02 February 2019 - Despite its small size and sparse population (less than 700,000 inhabitants), Montenegro offers incredible diversity in its topography. Thanks to the possibility of a stunning adventure - the transition from the Adriatic coast to the mountainous region, Montenegro has recently gained the title of a tourist destination that offers a “two-for-one” trip experience.

Christina Webb, a writer for Lonely Planet – renowned travel guide book publisher, recently wrote an article on “Two-for-one trips: destinations that offer double the fun” and Montenegro has proudly taken the second place on the list! The article provides advice for all tourists who can’t decide whether to spend their holiday on a sunny beach or is their main goal to kick back and relax in the mountains. To help them with their decision, Lonely Planet writer decided to list all destinations that offer plenty of sun, picturesque coastline cities and breath-taking beaches, but at the same time, there are options for mountain lovers, like hiking, cycling, kayaking and many more – all in one country!

“Say goodbye to indecision," says Christina. “If you’re stuck between travel daydreams of markets or mountainscapes, spine-tingling safaris or the siren song of the sea, don’t fear. Fitting two types of trips into one might seem arduous to organise, but with the right timing, transport, and planning, it’s easily achievable,” Lonely Planet writer reports. Now it is possible to “pack diverse experiences into a region that can be explored in a typical vacation period”, you just need to choose carefully and organise ahead.

The article presents Montenegro as a country ideal for a vacation that includes rafting amid the mountains of the north and seafood and Med climes in the southern area! Follow the advice of the travel guide writer, Christina Webb, and get a holiday of a lifetime! As explained within the Lonely Planet article, “in Montenegro, rafting is synonymous with the turquoise Tara River. Arrive at Durmitor National Park and glimpse the winding river through the mountains and you’ll see why. The Black Lake by Žabljak is both dramatic and serene, as are the forests of Biogradska Gora National Park near Kolašin. Exploring both the towns and national parks over a few days is all you need before taking to the water. Most rafting takes place in Durmitor, and you’ll get the most dramatic view of the Tara Canyon’s imposing 1300m high walls from your raft.”

“Then, make your way down the country over a few hours; the best way to experience the changing scenery is to hire a car, but it can also be done by bus. Along the way, you’ll notice how the patterns of snow, A-framed farmhouses, and green hills will disappear as terracotta-tiled stone buildings and shimmering deep-blue water come into view. Spend a couple of nights in Kotor’s Old Town. Climb the 1300-plus steps to the top of the fortifications, meet the town’s feline population and sample grilled squid, seafood risotto and other Mediterranean culinary delights. You’ll easily be able to fit in exploring the charming villages dotted along the Bay of Kotor, Perast, Prčanj and the outskirts of Dobrota,” says Christina from Lonely Planet.

January 30, 2019 - Dobrota is a small town on the shore of Kotor Bay, just next to the Old town of Kotor stretching for several kilometres along the picturesque coastline to the village of Ljuta. Once the famous naval settlement, Dobrota was one of the most beautiful areas of Boka Bay. Unfortunately, its unique cultural landscape was recently almost destroyed by inadequate and massive urbanisation.  Ancient palaces of Dobrota’s captains are more and more challenging to discover between concrete buildings, growing from the sea to the slopes of mountains hanging the settlement from the north-east. But still, there are a lot of reasons to visit Dobrota and discover its ancient buildings, beautiful churches and hospitable people. Let us propose some of those.

Dobrota in 19.century

 

The settlement of Dobrota was first mentioned in the 13th century as Dabratum. In the 14th century, it became a part of Kotor, being its suburb from 1371 to 1704. The greatest prosperity Dobrota reached from the 17th and 19th centuries is one of the most important maritime centres along the Mediterranean coast. There was a large pier, many ships, and almost everyone in the village dealt with naval work. Under the Venetian rule, in 1717 Dobrota gained the status of a seaside settlement thank to skilful seamen, ensuring the economic development of this area. Wealthy captains of local vessels built beautiful baroque palaces here, furnishing them with valuable furniture and decorations brought from all parts of the world. The beauty of those palaces contributed the beautiful terraced gardens in the backyard areas, full of local plants and exotic fruit and flowers brought from distant, overseas countries. Terraced landscapes over Bokelian shore settlements, their beauty and harmony were some of the primary reasons for the area of Kotor to become one of the UNESCO sites - precious heritage of humanity.  Unfortunately, those terraces are mostly gone forever, giving the space for large concrete constructions built in the name of progress and tourist development.

