On Gornja Trusina, on the very border of the Berkovići and Nevesinje municipalities, there is the place named Straževica, to which numerous legends are connected and where Orthodoxy has been preserved for centuries.
It is believed that a church was buried there, on the remains of which holy liturgies are still served today. Straževica gathers numerous believers, where especially in the summer months it “revives” stories about the church, history, buried gold …
On the windiest Herzegovinian hill, in an unreal landscape of karst, hides Straževica, which hides the story of its history.
It is assumed that there was a church there that was covered with wood and stones in the time of the Turks. By the time church was underground, the story and legend began to spread that three jars were buried in the church – with gold, meat, and millet.
– The legend says that the church was buried before the arrival of the Turks and that three barrels were buried – gold, millet and grandmother’s meat – says Ranko Lučić from Berkovići.
This legend has been preserved and remembered for centuries, as well as the stories that everyone who tried to dig up the treasure had a bad time.
– In 1939, they tried to dig up the treasure, but the wind was so strong that they failed. The next attempt did not bear fruit either, and the traces of digging can still be seen today – says Lučić.
Straževica keeps the legend, but, what is even more important, it has kept Orthodoxy for centuries. The locals of this area come here for the holy liturgy, the second Sunday after St. Peter’s Day.
– In memory of the old church that was demolished, a holy liturgy is held on the second Sunday after St. Peter’s Day. Then, for the glory of God, the youth from Dabar and Nevesinje gathered – says Pero Duka from Trebinje.
For the people of Berkovići and Nevesinje, Starževica is a holy place, which they like to visit, especially in the summer months. Below the peak in the rocks is a small spring, whose water is considered healing.
Everyone who climbs to this place, where history and mysticism collide, also visits the Hollow Stone, not far from the spring. According to tradition, by passing around that place three times, every wish will be fulfilled.
TST
