Visit the Old town of Bar

The old town of Bar

The Old Bar is a town with a 2500 years long history. Mediteranean climate, affluence of water and fertile fields rendered this area one of the oldest craddles of civilizations of the eastern coast of the Adriatic.

A multitude of fragments of ceramic receptacles which date back to cerca 8-5th century B.C. have been discovered under the remnants of the Old Town, when this area was settled by the Iliric tribe of Enheleos. Later excavations provided the evidence both from the Roman and the early Byzanthian period (3-5th century A.C.).

The written historic sources from the 9th and 10th centuries mention the Old Town for the first time as Antibareos, and then as Antibaris, and finally as Antibari in the records of Emperor Constantine.

(walls)

Stefan Vojislav, the count of the Slavs from Duklja, defeated the Byzantines in the area of Bar in 1042. At the same time he beat the armies of Raska, Bosnia and Hum, thus broadening his lands. Duklja became the strongest country of the South Slavs, and its town of Bar became the most important cultural, economic and religious center.

(Photo: Aleksandar Parezanović)

In St.George city cathedral, in 1067, count Mihailo Vojisavljevic was crowned for a king. The ancient cathedral became the temple for both the crowning and burial of the rulers of Duklja's Vojisavljevic dynasty.

The Catholic episcopy gains the status of Duklja archiepiscopy in 1089 and church rule over the episcopies of the neighboring towns and regions of Serbia, Bosnia and Travunia.

By the end of the 12th century, the prelate of the church of Bar, father Grgur, composed "Bar Chronicle", the most comprehensive historic-literary work on the history of South Slavs.

Bar, as well as the surrounding towns and regions, becomes a part of the mediaeval state of the Serbian dynasty of Nemanjic in 1183. In mid-14th century Bar is ruled by the dynasty of Balsic from Zeta, and in the 15th century it is ruled in turn by Venice, Balsic dynasty, Despot Stefan Lazarevic, Djurdje Brankovic and Stefan Vukcic. From 1443 it is a part of the Republic of Venice. From that time the town was broadened, build and finally circled by a system of citadels, bastions and towers. At that time there existed around thirty gothic-rennaissance palaces, sixteen churches and monasteries, couple of hundreds of houses, around 4000 inhabitants...

The town of Bar had the statute and the money forgery.

church of St. Jovan (Photo: Aleksandar Parezanović)

episcopicy palace (Photo: Aleksandar Parezanović)

The Turks conquer Bar in 1571, without fight and demolishing. During the following three centuries Bar lives as a significant well arranged town with good incomes from trade and agriculture (olive breeding).

Clock tower (Photo: Aleksandar Parezanović)

Count Nikola Petrovic and the Montenegrins liberate Bar in 1878. The semi-demolished town ceases to live from then on and the life moves slowly to the sea coast.

Mosque outside the town (Photo: Aleksandar Parezanović)

The walls of the town of Bar are completely reconstructed, as well as several more important buildings withing the very town.

St. Nicolas' icon from the 15th century has been preserved on the remnants of one of the churches.

(view from the top of the town)

by Stasici