Bar, Montenegro

Bar (Montenegrin: Bar, Бар, , , ) is a town and seaport in Coastal region of Montenegro. It is the capital of the Bar Municipality and a center for tourism. According to the 2023 census, the city proper had 15,868 inhabitants, while the total population of Bar Municipality was 46,171.

Name

Bar is supposed to be a shortened Slavic variant of Antivari. Variations are in Italian, Antivari / Antibari; in Albanian, Tivari or Tivar; in Turkish, Bar; in Greek, Θηβάριον, Thivárion, Αντιβάριον, Antivárion; in Latin, Antibarium.

History

Ancient times

Archaeological findings of substantial extent prove the presence of life in this location during prehistoric times.

Venetian and Ottoman period

Between 1405 and 1412. Venetians controlled Bar, and this was also the time when the city had the most growth. The Venetians granted the Barans rights in an effort to appease and win them over, and as a result, Bar developed into a city-state. Barans had their own Statute of Communes, were in charge of their own defense, possessed judicial authority, printed their own currency, and were exempt from military service in times of war. After the Venetians, Bar was again ruled by the Balšićs. Stefan Lazarević and Đurađ Branković also occupied Bar in the first half of the 15th century. One of the archbishops during this period was Andrija Zmajević.

In 1571, The Ottomans expelled the Orthodox and Catholic population.

In 1878, The Ottomans ceded Antivari to Montenegro at the Treaty of Berlin, after losing the Russo-Turkish War. Montenegro's initial main goal in the negotiations was its expansion into Herzegovina and the Sanjak of Novi Pazar, but Austro-Hungarian expansion made it unrealistic. The Ottomans, represented by Alexander Karatheodori Pasha, declared that they would cede the port of Spizza to Montenegro but not Bar and other areas because they claimed they were primarily inhabited by Catholics and Muslim Albanians. After negotiations between Foreign Ministers Gyula Andrássy (Austria-Hungary) and Pyotr Andreyevich Shuvalov (Russia), it was agreed that Bar would be ceded to Montenegro in return for Russian support for Austrian control over Herzegovina. The city-port of Bar itself became militarily neutral, the total number of Montenegrin vessels in the port was placed under limitations and Austria-Hungary acquired the right of patrol of Bar's coastline.

In 1885 the castle of King Nikola was built. The king had it constructed for his daughter Princess Zorka and his future son-in-law Prince Petar Karađorđević. It has a chapel, watchtower, winter garden, small and huge castles, and a park. A wooden pier for docking ships was located in front of the structure. Additionally, there is a sizable flower shop with unique construction, a gift from King Emmanuel of Italy, and a catering establishment called "Knjaževa bašta." The former castle complex is now the Bar Heritage Museum, which hosts cultural events.

In the new Montenegrin Orthodox state, Bar went through urban depopulation because many of its urban inhabitants were Muslims, who either left or were expelled from the town. In the late 1850s, the town had 4,000 inhabitants, 62.5% of which were Muslims. More than half of its population left or was expelled after 1878. The first population register of the town under Montenegrin administration in 1879, counted 1,879 inhabitants. Muslims were 30.9% of the population, 24.6% were Catholics (mostly Albanians) in addition to Orthodox (mostly Montenegrins and Serbs).

Contemporary

When the Montenegrins recaptured the city after Russo-Turkish War, life could not be organized in it due to the destruction of war. The population first moved to Podgrađe, and the urban core was formed at the beginning of the 20th century below Volujica. The settlement is called Pristan (Novi Bar).

In 1918, Bar became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

In 1945, Albanians in Bar were massacred by Yugoslavs partisans. This event is known as the Bar massacre.

In 1976, Pristan was demolished, with the aim of expanding the Port in its place. The population was mainly moved to Topolica, where until urbanization there was only a complex of the Castle of King Nicholas.

When Montenegro signed an agreement with the Chinese Government to build a motorway from Bar to the Serbian border (part of the Belt and Road initiative) in 2014, large tracts of land around Bar were agreed as collateral in the event of the Montenegro government defaulting on payment of the 1 billion dollar loan. The project was financed by the Export-Import Bank of China. Contractual disputes can only be resolved through a Chinese court.

Geography

thumb|View of Bar from Vrsuta mountain

Location

Bar is located on the coastal western border of Montenegro on the shore of the Adriatic Sea. It is approximately from Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro. To the east is the largest lake in South Europe, Lake Skadar. To the west, across the sea, is Italy.

Climate

Bar has a borderline humid subtropical (Cfa) and Mediterranean climate (Csa) in the Köppen climate classification, since the driest month has of precipitation, preventing it from being classified as solely humid subtropical or Mediterranean. Winters are cool and rainy, with an average high of in January and a low of . Snow is very rare occurrence in Bar, it usually snows once in a few years. The highest recorded snowfall occurred during January 2000, when was measured. Summers are generally warmer, drier and sunnier than the winter months. During summer, the highest temperatures are around and the lowest . Precipitation is low during the summer months, although rainfall can still occur, with July averaging 4.5 days with measurable precipitation. Spring and fall are transitional seasons that feature mild weather that can often be wet and unpredictable. There are, on average, 2523 hours of sunshine per year, ranging from a low of 111.6 hours in December to a high of 350.3 hours in July.

|source 2 = Hydrological and Meteorological Service of Montenegro (humidity, sun 1961–1990)

Flora and fauna

thumb|right|Olea europea, ancient olive tree

The coastal part of Bar supports maquis shrubland with oak, holm oak, laurel, myrtle, Spanish broom, oleander, hawthorn, sloe, thorn, butcher's broom and asparagus. To the north and the mountains, there are oak and beech forests.

