Piva Monastery

The monastery Piva is located in Pluzine. It is considered to be one of the most important Orthodox monasteries in Montenegro. Long time ago it was located at the spring of the River Piva, in order for it to be moved later to another location because of the construction of a dam and accumulation lake for the needs of hydro – electrical power station. The movement of the church lasted for about 12 years and what is characteristic for this monastery is that the old church has been transferred stone by stone (the old church was un-built, and from that same stone a new church in another place was built),9 kilometers away from Pluzine, in village Goransko, near lake Mratinje. From the walls of the church 1.260 square meters of paintings was removed and once again put back.

The monastery church of Uspenja Bogorodice was built between 1573 and 1586 with a lot of effort invested by Herzegovina metropolitan Savatje, later a Serbian patriarch. Beside the architectonic value, which this church has, its value is also seen in its pictures. Unknown Greek painters painted majority of the pictures in years1604 and 1605. The upper part of the monastery was painted by pope Strahinja from Budimlje who on a very visible place painted Bogordicinu himnu (Holy Mother of God’s anthem). Lower zones are work of painter Kozma from distant 1626 year. This painter also did majority of icons on a gilded iconostasis.

The monastery owns a great treasury: Psalter of Djuradj Crnojevic from 1495, “omofor” of Savtije Sokolovic from 1568, personal belongings of Bajo Pivljanin – national hero, and many other things.

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