Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
being a vassal state of the Adriatic's two big players, the Venetians and the Ottomans. By
1443 Venice ruled the coast with the support of powerful families such as the Paštrovići,
who were offered a degree of autonomy.
After enjoying a couple of generations of peace, the people of the coast were once
again under siege in 1570, this time from the Ottomans who already ruled most of the in-
terior. Once Ulcinj fell, Bar surrendered without a fight. The Paštrovići resisted but
couldn't prevent Budva from being sacked. In 1573 Venice signed a peace treaty con-
firming Ottoman control of the cities south of Budva, much to the detriment of the
Paštrovići who continued to oppose their new overlords. In contrast, Ulcinj became a
largely Muslim town, as it remains today.
This situation continued until 1877 when King Nikola's Montenegrin army ended 300
years of Ottoman control in Bar and Ulcinj, in the process finally gaining the seaport that
they so desperately craved.
Montenegro disappeared completely after WWI as the whole of this coastal region was
subsumed into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918 (later Yugoslavia).
During WWII both this part of Yugoslavia and neighbouring Albania were occupied by
the Italians, who planned to redraw the boundaries to include Ulcinj within Albania and
annex Budva directly into Italy, leaving only Bar within their planned puppet
Montenegrin state. This was never to eventuate and following the Partisan victory, all of
the coastal area was incorporated into Montenegro within the federal Yugoslavia, includ-
ing Budva for the first time.
Climate
Gorgeously Mediterranean is the best way to describe it. Ulcinj is said to be one of the
sunniest spots on the Adriatic, notching up 218 sunny days a year.
Getting There & Away
Budva is connected to the Bay of Kotor by the Jadranski Put (Adriatic highway; also
known as 'Jadranska magistrala'). The main route to Cetinje and Podgorica leaves Jad-
ranski Put between Budva and Bečići and climbs steeply into the mountains. Petrovac is
connected to Podgorica via a highway leading through Virpazar and the western edge of
Lake Skadar. This route can also be reached by a tunnel starting near Sutomore, north of
Bar (toll €2.50). A scenic back road links Ulcinj to the southern edge of Montenegro's
section of Lake Skadar.
