MONTENEGRO 531Ulcinj 4
95 km (59 miles) S of Podgorica.
* 11,000. @ n ulica 6 Novembra,
(030) 412 595. ( Fri.The southernmost city on the
Montenegrin coast, Ulcinj is
thought to be one of the oldest
trading settlements in the
Adriatic. Its Old Town (Stari
grad) was men tioned as early
as the 6th cen tury BC, when it
was home to a Greek colony.
Its naturally defensive position
atop a rocky penin sular made
for an ideal van tage point over
the sheltered harbour and was
reinforced by mighty walls,
rendering it virtu ally impene-
trable to attack over the
cen turies. However, it succum-
bed to the Serbs, then the
Venetians, and, finally, the
Ottomans in 1571 before its
integration into the new
Montenegrin state in 1880.
Today, the Old Town has been
restored following widespread
damage caused by the 1979
earth quake. The Old Town
Museum (Zavičajni muzej)
occu pies many build ings on
Slave’s Square (trg Robova).
Its archaeo logical collection,
housed in a 16th-century
Renaissance church, includes
marble Turkish tomb stones,
medi eval coins and a variety of
pottery speci mens. Traditional
cos tumes are on display in
the neigh bouring 6th-century
Bishop’s Palace, while the
15th-century Balšić Tower is
used for temporary exhibitions.E Old Town Museum
Stari grad. Tel (030) 421 419.
# May–Sep: 7am–noon &
3pm–8pm daily; Oct–Apr: 7am–
2pm daily. & =St Theodor’s Church
and was once the
Old Town’s lar gest
cathe dral. The
Ottomans rebuilt it
as a mosque in the
17th cen tury, but
today only its found-
ations remain. Also
worth visiting is the
restored Church of
St Venerada, used
for music reci tals,
and the old Bishop’s
Palace, which
houses a small
museum of the Old
Town history.
A more comprehensive
museum collection can be
found in the Homeland
Museum (Zavičajni muzej) on
the seafront in the New Town
(Novi Bar). It is located in the
19th-century sum mer residence
of King Nikola, who used the
man sion to receive guests from
abroad. The town is also
famous for its numerous olive
trees. According to legend,
locals were unable to marry
until they had planted at least
ten olive trees. One, in parti-
cular, is believed to be over
2,000 years old and can be
found near the Old Town.E Homeland Museum
Šetalište Kralje Nikole. Tel (030) 314
9am–2pm & 6pm–8pm
daily. & =
Bar 3
70 km (43 miles) S of Podgorica.
- 16,000. £ @ g n Obala 13
Jul bb, (030) 312 912.
http://www.bar.me
The beautiful coastal town
of Bar is the coun try’s only
international port, with ferries
from Greece and Italy dock-
ing every day.
However, the star attraction
is the Old Town (Stari Bar),
situated 4 km (2 miles) inland
on a rocky plateau at the foot
of Mount Rumija. Founded
in the 6th century, the town
was ruled by Byzantines, Serbs
and Venetians before becom-
ing part of the Ottoman
Empire from 1571 to 1878. It
was gradually abandoned in
the early 20th century after
being des troyed during the
War of Liberation (1878) and
suffering two cat astrophic
explosions in 1882 and 1912.
Archaeological and restoration
work begun in the 1950s was
set back by another earth-
quake in 1979 which again
deva stated the Old Town.
Today, many of the Old
Town’s buildings and sections
of its walls have been restored
and are used as a summer
venue for cultural events.
The 12th-century St George’s
Church was built upon the
ruins of the 9th-cen tury
MONTENEGRO’S BEST BEACHES
Between Bar and Ulcinj, endless stretches of fine sandy
beaches merge with the clear blue waters of the Adriatic. To
the west of Bar, and only access ible by sea, is the Kraljičina
(Queen’s) Beach, favoured by Queen Milena, wife of King
Nikola. To the east is the 1-km (0.5-mile) long Crvena (Red)
Beach named after its unusual red sand. The Veliki Pijesak
(Great Sand) Beach between Bar and Ulcinj or the 13-km
(8-mile) long Velika Plaža (Great Beach) east of Ulcinj are
the most isolated beaches. Naturists can also visit the beach
at Ada Bojana, a small island at the end of Velika Plaža.The 2,000-year-old olive tree near Bar’s Old TownOne of the remote beaches in Ulcinj