Bar, Montenegro - Cultural and Historical Monuments

Cultural and Historical Monuments

The rich cultural and historical heritage of Bar belongs to different epochs and civilizations. It would be very difficult to list all the remarkable monuments in Bar, so we will mention only some of them.

One of the oldest monuments in this area and the oldest Christian religious building in Montenegro is the Bar Triconch Church dating back to the 6th century, whose remnants are located in the centre of the town. This is where the “Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja” (“Ljetopis popa Dukljanina”) was created in the second half of the 12th century. It is the region’s most important medieval work of literature and history. Just a few kilometres away from the town centre, on Ratac peninsula, situated between Bar and Sutomore, there are the remnants of Our Lady of Ratac (Bogorodica Ratačka) monastery complex which belonged to the Benedictine order, and it is presumed to have been established in the 9th century. Near the small seaside town of Sutomore, there is the partially preserved fortress of Nehaj, used by both Venetians and Ottoman Turks. As a Venetian fortified town, Nehaj was first documented in the 16th century as the Fortezza dei Spizi. The Bar municipality also contains beautiful churches and monasteries erected during the time of the Balšić family (14th -15th century) on the islands of Lake Skadar: Beška, Moračnik, Starčevo, etc.

Bar is one of the few towns which can boast several churches representing a rare religious and social phenomenon. Namely, these churches were used by both Christian confessions existing in the region – Orthodox and Catholic.

Of all the cultural and historical monuments in Bar, the 19th-century King Nikola’s palace is the one that attracts the most attention.It was built in 1885 on the seashore. The palace was a present from King Nikola to his daughter Princess Zorka and his son-in-law Prince Petar Karađorđević. It consisted of a large palace, a little palace, a chapel, guardhouses and a winter garden. In 1910 a spacious ballroom was built in the palace. As part of the palace, there is a park with many different species of Mediterranean vegetation, among them a cork tree. In front of the palace, there was a wooden pier, which served as a mooring for boats and yachts. During the period between 1866 and 1916 King Nikola owned ten yachts. One of them, named “Sibil” was bought from novelist Jules Verne, while the last yacht he bought, called “Rumija” was sunk in 1915 by the Austro-Hungarian navy in the area of today’s harbour. Here, one can also find a large flower garden, made of a stainless steel structure of interesting shape, which was given as a present by the Italian king, Emanuel, and which is nowadays used as the restaurant called “Knjaževa bašta” (“The Duke’s Garden”). Nowadays, the palace building complex is used as the Homeland Museum of the City of Bar, as well as for festivals (concerts, exhibitions and literary events).

The Old Olive of Mirovica is a trademark natural feature of Bar. It is believed to be more than 2000 years old and it is one of the oldest olive trees in the world. Because of its natural, morphological, environmental, aesthetic and historical significance, this exceptional natural monument was put under State protection in 1957. Numerous legends and traditions are associated with the Old Olive of Mirovica. One of them has it that at one time families that had a dispute would come here to make peace under this olive tree. Thus it earned its name - Mirovica (the root of the name is “mir”, meaning peace).