Citrus fruits including tangerine, orange and lemon grow in the Bar area as do pomegranates, olives, grapevines and figs. Ginkgo biloba grows in the park of King Nikola's palace.

Skadar Lake is rich in bird life including the pelican. Game animals are found in Ostros, Rumija, Lisinj, Sutorman and Sozina and include rabbit, badger, fox, wolf and boar. At the Bar sea shore one finds various kinds of shells, snails, echinodermata, cephalopoda and crayfish.

Demographics

Bar is the administrative centre of Bar Municipality, which includes the town of Sutomore and other small coastal towns. A census in 2023 recorded 46,171 people in the Bar Municipality. The town of Bar had 15,868 inhabitants.

Ethnicity

Ethnic composition of the town in 2011:

{|class="wikitable"

! style="width:100px;"|Ethnicity

! style="width:80px;"|Number

! style="width:80px;"|Percentage

|Montenegrins||6,901||51.11%

|Serbs||4,487||33.23%

|Bosniaks||410||3.04%

|Ethnic Muslims||273||2.02%

|Albanians ||121||0.89%

|Croats||121||0.89%

|Other||78||0.58%

|Not declared||787||5.82%

|Total||13,503||100%

Religion

right|thumb|[[Jovan Vladimir|St Jovan Vladimir church]]

The main religion in Bar is Orthodox Christianity. However, there are churches from both the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic traditions as well as mosques built by Ottomans in the Islamic tradition. Bar is the birthplace of Saint Jovan Vladimir. In 1089, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bar, was founded and included most of Montenegro and Serbia.

{|class="wikitable"

! style="width:160x;"|Religion

! style="width:80px;"|Number

! style="width:80px;"|Percentage

|Eastern Orthodox||10,499||77.7%

|Islam||1,433||10.6%

|Roman Catholic||745||5.5%

|Atheist||250||1.85%

|Agnostic||19||0.14%

|Other||59||0.4%

|Undeclared||459||3.3%

Economy

thumb|[[Stari Bar (the Old Town of Bar)]]

thumb|A fragment of the town walls of Stari Bar

thumb|[[Nicholas I of Montenegro|King Nikola's Palace]]

The economy of Bar relies upon the Port of Bar, the Belgrade–Bar railway and the Sozina tunnel. The Port of Bar is the most recognizable feature of the city. It occupies of seacoast, land area of 800 ha and aquatorium of 200ha. It is capable of reloading 5 million tons of goods annually. In 1976, the Belgrade – Bar railway was opened. It made the Adriatic coast accessible to tourists, and transport to the Port of Bar. The food company, Primorka has been operating in Bar for more than 50 years. It produces olive oil and pomegranate juice. There are 95,000 olive trees, about 80,000 citrus trees (lemon, orange, tangerine and grapefruit) in the municipal area. The centre for subtropical cultures, founded in 1937, is the oldest scientific institution in Montenegro. Tourism is also a major part of Bar's economy.

Transport

Bar has a ferry line to Bari, Italy which is operated by Montenegro Lines. In season, ferries also go to Ancona, Italy. Bar is well connected with inland Montenegro, as well as with the rest of the Montenegrin coast. The Sozina tunnel, completed in 2006, shortened the road connection with Podgorica to around . Bar is connected to other coastal towns by the Adriatic motorway, which extends from Ulcinj to Herceg Novi, and on to Croatia. Bar is also the final station of the Belgrade–Bar railway, which connects Bar with Podgorica, northern Montenegro and Serbia. Podgorica Airport is about from Bar. There are regular flights to Belgrade, Budapest, Zürich, Frankfurt, Ljubljana, London, Paris, Rome and Vienna. As well the Blueline bus company provides public bus service with the central city of Bar as well as near the city of Sutomore. There is also inter city buses as well as international buses such as Flexbus.

Sport

thumb|Indoor [[Topolica Sport Hall]]

Bar has over fifty sports clubs, and associations including a chess club. The town's major football club is FK Mornar who share the Stadion Topolica with lower league sides FK Hajduk Bar and Stari Bar team FK Sloga Bar. Bar once had two teams in the top tier, with OFK Bar featuring in the 2010–11 season alongside FK Mornar. KK Mornar Bar is the local basketball club.

There are numerous sports facilities in the Bar hotels and schools. In the centre of town, most of the facilities are in the Sports and Recreation Centre. Water sports such as diving are common. Sports tourism is promoted because of the proximity to the sea and lake. Bar hosted the 2010 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship and the 2010 Men's u18 European Handball Championship.

Notable people

Twin towns – sister cities

Bar is twinned with:

Adana, Turkey
Bari, Italy
Bor, Serbia
Bornova, Turkey
Cherepovets, Russia
Corfu, Greece
Elbasan, Albania
Hongkou (Shanghai), China
Küçükkuyu, Turkey
Kula, Serbia
Kursk, Russia
Kragujevac, Serbia
Mali Iđoš, Serbia
Maribor, Slovenia
Mariupol, Ukraine
Ningbo, China
Nuremberg, Germany
Piaseczno, Poland
Podolsk, Russia
Požarevac, Serbia
Resen, North Macedonia
Vodnjan, Croatia
Živinice, Bosnia and Herzegovina