from the monastery, copied a manuscript. At that time the monastery was managed by abbot Visarion, who took great pains to improve its economic position. Moreover, an inscription published by Sava Kosanovic in 1871 shows that it was precisely this abbot who restored the monastery. This testimony is corroborated by the donor's portrait of Visarion on the south wall of the nave.

The architecture of Holy Trinity Monastery differs from that of other monasteries in the region. The architecture of the oldest part of the monastery is very unusual, in that it is almost square, with a large apse. The nave is divided by four pillars - two on the south side and two on the north - into three sections: a wide central part and two narrow side-aisles. The central part of the nave is covered by a longitudinal barrel vault supported by the pillars, while the transverse vaults of the lower side-aisles are also semicircular and are set at right angle to the central part of the nave. For other architectural features, parallels can be found in the architecture of the period.