Tvrdoš Monastery

Serbian Orthodox monastery making wine since the 15th century, on the Trebišnjica river

A working Serbian Orthodox monastery on a low rise above the Trebišnjica river, about 4km west of Trebinje. The community was founded in the 4th century; the present church was built in 1517 over the ruins of an earlier monastery destroyed by the Venetians and Ottomans in turn. The compound combines a small dark church with surviving 16th-century frescoes, the monks' quarters, and a working winery.

The wine cellar can be visited and tastings are offered for a small fee; the monastery sells its Vranac red and Žilavka white directly. The cellars themselves are vaulted and cool, used continuously since the early 1500s. Free entry to the church grounds; reasonable taxi or rental-car access from Trebinje.

things to do sight
A story
Tvrdoš has been making wine continuously since the 1480s. The monks weathered Ottoman conquest, two world wars and the communist period without breaking the cycle of vines and casks — though the monastery itself was destroyed three times and rebuilt. The current vintages, made from the local **Vranac** and **Žilavka** grapes, are the best in Herzegovina.