The Dobrilovina Monastery (dedicated to Saint George / Đurđevdan) is a cultural monument of exceptional importance, located at the entrance to the Dobreška gorge, in the Tara river valley, not far from Mojkovac (on the way to Žabljak).
Here are the key details about this monastery:
Origin and folklore: In folklore, the monastery is often associated with the era of Nemanjić, so in some sources it is also mentioned as "Mala Tvrdoš" or the endowment of Nemanja's sister. However, the first written traces in which the monastery is explicitly mentioned come from the end of the 16th century (year 1592), when the Ottoman authorities issued permission for the reconstruction of the destroyed church.
Construction and interior: Today's monastery church was built at the beginning of the 17th century (around 1609). It was built of stone in the more modest dimensions of a single-nave building, with a wooden shingled roof that gives it a specific look blended into the mountainous landscape of the Tara River.
Artistic and spiritual treasure: The church had extremely rich paintings and a famous iconostasis made by the masters of the famous Hilandar and Morac school of painting (among which the painter Georgije Mitrofanović is mentioned). Throughout history, the monastery was also an important copying center where church books were kept and copied.
Turbulent history and demolitions: Due to its strategic position in Potar and its role as a spiritual and folk gathering place for the Saranca and Potar tribes, the monastery was ravaged, burned and rebuilt several times over the centuries (it suffered particularly badly in the 18th and 19th centuries during the conflict with the Turks).
Today's status: After the reconstruction in the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, Dobrilovina came to life again as a women's monastery of the Diocese of Budimljansko-Niššić. The Sisterhood takes care of this shrine, which attracts many believers and passers-by on the way through the Tara canyon.