Palace Ivanovic, Copyright: waytomonte.com

 

These palaces stand today as a memory on times of fame and greatest prosperity of Dobrota and its famous captains, who became rich dealing with maritime trade.  The Palace of the family Ivanovic is one of the most notable buildings along Kotor’s coast, built in the second half of the 18th century.  The Ivanovic family was one of the richest of Dobrota - by the beginning of the XIX century they had 11 houses in the settlement. Thriven on sailing, in the 18th century there were 28 ships in their property, trading with Italian and Albanian ports. During the war between Venice and Turkey in 1714-1718, the Ivanovic family allocated part of their fleet for the liberation of Ulcinj from the Turks, for which they received praise from the Venetian governor Alvise Mocenigo. The most famous members of this family were Marko and Jozo Ivanovic, who defeated the Turks in the battle near the Greek port of Piraeus in 1756. Their courage and skill shown in this battle brought them the status of knights of the Order of St. Mark of Venice.  Palata Ivanovic still witnesses the power of its builders with its exquisite stone architecture. The entrance to the property characterises a stone gate, with the coat of arms of the Ivanovic family highlighted.

Palace Milosevic, Dobrota Copyright: waytomonte.com

 

The palace of the Milosevic family is also known as “Veliki Palac” due to the most significant dimensions among other buildings in the settlement. The sea captains, brothers Milosevic built it in 1828. The building is a four-story palace with a wide belvedere and late baroque features, surrounded by a stone wall of a fence, behind which there is a private terrace. It is the only palace in Dobrota with two different facades, the main one with a view of the sea, the rear one with a mountain view. And in the south-eastern part of the palace, there is an unusual corner tower with a cannon embrasure built in the style of a ship one. It was one of the six buildings owned by this family on the Dobrota’s coast. Family Milosevic was 12th in Dobrota for their wealth, the number of ships, seamen and captains, holding nine vessels in the 19 century.

Palace Tripkovic, Copyright: Tourist Organisation Kotor

 

The majestic appearance and the greatest fame among all the "captain palaces" built in the area of Dobrota is the mansion of the Tripkovic family. They played an essential role in the life of Kotor, especially in trade, navigation, construction and culture. This family owned 18 vessels, and 63 of its members had the rank of the ship captain. One of them, Andrija Tripkovic, was the head of the local commune and was a member of the Kotor administration. He built the palace a bit away from shore at the end of the 18th century, with a sea dock on the coast in front of the palace. The palace itself, made of Korcula stone, has three floors and a belvedere with a baroque pediment crowned with a small turret. As most of the castles in Dobrota, Tripkovic’s house also has a defending fence made of stone, marked by the family arm of a coat. 

Palace Radonicic- Institute for Marine Biology Kotor, Copyright: Boka News

 

We have already mentioned the house of the family Radonicic. This beautiful palace, today the building of the Institute of Marine Biology, was built in the 19th century. Palata Radonicic stands on the Plagenti peninsula, where, beside the palace, there is the Romanesque church of Sv. Elijah, one of the oldest monuments of architecture of Montenegro built in the 11th century and preserved till our days. The family Radonicic bought the entire Plagenti peninsula from the municipality in 1808, during the French rule. In 1847, Petar II Petrović Njegos lived with his friend, Captain Krsto Jozo Radonicic. The palace has an original Baroque conception of the ground floor, the two floors and the last floor in the form of a belvedere. In 1937 the castle bought the "Jadranska Straza" for its needs. At the time of adaptation, 16 newly-built pillars at the ground floor level completely changed the appearance of the typical Bokelian palace. After the Second World War, the building served as the Central Maritime School in Kotor, and today, as mentioned, there is the Institute of Marine Biology. The palace was renovated in 2012, and at the moment there are works in progress to transform its ground floor into the first and only aquarium in Montenegro to be open in summer 2020.  

Maritime Library in Dobrota, Copyright: the University of Montenegro, Faculty for Maritime Studies

 

Impressive for its architecture and historically significant building of Dobrota is also the palace of the Maritime Library, an integral part of Maritime Faculty Kotor. Thanks to a ship-owner from Monaco, Captain Bozo Dabinovic, the library was moved to this palace in the late eighties. Benefactor, captain Dabinović, coming from noble maritime family Dabinovic from Dobrota, provided funds for the adaptation of this building exclusively for the needs of Maritime library and dedicated this donation to the memory of his father, Professor Antun Stijepov Dabinovic.

