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SUNSETS AND COASTAL STORMS
TOURISM SUNSETS AND COASTAL STORMS
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I
clearly remember my first trip to Petrovac in Montenegro, when I was in the first grade of elementary school, travelling with my parents. From then on, and all subsequent times when I would go there, I would excitedly wait for the moment after a whole night on the road when at dawn, the bus breaks out into the clearing and from the window you can see the Petrovac beach and smell the scent of the sea even though the windows were closed. We would go down to this coastal town high up from the mountains, get off in the town centre and stay with our grandparents, Montenegrins, who
rented accommodation for us.
Although I haven't been to Petrovac for over 15 years, the memories of the town are extremely vivid, and although my road no longer takes me to Petrovac, I would love to visit it again. Now, here are a few interesting details about Petrovac
Petrovac is a coastal town in Montenegro, located in the Budva Municipality, on the coastline between Budva and Bar, where the old mountain road from Podgorica reaches the sea. It has a 600m long sandy beach and it is a popular tourist destination. Petrovac is seen as a somewhat "calmer" resort, in contrast to the lively and developed nearby towns of Budva and Sutomore. The history of Petrovac began in Roman times, when a couple of villas were built at Krš Medinski: a 4th-century mosaic floor, remains of a villa and baths have been found behind St Ilija's church. Later, there was a Slav village. The village was first mentioned in the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja. At the northern end of the bay is a 16th-century Venetian fortress, Kastel Lastva, built to discourage pirates. When in the late 16th century jurisdiction of the Benedictine monastery Ratac collapses the Orthodox rite began to strengthen in the area of Catholic parishes, Spič, Sozina and Kastel Lastva which were under the jurisdiction of this monastery. The Orthodox clergy and the Orthodox believers at the same time began to use Catholic Churches in that area for their rites. The name, Petrovac, was given at the beginning of the 20th century after King Peter I Karadjordjević. Before, the name was Kaštel Lastva. In the bay are two islets (Katič and Sveta Neđelja), one of which is topped by a small chapel, built in thanksgiving for a shipwrecked sailor's life. At the beginning of the 20th century, Petrovac had around 300 inhabitants. In World War II, British agents landed at nearby Perazića Do. They intended to establish contact with Yugoslav partisans (Operation Hydra).
Between the two world wars, Petrovac was a popular destination for wealthy tourists from (the former) Yugoslavia. Today, Petrovac is a popular summer beach resort, its visitors coming predominantly from Montenegro, Serbia and Russia. Tourist accommodation has expanded greatly in recent years, although less obtrusively than at Budva and the quality has also improved in response to market demand. The resort's main attraction is its beach. There is a nightclub in the old castle. There is ready access to neighbouring beaches at Lučice and Buljarica.
In the 21st James Bond film, Casino Royale, Petrovac was supposedly the location of the eponymous casino but the movie was shot in the Czech Republic instead. In the film, little is seen of the town, only the casino's environs and an outdoor cafe. A part of the movie Brothers Bloom was filmed in Petrovac. The locality has often been used in music videos of regional singers.
I remember my excitement when I heard that some of the film’s story takes place in Petrovac. But, unfortunately, it turned out this was not the case.
What was truly cinematic was the sunset on the beach, when the Sun went down behind two small islands that I thought it was possible to swim to, but the buoys wouldn't allow it. Also, I remember a cave which I was afraid to enter. Only later, when I mustered the courage, I was able to go in without any problems.
We travelled by boat to Budva, and there you could see the beach stretching as soon as you exit the aforementioned tunnel. The Petrovac beaches are one of the best I've been to - long, with fine sand and with old buildings on both ends, which seemed like castles to me as a child. On the right-hand section of the coastline, when looking in the direction of the sea, there was a lighthouse and a viewpoint. The moments when I would climb there at night were a real joy for me.
On the other hand, the town centre was extremely lively, unlike the settlements in the direction of the mountain.
It was brimming with bars, children's playhouses and clubs. The further you went towards the accommodation, the quieter it became. At the end of our first stay, grandma and grandpa bought me a children's book which told a story about a cricket and an ant.
There is another place in Montenegro where I spent my summer (and I travelled up and down the Montenegrin coast) - a small sea town of Risan.
Risan is located in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro. It traces its origins to the ancient settlement of Rhizon, the oldest settlement in the Bay of Kotor. Lying in the innermost portion of the bay, the settlement was protected from the interior by inaccessible limestone cliffs of the Orjen mountain, the highest range of eastern Adriatic, and through several following narrow straits in the Bay of Kotor from the open sea. While the Krivošije karst plateau that hangs steep above the narrow shores of Risan bay receives over 5000 mm rain annually (European record), several strong karst springs that form a short brook collect in the narrow cultivable belt at Risan.
In Roman times, Rhizinium is documented as an oppidum civium Romanorum, and the most prosperous time for Roman Rhizinium came during
the 1st and 2nd centuries, when huge villas were made in the area and the city had 10,000 inhabitants. Five mosaics are the most valuable remains of that period - not only for Risan but also for Montenegro. Circa 500, it became the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Risano. The invasions of the Avars and Slavs left the city deserted. The last reference of a Roman bishop in Risan dates back to 595. In the 10th century, the Byzantine emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus includes Risan among the inhabited towns of Travunia, while the priest of Doclea considers Rissena to be a district. During the Middle Ages, Risan lost the significance it used to have in ancient times. No later than the 13th century, the Italians provided the bulk of a henceforward unbroken series of Latin Catholic Bishops of Risano until its suppression circa 1630. In the mid-15th century, Risan was referred to as the town of Herceg Stjepan. In 1466, the Venetians offered to give Brač island and a palace in Split to Herceg Stjepan, in exchange for his two towns (Risan and Novi) in the Boka Kotorska. In 1482, the Turks took Risan, together with Herceg Novi, from Herceg Stjepan's son Vlatko, using it as a base for its corsairs to pirate Venetian shipping sailing from their nearby holdings of Cattaro and Perasto.
In the present-day Risan, there are no elements that could connect it to the medieval town. Risan by the sea was probably just a settlement. However, on the Gradina hill, above the famous archaeological site of Carine, a fortification is situated containing remains of an Illyrian acropolis, as well as the medieval and Turkish stratum. The position of the fortification was excellent, particularly for the control of Risan – Onogošt route, while the hilltop itself was inaccessible. Today Risan is a small port with roughly 2000 inhabitants (in 1900: around 5000 inhabitants; of them
80% Orthodox Christians, 20% Catholics) where logs from the vast virgin forests of the Bijela Gora are shipped mostly to Italy. Risan is a tourist destination that has a hotel called after its most famous citizen, Queen Teuta, with accompanying fine beaches. Risan is in the northern section of the Municipality of Kotor.
I also visited that town as a child with my parents. Twenty years ago we travelled there in the off-season. It was rainy, thundering and that was my first encounter with summer storms which were fascinating, like them or not. Although I am not a big fan of rain, I would love to see that scenery again. It was around the time when the second sequel of the blockbuster Terminator was released in cinemas that I read about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. That's when my love for comic books was born too. My Montenegrin peer, the son of the family where we were staying, showed me collections of Garfield comic books. After reading sessions and running around as children, we would go down for a walk in Risan, which was a real oasis of peace during warm September nights at sea.
Just as I would return to Petrovac, I would definitely stop in Risan too.
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