BAR

At the southern edge of Montenegro lies the picturesque city of Bar. With rolling mountains, warm waters and a bustling cityscape, it’s a hugely popular destination for yachters from around the world.

Bar - Montenegro

The beauty of Bar is truly something you have to experience yourself to truly understand.

Hotel Princess - Bar

For thousands of years, people have been drawn to the intoxicating beauty of Bar’s countryside.

Bar Promenade - Montenegro

The city’s chic, contemporary looks belie a much longer history, rich with romance and excitement.

Bar - City Center

The blend of tradition modernity within the Port of Bar’s city limits make it a huge tourist destination and hub for coastal expeditions.

Bar Montenegro - Marina

Water defines Bar, it is a major seaport for Montenegro located 180 km far from the Strait of Otranto.

Bar - Major Seaport of Montenegro

Adriatic Sea forms the western boundary of the city, mirroring the sailboat docks at the port of Bar.

Port of Adria Bar

The center of town with its hodge podge of boutique shopping cafes is right down the main street from the port and marina, while east of the city, Lake Skadar nourishes Bar’s wine country near Virpazar.

Street across from the Marina Bar

Bar Municipality has more than 46 kilometers of coast, with 20 beaches that have a total of 9 kilometers in length.

Bar - Susanj

Although there are some nice cobble beaches in Bar itself, many tourists choose destinations in other small towns in Bar municipality, notably Sutomore, with its beautiful long sandy beach.

Sutomore Beach

Queen’s beach was the beach favoured by Queen Milena, King Nikola’s wife. You can only get here by boat which makes this beach exclusive.

Queen's beach near Bar - Montenegro

The entire area around Bar is mostly untouched nature, and is rich in vegetation.

Area around Sutomore

This is definitely town with the most pleasant climate on the Montenegrin coast! Besides being one of the sunniest places in Southern Europe, with an average of 270 sunny days during the year, the climate is characterized by warm summers and mild winters.

Bar - Open sea view

The average annual temperature is 16 degrees Celsius. In July the average temperature is 26 degrees C, and in January of 10 degrees C.

Canj - Montenegro

Besides being an important port, Bar is also the final station on the Belgrade-Bar railroad.

Bar - Railway Station

Located on the wide area between the sea and the hills of the mountain Rumija, Bar had through history always strategic importance.

Bar - City Square Monument St. Jovan Vladimir

Town was settled in Neolithic times, however the busiest time period in the history of Bar was during medieval times, with Bar an especially important location in ecclesiastical history as the home of three religions, Orthodox, Catholicism, and Islam.

Selimija Mosque - Bar

Also known as Antibari in earlier centuries, due to its location opposite or «Anti» from Bari in Italy, Bar was one half of the equation for the first radio connection made by Guglielmo Marconi in 1904. which was between Bari in Italy and Bar in Montenegro.

Remains of the Ratac Church - Bar

Southeast of the city, Stari Bar (Old Town – Old Bar) elevates itself some four kilometers inland from the coast at the foot of Mount Rumija (1.594 m) and at an altitude of 110 m.

Old Town - Bar

Just arriving in Old Bar gives you a sense of the old times, with many coloured houses at the foot of the site, decorated with the most amazing colours.

Houses at the foot of Old Bar

The area beautifully illustrates the Turkish influence from 300 years of Ottoman rule, with its vibrant mix of restaurants and souvenir shops.

Restaurant in Old Bar

One can observe one of Montenegro’s most picturesque streets leading through Old Town and fortress above.

Cobbled street in Old Bar

The Old Town of Bar also known as a Montenegrin Pompeii is the largest urban agglomeration among the ruins in Montenegro.

Montenegrin Pompeii - Bar old Town

The Old Town of Bar has some spectacular views over the city of Bar and Adriatic Coastline and is surrounded by hills covered in centuries old olive tress.

View from Old Town - Bar

It is believed that there was a settlement in Old Bar as early as 800 BC, which was demolished by Romans somewhere around the 3th century BC.

Streets inside Old Bar Fortress

The Romans laid the groundwork for the current city of Bar as they believed the centre should be moved closer to the Sea.

Archaeological Site - Old Bar - Montenegro

In the 6th century, Emperor Justinian established a new fortified tower and it is believed that around the 10th century the site became known as Antibari, which means opposite of the Italian named city of Bari.

Old Bar Ramparts

By this time Old Bar had become one of the Adriatic’s key political and economic centres.

Old Bar - Former Bishop's Palace

Inhabitants of Old Bar were living mostly from selling craftwork, olive oil and salt trade.

Old Bar - Warehouses of residents

In the 14th century the site was fortified further during the Balsic dynasty.

