Pakra Monastery

Pakra Monastery lies about seven kilometres upstream from Sirač towards Purnica, in the Pakra river canyon within the hilly Zabrđe area beneath Papuk. Historical sources also call it Nova Pustinja, and the earliest testimony to its existence dates from 1556. Recent historical research places the reliable beginning of its activity in the period of the Great Turkish War, when monks arrived from the destroyed Mileševa Monastery. After an interruption in monastic life, it was restored after 1738, and a new church was completed by 1765. Its treasury once included a valuable iconostasis, manuscript books and collections of crosses. Its secluded valley setting rewards a respectful visit mindful of the site’s religious purpose.