Piva Monastery, the church that moved to stay dry

It isn’t often that an entire building changes location to escape the water, but that’s exactly what happened to Piva Monastery. When the Piva hydroelectric scheme was planned, the reservoir was going to cover the spot where it had stood since the 16th century. Rather than lose it, they took it apart stone by stone and rebuilt it higher up, frescoes and all. It’s among my favourite stories in northern Montenegro, and the result is worth the stop.

A 16th-century church

The national tourist board places it in the 16th century, and the Žabljak tourist board pins down the year, 1573, counting it among the monasteries that mattered most in the history of Durmitor and Piva. The same board recalls that the Ottomans burned the area’s monasteries more than once and that local people rebuilt them each time, and that, for what it has preserved, Piva is one of the most important buildings in the area.

The frescoes and the move

What makes the monastery unique is its painting. The national tourist board calls it Montenegro’s largest picture gallery, with some 1,250 m² of frescoes. When the waters of Lake Piva rose, a team of specialists dismantled the church and rebuilt it on higher ground, and Piva Nature Park stresses that they did it so well that neither the structure nor the frescoes were altered.

I haven’t found exact dates for the move in official sources, so I won’t give any. What you can see is the result, a stone church with a pitched roof inside a perimeter wall, in a quiet setting.

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Where it is and what to combine it with

OpenStreetMap puts it at Goransko, in the Sinjac area, beside the M-3 road running down from Nikšić to Plužine. According to Piva Nature Park, Sinjac is also the name of the spring where the Piva rises. It’s south of the town, so an easy stop if you’re coming from Nikšić.

Goransko is also home to the 19th-century tower of Duke Lazar Sočica, which the park describes as one of the largest and finest in Montenegro in its day. Monastery, tower and lake together make a very full half-day in the Piva area, and with time to spare the road continues north to Šćepan Polje and the end of the Tara Canyon.

Before you go in

I haven’t found opening hours or prices in the official sources. As at any place of worship, I’d cover shoulders and knees before going in, keep quiet during services and ask before taking photos inside. Heading north from Nikšić by car, the M-3 takes you right past it, and Plužine is only a short way further on, so there is no reason to skip it.

So you do not lose the morning at the ticket office, browse tickets and tours in Piva Monastery on GetYourGuide.

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