Old Bar - Fortress

The last fortifications were implemented by Venetians who ruled the Adriatic during the 15th and 16th century.

Old Bar - Ramparts

Turks rained over the surrounding territories fromt eh 16th until the 19th century and the town of Old Bar was mostly destroyed during the fierce fights between Turks and Montenegrins in 1878.

Old Bar - Ruins

A massive earthquake in the region known as the 1979 earthquake put the last remaining buildings to the ground.

Remains of Old Bar

This is was the point when the old town was abandoned and a new city was built on the sea.

Old Bar - Viewpoint

The site, where meticulous reconstruction work is being carried out on the old town, offers a unique experience for visitors.

Old Bar - Reconstructed building

This intriguing locale presents both restored structures as well as ruins which offer memorable exploration opportunities on foot.

Trail through Old Bar

At the entrance point, maps may be purchased offering guidance through these historical remnants while providing insights into their former identities.

Old Town of Bar - Map

You can easily spend one to two hours exploring the ruins.

Old Bar Fortress - Lion of St. Mark

You enter the site through the Customs building, which is one of the most completed buildings.

Entrance in The Old Bar

Inside Old Town you’ll find two small museums with artifacts that have been dug up from the ruins and one reconstructed building with beautiful landscapes of the area.

Old Bar - Artifacts

Just inside the entrance there’s an amphitheatre that’s used for concerts and plays in summer.

Old Bar - Amphitheatre

In the Western part of Old Bar you will find the remains of the St. Nicolas’s Church (XIII century), which displays some remarkable Byzantine era frescos.

Old Bar - Fresco in Church of St. Nicholas

From the church of St. Nicholas there was only one wall with fragments of frescoes.

Remains of St. Nicholas Church - Old Bar

Very nice views from the valley below can be seen from the Old Citadel including the almost completely restored 17th century aquaduct.

Old Bar Citadel

Among the most notable characteristics of the Old Town is its large stone arch bridge traversing across a valley. This bridge crosses the valley with 17 supported arches on 18 robust stone pillars.

Old Bar and Aqueduct

The bridge forms part of the aqueduct constructed during Ottoman rule in the 16th century and stands as Montenegro’s best-preserved aqueduct to date.

Old Bar - Aquaduct

Interestingly, there only exist three such structures within former Yugoslav states – one each located in Croatia and Macedonia respectively besides our location here. The Aquaduct facilitated water transport over a distance of about three kilometers from Mt Rumija’s spring source to satisfy town-wide requirements.

Aquaduct in Old Town of Bar

Other restored buildings include the St. John’s Church, the main palace (which is now an art studio) and the St. Venerande’s Church dating back to the 14th century.

Old Bar - Restored buildings

On a small crossroads square in the center of the city, a well-preserved church dedicated to St. John’s is built in the XIV century.

St. John's Church - Old Bar

The Church of St. Veneranda was built in the XIV century. Local residents have restored the shrine. Now the historical monument is open and it used for spiritual concerts.

St. Veneranda Church - Old Bar

The round tower Gavadola with a bulwark makes a single construction, but it was not erected to the same time. The tower was built first during Venetian rule together with the town walls. Later during the Ottoman times, the bulwark was added.

The Round Tower Gavadola - Old Bar

Under bastion of Gavadola is the underground church of St. Hilarion (XIII century). The ceiling is served by fortress walls, the floor is a rock on which there is a bastion, and the halls are tiny caves.

St. Hilarion Church Old Bar

At the heart of the complex one finds the splendidly restored Turkish bath (Hamam) and the completely rebuilt Clock Tower.

Old Bar - Hamam

Hamam – Turkish bath (XVIII centuries) is preserved since the time of the Ottoman conquest.

Old Bar - Turkish Bath

The interior of the bath with the «Star» ceiling is now restored.

Old Bar Interior of Turkish Bath

The Clock tower – Sahat Kula was built by the Turks in 1753. The clock on the four sides of the structure has been installed since 1984 during the restoration. At night, the Tower is highlighted.

Old Bar - Clock Tower

 

The integrity and the authenticity of the Old Bar have been preserved to the extent that its historical significance is understood, as well as the value of its material heritage, cultural and historical context of thousand years’ long life of the town and the moment of destruction of its material structures.

Old Town of Bar - Montenegro

Mysterious is the fact that life has never gone back to this town, but got to the coast through the suburban area, leaving behind what is best and most precious.

Old Bar - The remains of Palace

Within the past 130 years, the Old Bar has been the treasury of architectural and archaeological heritage, with the researchers of various profiles as its sole «inhabitants».

