The main sacred place of Montenegro is Ostrog Monastery. It belongs to the Serbian Orthodox Church, but is visited by people of different religions. The miracle-making relics of St. Basil of Ostrog are kept in the Monastery of Ostrog.
The monastery was founded by Basil of Ostrog (1610-1671) in 17 century. At first, there were only the caves of hermits, but later there appeared the Upper Monastery of Ostrog. The two church of the monastery are in a vertical rock face at the height of nearly one kilometer above the valley.
In 1665 there was built the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, and a hundred years later above it there was built the Church of the Entry of the Virgin Mary in the Temple. Its area is no more than 10 m2, but it is just here that the relics of St. Basil of Ostrog were moved. The pilgrims light candles in the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and then ascend to the Church of Entry of the Virgin Mary in the Temple to venerate the relics of St. Basil of Ostrog and ask for healing.
The Lower Monastery of Ostrog was built in 18 century. It is at the foot of a sheer rock where a mountain serpentine to the Upper Monastery starts. At the Church of the Holy Cross the relics of a new martyr St. Stanko are kept. The Turks chopped his hands off when he refused to drop the cross.
If you rented a motor-car, but aren’t sure in your driving skills, you should leave it at the Lower Monastery and climb up a mountain path to the Upper Monastery. The path is very steep, and the climb won`t be easy, but driving a car along a serpentine is rather dangerous. The serpentine is very narrow, and isn’t railed, though, according to the natives, there have never been any accidents here.