Church of St.Matthew, Dobrota, Copyright: Tourist Organisation Kotor

 

Dobrota hides several ancient churches. Parish church of St. Matthew marks in a prominent place along the coastline, separated from the coast by supporting stone ramparts. The Baroque church dates back to the 17th century and among the valuable relics of the church is the famous icon of Giovanni Bellini "Madonna and Child". Further towards the settlement of Ljuta, in the part of Dobrota called Sveti Stasije, stands one of the highest bell towers in Boka Bay, of the church of St. Eustace, built in 1773. The church keeps a precious and exciting collection of 52 canvases from the 17-18th century and a unique ancient mosaic that adorns the altar. 

Dobrota shore, Copyright: travel-to.net

 

Today Dobrota is a popular tourist destination. When you are by the sea, you are looking at the sea. And somehow could take your head away of the giant newly built houses transforming this beautiful part of Boka Bay into the playground of construction mafia. The state of Montenegro and the previous local government allowed the destruction of Kotor’s landscape, so the area is in danger of being excluded from the list of natural and cultural heritage of the world. Unfortunately, Dobrota has a potential for development of new tourist offer.

January 26, 2019 - On the square in front of St. Tryphon's Basilica in Kotor, with a traditional saying of praise, and by raising the flag in the basilica, the outdoor Festivities of St. Tryphon, held in honour of the saint, patron of Kotor and Kotor’s bishopric, begin. St. Tryphon's Festivities equally belong to the city and the Boka Navy's 1210 old organisation which combines its occurrence with the transfer of St. Tryphon's relics to Kotor.

The beginning of the ceremony will traditionally be marked by the Little Admiral of the Boka Navy Kotor, Martin Jerolim Petrović, who will pronounce Lode, praise the patron saint of the city. After proclaiming Lode, Boka Navy will hold the traditional ceremony of the handover of the duties of the Little Admiral. His predecessor, Luka Kovačević from Herceg Novi, will be given a decision on cessation and Martin at the beginning of the service.

On this day, the Navy elects a Little Admiral, a young boy who accompanies the Admiral during public performances, representing a symbol of generational continuity of the organisation. At the solemn session on 13 January this year, the Admiralty and the Board of Directors of the Boka Navy decided that the Little Admiral for 2019 would be 12-year-old Martin Petrović from Skaljari, Kotor. 

Former Little Admiral, Luka Kovacevic; Copyright: bokanews.com

 

In modern times, the Little Admiral recites Lode according to a text that had been restored in the second half of the 17th century by Bishop Marin II Drago. He wrote them based on a Medieval Latin version not being preserved.

 

Today’s text dates to 1800. Up until 1871, Lode was recited in Italian, and after that in Montenegrin. They were translated from Italian in 1871 by the Prcanj pastor Don Mihovil Florio.

Boka Navy's Round Dance (Kolo) at the St.Tryphon's Square

 

St. Tryphon’s outdoor celebration begins on 27 January, a date that coincides with St. Sava’s Day, which is observed by Orthodox Christians. On this day, after communion and sermon in front of the Church of St. Nicholas, the Orthodox and Roman Catholic believers move towards the square in front of the Cathedral of St. Tryphon, accompanied by City Music marching band. There, precisely at noon, the Little Admiral of Boka Navy recites lode to St. Tryphon from the Cathedral’s loggia, then St.Tryphon's flag is raised, and the Kolo dance starts.

January 23, 2019 - We came to Skaljari. Our tour around the villages of Boka Bay has arrived at one of the most characteristic points when it comes to the typical culture of living through time. Skaljari was not a naval settlement, not even a fishermen village. It was, and on some points still tries to be, just an ordinary village, characteristic for agriculture and families living together and supporting each other in good and bad times. Also, its inhabitants were well-known craftsmanship. 

Today, unfortunately, Skaljari is best known for the criminal group "Skaljarski klan", but this is not one of the topics we will be dealing with in this story. We found ourselves a better company. Our host in Skaljari is Dolores Fabian, president of the NGO Ke Nova, who advocates preserving the local tradition of Kotor and Boka Bay through organising numerous events and programs focusing on the material and immaterial cultural heritage of this region.

Copyright: Dux Radio

 

Judging by the churches in Skaljari, the oldest church of St. Dujam dates from the end of the 12th century, this settlement started to develop even earlier. The name Skaljari comes from Skalja, a local expression for the stone that characterised the Skaljari landscape before the village became the suburban settlement. The church of St Dujam has recently been restored and re-dedicated to the saint, patron of the town of Split, and its additional cultural value, according to Dolores Fabian, lies in the fact that it is the sanctuary dedicated to St. Dujam on the most southerly point at all.