Archaeological Heritage - Old Bar, Montenegro

The area around Bar abounds in Mediterranean vegetation.

Mediterranean vegetation around Bar

What makes Bar attractive as well are definitely numerous olive groves.

Olive groves - Bar, Montenegro

There are about 100.000 olive trees and almost 40.000 fruit trees in Bar.

Fruit trees in Bar

A trademark of the town is over 2000 years old olive tree, and also one of the oldest olive trees in Europe that still bears fruit.

Old Olive Tree in Bar

Only two olives in the world are older then Bar olive (Israeli and Tunisian).

Vecchio Ulivo - Bar, Montenegro

In Montenegro it once existed a custom that no one guy could not marry if not tens of olive trees planted. Thanks to this custom there are more than 500.000 olive trees along Montenegrin seaside.

Olive groves - Montenegro

Town Bar is one of the main Montenegrin centers for olive oil production.

Feast of Olives Bar

In the Old Bar there was 1927. «Oil Mill of Maric Brothers» where they daily processed up to 20 tons of olives and the famous Bar oil, which was exported to America, France and Germany.

Stone Olive Mill

Therefore, most of the festivals in the city are related to the topic of «Olive».

Barska Maslinijada

Commercial offer at Bar is extremely rich, especially with the latest fashion clothing and footwear from Italy. Bar is, no doubt, a major economic center, the second largest in Montenegro.

Square in front of the department store in Bar

Bar is not only an economic but also a famous cultural center.

Cultural center Bar - Library

Bar is also home to King Nikola’s Palace located on the promenade, facing the sea and built in 1885 as a present to his daughter Princess Zorka and his son-in-law Prince Petar Karadjordjevic.

King Nikola’s Palace - Bar

The complex consisted of a large palace with a ballroom, a little palace, a chapel, guardhouses and a winter garden.

The Palace of King Nikola - Bar

King Nikola was a yachtsman as well, and in front of the palace was a wooden pier. Over his lifetime, King Nikola owned 10 yachts, one of which, «Sibil», was purchased from Jules Verne. His last yacht «Rumija» was sunk in 1915 on the site of the present city marina by the Austro-Hungarian gunboats.

Bar - Promenade in front of the castle of King Nikola

Today, in the garden, a large stainless steel structure, originally given as a present by the Italian King Vittorio Emanuele, is now a restaurant called «Knjazeva basta» («The Duke’s Garden»).

Restaurant «Knjazeva basta» Bar

Open to the public, the palace complex houses the Homeland Museum of the City of Bar and is also used for public festivals and concerts.

King Nikola Palace - Homeland Museum of Bar

The magnificent Cathedral of St. John Vladimir whose construction began nearly 20 years ago is located in downtown, not far from the coast.

Cathedral of St. John Vladimir Bar

This huge, modern, gold-topped cathedral can be seen from all across Bar. It’s dedicated to Jovan Vladimir, the patron saint of Bar, who is considered to be the first Serbian saint.

The fresco of King Vladimir, Queen of Kosara and St. Nicholas

The archdioceses in Bar is one of the two archdioceses that together with four dioceses cover the territory of Former Yugoslavia. This archdiocese in Bar, is directly responsible to the Holy SEE.

The Archdioceses in Bar

The Pope (Clement III) on January 8th 1089 is raising the Bar bishopric to the status of archbishopric, with ten subordinated bishoprics and Archbishop Petar as head.

Archdioceses Bar

Omerbasica Mosque is located just outside Stari Bar’s main gate, this simple construction (dating from 1662) has a square stone base and an elegant minaret enclosed by a stone wall.

Omerbasica Mosque - Old Bar

In this town’s always something happening on the cultural plan, and throughout whole year. For it is certainly the most responsible Cultural Center of Bar.

Cultural center of Bar Happening

In the tourist season festival «Barski ljetopis» has a very rich program, which includes guest performances and concerts.

Concert - Palace of King Nikola Bar

In the autumn in this city under Rumija mountain is maintained and International TV Festival, with the participation of television productions from all continents.

International TV Festival Bar

Sports Centre in Bar, with a modern gym and several grass fields for various sports, has become an attractive place for year-round gathering, training, preparations and competition of athletes from Montenegro and abroad.

Sports Center in Bar

 

So, experience the best of the Montenegrin coastal city of Bar year-round.

Temple St. Jovan Vladimir - Bar

 

Between the sea and rocks, with 270 sunny days a year, winds that intersect the smell of the Adriatic, pine and fig tree which creates a unique mix of the basic elements of nature.

City Beach in Bar

Become a part of nature, experience the unique place!

Sunset - Bar, Montenegro

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