LAKE OF BILEĆA

This 33 km2 artificial lake (Bilećko Jezero/Билећко Језеро) is the second largest lake in Bosnia and Herzegovina after Buško Lake near Livno, Tropolje. It was created between 1964 and 1968 on the Trebišnjica River with the construction of the Grančarevo Dam, the highest in the country (124 m high), which feeds the Trebinje-1 hydroelectric power plant (180 MW). Running along the border with Montenegro to the east, the lake is 18 km long with a maximum width of 4 km and a depth of up to 104 m. When the lake was flooded, several villages were buried. Two medieval Serbian Orthodox monasteries with frescoes were moved in a very expensive operation in 1965: the Dobrićevo Monastery (13th century) was relocated to the western shore of the lake, while the Kosijerevo Monastery (14th century) is now located on the eastern shore, in Montenegro, near the village of Petrovići. Near Petrovići is also the archeological site of Crvena Stijena ("red rock") where traces of human presence dating back 180,000 years have been found (see Montenegro Petit Futé guide). In the northern part, near the fortress of Drakuljica, there is a beach with a bar. Finally, in the central part is the islet of Bobotova Glavica, an ancient hill fortified in the 14th century, barely emerging when the lake level is at its highest. Since 1998, the islet houses a Serbian Orthodox chapel.