Copyright: Boka News

 

The so-called "Imperial Way", built on the project of Josip Slade from Trogir from 1879 to 1884, passes through the settlement. According to the local legend, the engineer Slade was so enchanted by the beauty of the Montenegrin princess Milena Petrović that he had designed a part of that road in a shape of the beginning letter of her name - large M.  Terrain configuration suggests that this path didn't need sharp curves, which makes this legend closer to the truth.

Skaljari and Kotor in 1929

 

"Times are changing, the way of life changes. New people are coming, the structure of the population changes, which all affect that old, traditional lifestyle loses. However, we are struggling through the manifestations and events that characterise our town to have Skaljari survive as it once was, recognisable above all by the women who worked in the gardens and then sold their vegetables on the Kotor's market and on," says our host, Dolores Fabian.

Skaljarice with one Konavoka at the Skaljarska Pjaca, Old Town of Kotor

 

"You know that one of the squares in Kotor carries the name “Skaljarska Pjaca“ (Skaljari's market). There once the villagers from Skaljari sold their agricultural products. As for every market, there was a characteristic "Susur" - a glance and overwhelming, averting, a lot of "cuddling". " Dolores with members of the organisation, through the various manifestations tries to save the sounds, smells and tastes of old times. In this sense, the most interesting is the tourist event "Kotor's Time Machine" which is held during the summer months by the squares of the Old Town of Kotor. One of the segments of this program is exactly at the square named by Skaljari where young girls perform the sketches prepared by Dolores, taking care that every detail of the young "Skaljarice", their folk costumes, the vegetables they "sell" on their booths, corresponds to what once was.

"The one who knows Skaljari from the story, if not out of life, when he is walking in a village, will not find what we have in our stories. It will be difficult even to notice the most important structures in the village, some house of an important family or a church of St. Luka, celebrated by inhabitants of Skaljari as their forefather. Formerly small dry stone walls that have kept the gardens are now being the supporting walls of some new buildings. So, the look of Skaljari is completely different. We strive to bring the old life of Skaljari and Skaljarice through the scene closer to all those who came to live with us. We want to inspire them to act at least for a moment as true Skaljari," explains Dolores, adding that the activities of NGO Ke Nova are held during the main tourist season as well as in the winter months:

19 January 2019 - Consortium of the Czech Philibert and Villa Oliva offered 10 million EUR for the purchase of 56.4806% of the share capital of the Institute for Physical Medicine Rehabilitation and Rheumatology Dr Simo Milošević and an investment programme amounting to 27.944.380 EUR.

In line with the 2018 Privatisation Plan, the Tender Commission for Privatisation started activities on drafting and implementing the tender for the sale of the share capital of the Institute. During 2018, several letters were delivered about the intentions of potential investors for the privatisation of the Institute, three bidders were registered in the public tender (purchased the tender documentation and signed the Confidentiality Statement), but only the bid by the consortium of the Czech Philibert, which is part of the Cimex Group, and Villa Oliva was submitted within the set deadline.

The consortium's bid, the only one that had been submitted in the public tender, was opened earlier today at the session of the Tender Commission for Privatisation, which took place at the Ministry of Economy in the presence of the representatives of the bidder.

The Tender Commission will, in compliance with the legal procedure, examine the formal validity of the bid, after which, if it determines that the bid is formally correct, it will examine whether it meets the qualification requirements and the minimum requirements of the tender and, within 15 days from the opening date, it will examine the bid in terms of quality.

Upon the completion of the tender, the Commission will submit the report to the Privatisation and Capital Projects Council for adoption.

Public tender for purchase of 56.4806% of the share capital of the Institute Simo Milošević was announced on 16 October 2018.

January 16, 2019 - Muo is one of the oldest shore settlements in Boka Bay, which we can recognize by the fact that the Dalmatian-Romanic dialect is best preserved here. It is particularly evident in maritime and fishery terminology, and we can see that fishing has always been the leading economy of the area.

