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INTERESTING PLACES

 

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Herceg Novi

City of fortresses - one could say. In spite of its small size, it boasts the largest number of fortresses from among the other cities in the region - it has as many as three in its area. The most southern is Forte Mare, whose origins date back to the fourteenth century and the reign of Trvtko I, its founder. The city developed around it. Rebuilt successively by Turks, Venetians and Austrians, who in the nineteenth century gave it its final shape. Until today it has been preserved in good condition. In the southeastern part, even the medieval walls of the original fortress have survived. The second fortress, called Španjola, is located in the north-western part of the city. Its walls tower above the village. The view from the view allows you to admire a very large area from the inlet to the Gulf, and ending with its internal part. The fortress owes its name to the Spaniards who were its founders. They lived in the city for only a year, in the period from 1538 to 1539. At that time, they managed to build a massive fortress, surrounded by a thick wall with four round towers, which were later taken away by the Turks. To this day, however, this fortress is called Španjola, which means Spanish. The third claim is Kanli Kula, or Bloody Fortress. It is located in the northern part of the city. The first written mentions about it come from the seventeenth century, but it is assumed that its foundations were created in the Middle Ages. The fortress was built on solid, limestone rock. To this day, the walls and corner towers have been well preserved.

Budva

It is a modern, vibrant tourist city, which began its development from a small settlement established on the island over 2,500 years ago. Currently, this settlement - the Old Town of Budva - is located on a small cape protruding deep into the sea and is the largest monument of Budva. Medieval walls and buildings are a beautiful contrast to the rest of the modern part of the city. You can admire the beautiful churches, churches and houses. Sleepy, narrow streets, miniature gardens with citrus trees and small squares let you feel the unusual atmosphere of this place. The entire old town is surrounded by fifteenth century defensive walls, the culmination of which is the medieval citadel located in the southern part of the cape, from the sea. In the place where it is located, the first fortifications were made as early as the 5th century BC. Near the citadel there are three most notable temples of the old Budva. The first of these is the Cathedral of St. Jana, the largest church of this part of the city. Its origins date back to the 7th century, but found here fragments of foundations testify to the existence of a much older, early Christian, three-nave basilica in this place. In the cathedral you can admire the many icons and paintings from the 15th and 17th centuries, including image of the Virgin of Budva. Near the cathedral is the church of St. Maria in Puta, it is the oldest, dated building in the historical part of Budva. As the year of its construction, the date 840 is given. On the other hand, the Orthodox church located next to the church. Sava is a Romanesque building dated back to the 12th century. Inside, you can admire the remains of frescoes from the same period. An interesting fact is that near the citadel, in the south-eastern part of the city, on such a small fragment of space there is a complex of six temples, coming from different periods.

St. Stefan

It is a tiny island located 6 km from Budva, connected with the mainland by a narrow isthmus. The first fortress on the island was created in 1442, then it was surrounded by defensive walls, and in their interior there was a fishing village. In the 1950s, a handful of people who remained on the island were displaced to land and the whole island was turned into one big, luxurious hotel. Due to the fact that admission is limited to the island, there are fees at the entrance, which do not allow you to enter all the streets, this place is often visited by famous people who can enjoy peace and privacy here. The hotel has already hosted, among others Sophia Loren, Sylvesrt Stallone and Claudia Shiffer. Currently, the entire facility is being renovated to raise the standard of the hotel, and the island is closed to visitors. However, this does not prevent you from taking photos from the observation deck on the main road opposite the island. Currently, her image is one of the most frequently appearing on postcards, posters and informational folders of travel agencies advertising leisure in this country.

Kotor

It is one of the few cities on the Adriatic coast, which despite numerous wars and earthquakes has preserved the original ring of medieval defensive walls. Their construction began in the ninth century from the castle built on the Sveti Ivan hill. From him, walls were led down, which until the fourteenth century covered the entire today's old part of the city. Between the 12th and 18th centuries, the walls were rebuilt, expanded and strengthened many times. From the fifteenth century, due to the growing threat from the Turkish side, the towers were added along the walls. In the end, over a dozen of them were created, most at the entrance gates to the city. The last amendments in the construction of the walls were made in the 19th and 20th centuries, which means that their construction lasted over a thousand years. Currently, the walls are 4.5 km long, 2 to 16 m thick and 20 m high at the highest point. They climb from the east and north to the steep hill Sveti Ivan, reaching up to the massive fortress Kaštel, which was built in place of the former castle. The fortress is led by a stone staircase inside the defensive wall, which counts over 1500 degrees. From the fortress, on the other hand, there is a beautiful view of the Bay and the surrounding mountains, and the old city that remains below, whose orange roofs and bright buildings contrast with the surrounding greenery.

