TheDuži Monastery (Serbian:Манастир Дужи,romanized: Manastir Duži) is aSerbian Orthodoxmonastery dedicated to theIntercession of the Theotokos and located 10 kilometres west of the city ofTrebinje in southernRepublika Srpska,Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in thePopovo Polje, not far from the coast of theAdriatic Sea. It was first mentioned in historical sources in 1694, when it served as a refuge for monks from the nearbyTvrdoš Monastery which was then destroyed byVenetians during theMorean War. That year the see of the Serbian OrthodoxEparchy of Zahumlje and Herzegovina was transferred from Tvrdoš to Duži, where it remained until 1777, when the see was relocated toMostar.[1]
During the latter half of the 19th century, the monks of Duži supported the uprisings ofHerzegovinian Serbs against theOttomans, who therefore damaged and looted the monastery in 1858, 1861, and 1877.[1]Mićo Ljubibratić, a leader of theHerzegovina Uprising of 1875–1877, had his headquarters at the Duži Monastery.[2] In 1878, after theCongress of Berlin, Bosnia and Herzegovina were occupied byAustria-Hungary. The monastery was severely damaged in a fire on 6 September 1886. Its renovation was supported by the Austro-Hungarian government of Bosnia-Herzegovina with fund of 200,000florins. A bronze plaque was placed in the renovated church, with text inSerbian expressing gratitude to Austrian EmperorFranz Joseph.[1]
AfterWorld War I, the monastery was inhabited by Russian monks who fled from Russia in the wake of theOctober Revolution. In 1935, they painted the walls of the church with frescoes in a Russian style. In 1941, three of these monks were killed byYugoslav Partisans. The monastery was deserted afterWorld War II, and it fell into disrepair. Between 1954 and 1958, it was used by theYugoslav People's Army to house soldiers. In 1959, it became a nunnery, and the nuns gradually restored the dilapidated monastery. During theYugoslav Wars in the 1990s, it was shelled by the Croatian Army, but without much damage to it. Today, the economy of the Duži Monastery involvesbeekeeping and the production of wine,rakia, and dairy products.[1]
42°42′22″N18°15′43″E / 42.706226°N 18.261981°E /42.706226; 18.261981