Today Muo is one of the architectural pearls in the chain of the Bay of Kotor, which, unfortunately, has not been immune to building pressures affecting the entire Boka Bay. But the ever-expanding houses by the sea, built in the Middle Ages, left less room for devastation than other places along our coast. Muo is today a popular destination for tourists who want to escape the city bustle and enjoy the silence and beauty of the Bay of Kotor. However, there are also some days when the locals take care of their guests getting closer to the spirit of the place, once an everlasting signing stage of its inhabitants.

photo by Zdenka Jankovic

photo by Zoran Nikolic

January 15, 2019 - For the second year in a row, Kotor is among 20 cultural tourism centers the European Best Destination website is proposing as the best for 2019. The competition officially began today and lasts until 5 February. On this occasion, we have spoken to the director of the Tourism Organization of Kotor, Ana Nives Radovic.

11 January 2019 - The Singing Association "Grbalj" is organising a New Year's concert of traditional singing, customs, and dance on Monday, January 14, at 7 pm in the Kotor Cultural Centre "Nikola Đurković".

The list of performers at this event includes members of the Grbalj Association, the Serbian Cultural and Art Association "Sveti Đorđe" Goražde, "Teatar 303" Kotor, the Folklore Association "Sveti Jovan Vladimir" from Bar, the performers who will play the Montenegrin traditional musical instrument – gusle, performers who will play the diple and solo singers.

Ethnological heritage fans will be able to enjoy the performance of numerous traditional folk songs and customs. The audience will get to hear a cappella singing by the members of the singing association, who will perform numerous traditional songs which originated from Grbalj and are characteristic only for this region.

An interesting custom of the Singing Association Grbalj is that they have numerous young members, aged five to six years, and they perform with the adults on stage. The youngest members love the scene, and they have talent, which the audience recognises year after year and they get the biggest ovations.

Within this year's concert, which will be held on Monday, January 14th in Kotor, this Singing Association will once again demonstrate how the origin, past, and tradition of Grbalj can be presented uniquely.

The Singing Association "Grbalj" was founded in 2000 with the aim of protecting the cultural heritage of Grbalj, which has attracted the attention of a significant number of scientists: ethnologists, ethnomusicologists and archaeologists for centuries. The Association wants to introduce people to Grbalj’s customs and, at the same time, preserves the songs, customs, and traditions that originated from this area.

The first performance of the Singing Society "Grbalj" was held in Kotor. After they performed locally for a while, they had numerous performances throughout Montenegro and the region. One of the traditions of the Association is to organise a concert at the Cultural Centre Kotor each year on January 14, which is one of the most visited concerts in the region.

Singing Association “Grbalj” is a regular guest of numerous cultural associations from Sarajevo, Foča, Goražde, and Višegrad. The association members are recognizable for their kindness and humanity, mainly because they always respond to all performance invitations for humanitarian purposes.

January 8, 2019 - “Kotor was also on the list of the world's best destinations for 2018 and thus justified the same status as 2017. It is a remarkable result given that the names of the world's metropolises are most frequently mentioned destinations in that list," the Kotor Tourist Organization’s director Ana Nives Radovic told Radio Kotor.

07 January 2019 - The General plan for the open sea has been adopted, tuna conditions in Montenegrin waters is good, and the opening of small businesses in the hinterland that would deal with fish processing would bring enormous profits to Montenegro, said Aleksandar Joksimović, head of the Laboratory for ichthyology and marine fisheries at Institute of Marine Biology in Kotor.

"So far, the progress in this area has been achieved in the organization of fishermen and associations, with the help of creation of clusters, and the awareness of fishermen that joint, teamwork can achieve results," said Joksimović.

Fishing the small oily fish, tuna farming, the development of a fish processing factory, as well as the logistics on the coast, can bring the Montenegrin economy the brand as something from the southern Adriatic - high salinity and clean water.

"Economically important species in fishing in the Mediterranean and the Adriatic Sea are hake, red mullet, shrimps, octopuses, but as well as the European pilchard and anchovy. For each of these species, a complete study is already carried out, which resulted in biological and economic limits which state that their fishing is limited to a certain number of tons," Joksimović reminded.

Members of the General Fisheries Commission of the Mediterranean have decided to increase the quota that has been set up in Montenegro to up to 50 tons of oily fish, European pilchard and anchovy. The new quota applies to all other Adriatic countries as well, and it is increased for up to 2.5 tons.

During the mid-December 2018, Montenegrin prosciutto became the new product under protection in Montenegro, as reported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

“Natural environment, climate conditions in the region of production, long tradition of production and a good reputation of this product, that extends over the boundaries of this region form the basis for the protection of this product as a specific and authentic product. The impact of the geographical surroundings, climate and the skillfulness in the application of special recipe, is responsible for the prosciutto that is highly respected among the consumers, especially tourists who visit Montenegro,” said the representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture.