Monastery
Podmaine Monastery
Budva · Budva & Central Coast
QUICK INFORMATION
- CATEGORY
- Monastery
- COUNTRY
- Montenegro
- REGION
- Budva · Budva & Central Coast
- DURATION
- 1–2 days
ABOUT THIS ATTRACTION
Podmaine Monastery is an active Serbian Orthodox monastery on the slopes above Budva, a short distance from the old town but a world away from the resort below. It is a working monastery rather than a museum, set among cypress and stone, with a church, frescoes and monastic buildings grouped around a quiet courtyard. Its associations reach back to the Crnojević dynasty, who held the coast around Budva in the late medieval period, and to the Petrović-Njegoš dynasty that ruled Montenegro into the modern era, and it has served at various times as a retreat, a place of counsel and a site of dynastic memory. For a visitor it is the calm counterpoint to the coast — a place to step out of the resort and into the older, quieter Montenegro of monastic life.
HISTORY & BACKGROUND
The story behind it
Podmaine’s origins are not fully documented, and its early history is bound up with traditions linking it to the Crnojević dynasty, the late-medieval lords of Zeta who moved their seat toward Cetinje, and later with the Petrović-Njegoš dynasty. The present church and monastic buildings largely date from the 15th to 18th centuries, with later restorations, and the monastery has been rebuilt and repaired after damage and earthquake, including the 1979 quake that affected much of the Montenegrin coast. It remains an active monastery of the Serbian Orthodox Church, with a resident community, and its religious and dynastic associations are matters of tradition and scholarly debate rather than fully settled record.
WHAT TO SEE
What to see here
The monastery church — the heart of the complex, with its frescoes and iconostasis, the focus of the monastic community’s worship.
The frescoes — surviving wall paintings inside the church, portions of which date from earlier phases of the monastery’s life.
The cloister and courtyards — the quiet stone spaces around which the monastic buildings are grouped, shaded by cypress.
The setting above Budva — the slopes and views that give the monastery its retreat-like character, away from the resort coast below.
WHY IT MATTERS
Why it matters
Podmaine is the place where Budva’s deeper history — Orthodox, monastic and dynastic — survives within reach of the modern resort, and it is one of the few sights on the central coast that belongs to the older Montenegro rather than to the tourist town. For a visitor it offers a quiet, contemplative stop that balances the beaches and the walls, provided it is visited with respect for the fact that it is a living monastery.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before you go
THROUGH THE LENS
From the road
MAP & LOCATION
Podmaine Monastery
Podmaine Monastery, Budva, Budva & Central Coast, Montenegro
42.2979, 18.8445
MORE ATTRACTIONS
More to see in Budva
THINGS TO DO
Things to do nearby
FOOD & DRINK
Where to eat nearby
Jadran — seafood beside the old town walls
Olimp — Mediterranean dining near the marina
Old Town konobas — seafood, grilled fish and Montenegrin dishes in the lanes around the old town
HOTELS & STAYS
Where to stay nearby
Hotel Avala — on a cliff above the old town and beach
Hostel Montenegro — a budget base near the old town
Budva waterfront apartments — quieter rooms and apartments within walking distance or a short local ride of the old town
NEARBY DESTINATIONS
Continue the journey
ROUTES
Routes through here
Budva Riviera Scenic Road — Old Town to Buljarica
A careful one-day scenic run along Montenegro's central coast from Budva Old Town, via Pržno and the Sveti Stefan islet, the Reževići monastery and Petrovac's harbour, to the long beach and coastal plain of Buljarica.
1 days · moderate
VIEW ROUTEPaštrovići Heritage Circuit — Budva, Praskvica, Reževići and Gradište
A realistic two-day heritage road-trip through the Paštrovići coast and its monastery landscape — Budva and the northern sites on Day 1, Reževići, Gradište and Buljarica on Day 2.
2 days · moderate
VIEW ROUTEPART OF
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