Gomionica Monastery

Kmećani, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Gomionica is a Serbian Orthodox monastery dedicated to the Presentation of Mary and located at the village of Kmećani, 42 kilometres west of Banja Luka, in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The monastery is the spiritual centre of the region known as Zmijanje.

It was founded before 1536, though the exact date of its foundation is unknown. It was referred to as Zalužje in 16th-century sources, while its current name comes from a nearby river. In the second half of the 16th century, the abbot of the monastery was credited by the Ottomans for the peaceful attitude of the population of a wide area around Gomionica.

The monastery may have been abandoned, at least partially, at the end of the 17th century (after the Great Turkish War), and during the 1730s. The church was refurbished several times during the 18th and 19th centuries. Writer Petar Kočić attended the elementary school organised at the monastery. It was badly damaged during World War II, and its abbot, Serafim Štrkić, was murdered in 1941 by the Nazi-affiliated Croatian Ustaše.

After the war, Gomionica became a female monastery. In 1953, it was designated as a cultural monument of Yugoslavia, and in 2006, it was proclaimed a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The treasury of Gomionica contains icons created in the 16th to 19th centuries, as well as manuscripts and printed books created in the 14th to 17th centuries. A silver-gilt cross formerly owned by the monastery, made in 1640, is now in the collection of the University of London, which acquired it from the private collection of Thomas Gambier Parry.

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Details

Founded: 16th century
Category: Religious sites in Bosnia and Herzegovina

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

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User Reviews

Bojan Nišević (2 years ago)
Beautiful and peaceful place.
Edmund Husserl (2 years ago)
Pretty good. So lovely.
Ana Lakic (3 years ago)
Monastery Gomionica is of the most beautiful monasteries in Bosnia and Herzegovina that's for sure! It is a place to visit when you're in Krajina region. It consist a museum inside the complex. Monastery is around 45min driving from Banja Luka and you can visit a few wooden churches not far from a road to Gomionica.
mladen ilisevic (3 years ago)
Great spiritual place, must see to learn about serb history during last 5 centuries.
Dani Green (4 years ago)
The nuns are just great! Lovely place to visit on Sunday morning...
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