There are many historic temples and public buildings in the Old Town of Kotor. One of the most important sacred buildings in Kotor is the Cathedral of Saint. Tryphon. The construction of the Cathedral was completed in 1166. It was created in place of the pre-Romanesque temple here under the same call, which was from the ninth century. Over the centuries, the shape of the temple has been destroyed and rebuilt many times. In 2009, dates 809 and 2009 appeared on the towers, one on each of them. They mark the anniversary of the transfer of the remains of St. Tripuna, which, according to the applications, the inhabitants of the city bought from the Venetian merchants. One of the local richmen founded a church in which they were to rest. At that time, the pre-Romanesque temple was established, but it burned down in the tenth century, and in its place the current cathedral was built. In the interior of this 12th century temple there are many valuable monuments. An interesting fact for Poles is certainly the fact that a small wooden cross is stored in the vault, which allegedly the papal envoy Marco d'Aviano blessed the army of Jan III Sobieski near Vienna. Inside the cathedral, you can also admire clearly marked cross-rib vaults and the remains of fourteenth-century frescoes, which have been preserved, among others in the apse and in the arches between the pillars.

Gospa od Škrpjela

It is a small island in the Kotor Lagoon, and the literal translation of the name means Our Lady of the Rock. It is located opposite the town of Perast. Years ago, only a small rock stuck out of the sea in its place. The island was artificially created by the local population, and with its creation is associated with a legend. On this rock, on one day, the fishermen found a painting of the Mother of God. They took him to the mainland and the painting was placed in the church of St. Nicholas in Peraş. The next day, however, he reappeared on a protruding piece of rock. The whole situation was repeated three times. Eventually, the inhabitants ceased to move the picture, and began to sink stones and boulders around a piece of reef to create an island where a chapel could be built for him. With time, old sailing ships filled with stones began to sink. In 1603 alone, over 100 of these tall ships were sunk here. The first, tiny church was built in the 15th century. With time, when the island became larger, it was possible to expand the temple. This was done at least in the second half of the 17th century, when the majority of currently located buildings were built here. In the 18th century, a circular belfry was added. An interesting fact is the stone benches in front of the church. They did not have the function of increasing the number of seats as you might think. It was the so-called place of reconciliation. In the distant years there were meetings of judges, as it can be determined, to clarify the disputes between the inhabitants of the city. The authors of the idea hoped that since the conflicting parties could not come to an agreement by means of normal conversations, they would do so in the shadow of the church, displaying a kind of repentance and forgiveness, and accepting a just sentence, thus avoiding resolving the dispute by the Venetian courts. Inside the church, we can find numerous paintings. The miraculous image of the Mother of God, dating back to the 15th century, is considered to be the work of Lovra Marino Dobričević from Kotor. It is placed over the eighteenth-century altar of white Carrara marble, which in turn stands in a place where originally there was rock protruding from the sea. Next to the church, there is a building that houses a regional museum. His most interesting exhibit is a delicate, woven picture from 1828, made by Jacinta Kunić, a resident of Perast. According to legend, she embroidered her own hair with embroidered figures of the Mother of God and the Child. The image was created for over twenty years, which can be seen in the color of hair, which gradually change into gray. The woman wove him waiting for the beloved who did not return from the sea trip.

To this day, every year on July 22, the so-called Fasinada takes place here. This is a local ceremony with a traditional cover. On this evening, by the torchlight and the sounds of folk music, people from the town sail out with boats full of stones towards the island to leave them there.

Stare Miasto Bar

Currently, these are the ruins of the old city, which was established here in the 10th century. Founded on a high, flat hill with almost vertical slopes, the settlement was once the ideal place to defend and develop the city. The entire medieval old town is surrounded by defensive walls, the oldest part of which was built in the 12th century. Behind the walls, however, houses, palaces, churches, churches and many other buildings were hidden. The oldest of them date back to the ninth century. Noteworthy is also the aqueduct located outside the city walls, formed between the XV and XVII century. Currently only fragmentarily preserved. The city was repeatedly partially destroyed by war waged on its territory, and the final destruction was carried out by an earthquake in 1979. At that time, virtually all buildings inside the walls were razed to the ground. In good condition, only the walls and citadel, as well as the church of St. Veneranda and the church of Saint. Catherine both from the fourteenth century. Although in their case the term good condition is strongly exaggerated, because the buildings in which the roof collapsed, destroying the upper part of the walls and leaving only their lower structure and arches above the entrance door can hardly be called buildings in good condition. However, compared to what was left of other buildings, these seem to be almost intact. A Turkish Turkish bath from the 18th century has now been restored from the quake. On the other hand, only the foundations and stone remains of the walls remained from other buildings, and only small plates inform about what was in the given place. To date, only a few of them have been rebuilt, among others clock tower, church of St. Jana, Ducal Palace from the fifteenth century and several public buildings including those at the main entrance gate to the city, which now serve as a summer amphitheater and exhibition hall, in which historical exhibits found in the city are located. The Bar region is also an area famous for growing olive groves. The oldest olive in Montenegro, growing in the small town of Mirovica near the Bar, is over 2,000 years old. It is one of the oldest trees in Europe and what is interesting is still bearing fruit.

