{"id":1664,"date":"2017-06-01T14:24:39","date_gmt":"2017-06-01T12:24:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotel-luna.net?p=1664"},"modified":"2026-05-27T12:13:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T10:13:05","slug":"5-mjesta-koja-biste-trebali-posjetiti-u-medugorju","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotel-luna.net\/en\/5-mjesta-koja-biste-trebali-posjetiti-u-medugorju\/","title":{"rendered":"5 places you should visit in Medjugorje"},"content":{"rendered":"
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1. St. James Church (5-minute walk from Hotel Luna<\/em>)<\/span>
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The parish church and the area surrounding it are the center of Medjugorje and the main place for the celebration of the Eucharist and sacramental life. The church, like the parish itself, is dedicated to Saint James the Apostle, the patron saint of pilgrims. The parish is cared for by the Franciscans of the Herzegovinian Franciscan Province of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, based in Mostar. <\/span><\/p>\n

The construction of the church lasted 35 years (1934\u20131969), and the design for the church was created free of charge by the renowned architect Stjepan Podhorsky from Zagreb. Work on the church continued even after its blessing and consecration in 1969, since the interior had not yet been completed, nor had the bell towers been built. The St. James Church as we see it today was fully completed in 1980. <\/span><\/p>\n

Next to the church there is an outdoor altar for open-air celebrations and a large number of confessionals, which earned Medjugorje the title of the world\u2019s largest confessional<\/strong>. Due to the growing number of pilgrims, the church and surrounding area have continuously adapted to new needs since 1981. The outdoor altar, built in 1989, and the surrounding prayer area (with around 5,000 seats) serve as the site of major liturgical celebrations during the summer months, when thousands of pilgrims gather in Medjugorje for Mladifest<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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2. Statue of the Risen Jesus Christ (along the promenade behind St. James church)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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This monumental bronze sculpture is the work of Slovenian sculptor Andrej Ajdi\u010d and was installed at Easter in 1998. According to the sculptor himself, the work represents \"two different mysteries<\/em>\"<\/strong>; the first depicts Jesus on the Cross and in the tomb (the part of the sculpture lying on the ground), while the second symbolizes the Risen Christ with outstretched arms. The artist arrived at this concept quite accidentally when he dropped the sculpture into the modeling mold during the creative process. The widely extended arms symbolize Jesus as the one who opens Himself to all humanity, offering shelter and refuge to all believers. <\/span><\/p>\n

The most well-known feature of the Statue of the Risen Jesus Christ is the unusual phenomenon of liquid droplets appearing from Christ\u2019s right knee, whose chemical composition reportedly corresponds to human tears. Around the statue, a Way of the Cross area has been arranged for believers and pilgrims who are unable to climb Krizevac. A pathway called \"Via Domini<\/em>\"<\/strong> (The Lord\u2019s Way) has also been created, together with stations dedicated to the Mysteries of Light.<\/span><\/p>\n

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3. Apparition Hill \u2013 Podbrdo (15\u201320 minute walk from Hotel Luna<\/em>)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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This is the site of the first Marian apparitions in Medjugorje, reached by a steep rocky path along which 15 bronze reliefs depicting the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary have been placed. <\/span>While climbing Podbrdo, pilgrims most often pray <\/span>the Holy Rosary<\/strong>. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Countless testimonies speak of how pilgrims from all over the world, in front of the statue of the Queen of Peace<\/strong>, have found faith and inner peace. <\/span><\/p>\n

In 2006<\/span>\u00a0, part of the path was illuminated with small <\/span>spotlights<\/span> making it clearly visible even <\/span>at night<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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4. Blue Cross <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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At the foot of Apparition Hill there are two Blue Crosses. The first Blue Cross<\/em><\/strong> (on the left side) was placed at the location where the prayer group of visionary Ivan Dragi\u0107evi\u0107 has gathered since July 4, 1982. This place became important because Ivan reportedly received a vision warning him not to climb to the top of the hill with the prayer group due to the communist authorities of the time, so they began praying at the foot of Podbrdo instead. In 1985, a wooden cross approximately 2.5 meters high was placed at the sitewhere the Virgin Mary, through her apparition, was believed to have protected the prayer group.<\/strong> To protect it from rain and decay, members of the prayer group painted it with the only paint they had available at the time \u2014 blue paint \u2014 and over time the cross became known as the \u201cBlue Cross\u201d<\/em>.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