Monastyr Ostrog

Is the most famous monastery in Montenegro. Every year this place is visited by over one hundred thousand pilgrims from all over the world. It was founded in 1665 by Saint. Wasyl Ostrogski, miracle worker. The current complex of buildings consisting of the Upper Monastery and the Lower Monastery took its origin from two small churches - the one dedicated to Saint. Cross and the second under the name of the Dormition of the Mother of God. There would be nothing unusual about it, if it were not for the fact that these churches were in caverns in a solid, almost vertical rock caves at an altitude of over 900 m. Currently, the Upper Monastery is visible from a distance, snow-white front wall of the church of St. Cross embedded in the rock. The rest of it and the Orthodox church are located inside the mountain. The Lower Monastery is the Orthodox church of St. Trinity and auxiliary buildings of the monastery. The temple owes its fame undoubtedly to its peculiar appearance and location and the figure of St. Vasyl, who was already a great authority for the people during his lifetime, was also credited with miraculous power. After the construction of the monastery, he led a hermit life here until his death. Here he was also buried in the basement of the church of the Dormition of the Mother of God, where his body remains to this day intact. Through his life and the miracles he has been credited with during his life and after his death, he earned the great respect of the faithful. He is considered a saint by both the Orthodox and Catholic churches, and Muslims also come to his grave.

... and this is nature

Zatoka Kotorska

George Byron once said: "At the time of the formation of our planet, the most beautiful connection of land and sea fell to the coast of Montenegro." And he will certainly be right if he could see the Bay of Kotor with his own eyes. The view of the raw mountains, reaching a height of over 1500 m, which practically vertically immersed in the dark blue waters of the Adriatic Sea, makes a huge impression. Regardless of whether we see them from the level of the ship sailing on the Bay, or stand at the top of Jezerski Vrhu, at the foot of the entire Lovćen massif, we will certainly appreciate their enormity and wild beauty. This place has been appreciated not only by random tourists, but also by global organizations. In 1979, the Bay of Kotor and the old town of Kotor were included in the list of the world cultural and natural heritage of UNESCO, and the Bay itself is considered one of the most beautiful in the world.

Park Narodowy Lovćen

It is located high in the mountains south of Kotor. It was created in 1952 on the area of ​​6,220 ha. It covers the central and at the same time the highest part of the whole Lovćen massif. In the park you can admire numerous karst phenomena, min. caves, droughts and sinkholes. As of today, the park has three well-marked tourist routes with a total length of almost 30 km. In addition to its unquestionable natural and landscape values, this park has another very important meaning for the local population. Among the high mountains during the Turkish invasions, the local guerrilla was stationed, defending the remnants of freedom, and now on Jezerski Vrhu there is the mausoleum of Piotr II Pertović Niegoš, the greatest Montenegrin writer and poet of the Romantic period and the ruler of Montenegro in 1830-1851. The National Park of Lovćen is therefore a symbol of the struggle for freedom and the memory of the achievements of one of its most eminent rulers for the citizens of the country.

Plava Špilja

or Blue Grotto. It is located almost 4 nautical miles from Herceg-Novi, on the Luštica peninsula, from the open sea. The cave is led by two entrances located at sea level, they are so large that they allow even smaller ships to enter it. The grotto owes its name to the color of water, which as a result of refraction of light rays acquires an intense blue color. It is so strong that even when someone submerges in it you can get the impression that you are bathing in blue ink. At the same time, the water is so clear that you can see stones lying on the bottom of the sea. On the other hand, on the vault of the cave you can admire the stalactites hanging down.

Park Narodowy Jezioro Szkoderskie

It was created in the Montenegrin part of the largest lake in the Balkans and covers an area of ​​40,000 ha. The bird colonies occurring here are strictly protected small cormorants, herons, chestnut Ibises, yellow wagtail and many more. This region is also one of the few places in Europe where there are still "wild curly pelicans".

Kanion Rzeki Tary

The Tara River Canyon is the deepest canyon in Europe and one of the deepest in the world. Tara is the longest, almost 150 km long, river in Montenegro, while the Tara Canyon stretches for 80 km. The road running along it allows you to admire its vastness alternately from the level flowing by the foaming currents of the river and from the summits of the Durmitor mountains. For the more courageous, it will be a worthwhile proposal for rafting, which will allow you to feel the wildness of the foamy waters of Tara on your own skin. The Tara Canyon and the Durmitor National Park, on whose territory the river flows in 1980, was included in the list of the world cultural and natural heritage of UNESCO. And this fact speaks for itself.

Park Narodowy Biogradska Góra

In this area, already protected in 1878, covered by ancient beech and pine forests, whose trees are more than 500 years old, there are almost 80 species of multicolored butterflies and 86 species of endemic plants and animals - occurring only in this area.