In 1999, members of the prayer group together with visionary Ivan Dragi\u0107evi\u0107 erected a second Blue Cross (on the right side) in order to expand the prayer area. The surrounding space was arranged by members of the community<\/span><\/p>\n

It is an essential place of prayer for all pilgrims visiting Apparition Hill, especially for those who are unable to climb the hill due to health reasons.<\/span><\/p>\n

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5. Kri\u017eevac (30-minute walk from Hotel Luna<\/em>)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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At the top of Kri\u017eevac (formerly called \u0160ipovac), the parishioners of Medjugorje constructed a monumental <\/span>cross<\/span> (8.5 meters high and 3.5 meters wide) in honor of the Holy Year of Redemption (1933\u20131934). One of the reasons that inspired <\/span>the local people<\/span> to build the cross was the heavy <\/span>rainfall<\/span> that endangered crops, prompting the parish priest Bernardin Smoljan to encourage the parishioners, despite their poverty, to construct a cross in memory of the 1900th anniversary of Christ\u2019s Passion and death on the Cross. Another reason was the appeal of Pope <\/span>Pio XI<\/span>for monuments to be constructed on hilltops around the world in honor of this great anniversary. Relics believed to be from <\/span>the true Cross<\/strong>\u00a0of Jesus<\/strong>, were placed inside the structure of the cross, specially obtained <\/span>from Rome for this occasion<\/span>.<\/span> It was truly a great <\/span>sacrifice<\/span> for the parishioners of Medjugorje, as they had to carry all the materials needed to build the reinforced concrete cross (<\/span>gravel<\/span>, <\/span>cement<\/span>, <\/span>iron<\/span>, <\/span>water<\/span> and equipment) on their <\/span>backs<\/span> for days up the steep Herzegovinian rocky terrain to the summit of \u0160ipovac.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

On March 16, 1934, the first Holy Mass was celebrated <\/span>at the<\/span> foot of the cross. In September 1935, Bishop <\/span>Alojzije Mi\u0161i\u0107<\/span> decreed that the Feast <\/strong><\/span>of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross<\/strong>, would be celebrated in Medjugorje every year on the first Sunday after the Feast of the <\/span>Nativity of Mary<\/span>, with Mass celebrated on Kri\u017eevac.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

From the foot of the hill to the summit, 15 bronze Stations of the Cross have been placed, created by Italian artist Carmelo Puzzolo.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTo Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of mankind, as a sign of our faith, love, and hope, in memory of the 1900th anniversary of the Passion of Jesus.\u201d<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

inscription on the Cross<\/span><\/p>\n

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1. Crkva svetog Jakova (5 minuta hoda od Hotela Luna) \u017dupna crkva i prostor oko crkve sredi\u0161te je Me\u0111ugorja i mjesto slavljenja euharistije i sakramentalnog \u017eivota. Crkva je, kao i \u017eupa, posve\u0107ena sv. Jakovu, apostolu i za\u0161titniku hodo\u010dasnika. O \u017eupi brinu franjevci Hercegova\u010dke franjeva\u010dke provincije Uznesenja Bla\u017eene Djevice Marije sa sjedi\u0161tem u Mostaru. Gradnja crkve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3696,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pilgrims-corner"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotel-luna.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotel-luna.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotel-luna.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotel-luna.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotel-luna.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1664"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/hotel-luna.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4172,"href":"https:\/\/hotel-luna.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1664\/revisions\/4172"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotel-luna.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotel-luna.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotel-luna.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotel-luna.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}