Ideal for a relaxing holiday with the whole family, Petrovac is popular with those who prefer to go to bed before midnight to run to the beach with the first rays of the sun for positive emotions and impressions. There are no too noisy establishments here, restaurants and cafes offer a varied menu, where you will certainly find children's dishes, and hotels are famous for their special comfort and homely atmosphere. The main task of all tourists in this Montenegrin resort is to enjoy the sea and sunburn, so that there will be enough impressions for many months in advance. Are you interested in what to see in Petrovac, because you are used to using a short vacation for one hundred percent? Be sure that the excursion program will delight you: although the city cannot boast of a huge variety of attractions, you can always add cognitive impressions by going to Budva or Lake Skadar for a couple of hours.
TOP-10 attractions of Petrovac
Fortress Castio
Fortress Castio
Petrovac appears from the sea as an old amphitheater: its houses and streets run down to the water in a semicircle, repeating the shape of the ancient arena for gladiatorial battles. In its place in the III century. n. NS. there was a Roman settlement - the Balkans at that time were part of the Roman Empire. In the 16th century, during the reign of the Venetians, a fortress was built on the shore of the bay on a rock, the ruins of which have survived in Petrovac to this day. The Castio fortress is called the symbol of the resort.
The upper level of the citadel has been turned into a memorial dedicated to the Montenegrin soldiers who died during the Second World War. The flag of Montenegro is hoisted on the watch tower. In the fortress, you will also find an exposition of the local history museum, in the collection of which ancient Roman mosaics are carefully preserved. The oldest are dated to the 3rd century. n. NS.
At the height of the season, within the walls of the citadel, there is a nightclub, where Russian parties are often held.
Skadar lake
Skadar lake
The largest lake in the Balkans is located on the territory of two countries - Montenegro and Albania. The town of Virpazar on the coast of the lake is separated from Petrovac by about 15 km, which can be easily overcome by bus, rented car or as part of an organized excursion.
What to do in Virpazar and Skadar Lake? The list of entertainment can be quite impressive:
- Hire a boat or rent a jet ski and take a ride on the lake.
- Go to the Friday Farmers Market, which offers fresh fish, seasonal fruits and souvenirs from local craftsmen.
- Dine at one of the restaurants on the shore, ordering a fish soup "chorba" or carp stuffed with prunes.
- Participate in fishing by buying a special permit from the management of the national park on the opposite bank from Virpazar.
- Take part in bird watching from a special vessel.
- Rent surfing equipment and catch the waves.
- Rent a bike and follow the wine trail linking local wineries.
- Make friends with horses at the equestrian club in the vicinity of Virpazar and take a horse ride.
- Go to the underground world of the Obodská, Vezáčka and Trnováčke caves.
In the national park on the shores of Lake Skadar, dozens of trails have been laid for fans of hiking of varying degrees of difficulty and length.
Beshka monastery
On the southern shore of Lake Skadar near Virpazar on the Beshka island in the XIV century. ruler Georgy Stratsimirovich Balshich ordered to build a church, which he dedicated to his heavenly patron. Then a second temple appeared, built with the money of Elena Balshich, the wife of Prince Lazar.
Alas, murals and frescoes have not survived to this day, but the temples themselves have survived and demonstrate the architectural skills of medieval architects. Numerous reconstructions helped to preserve the monuments.
The monastery's contribution to the history of Montenegro is very significant. The local monks were engaged in rewriting books, thus preserving the unique facts and historical information contained in the annals and church documents.
Monastery Gradiste
Monastery Gradiste
The magnificent panorama of the Adriatic from the height of the monastery hill is not the only reason to look at the Gradiste monastery in Petrovac. Its history will seem interesting to everyone who loves antiquity and medieval architecture.
The monastery was founded during the reign of the Nemanich dynasty, presumably in the XII-XIV centuries. Earlier on this hill there was a cemetery where the dead in the VIII-X centuries were buried and the remains of residential buildings, called in this area "gradzhevine". This is how the monastery got its name.
During the construction of the temple and living quarters, the strategic position of the future monastery was taken into account. The close border with the territories controlled by the Turks became the reason for architectural features unusual for a Christian structure: the monastery was surrounded by fortress walls, had a watchtower with loopholes and could survive a small siege without any problems.
Tourists will be interested in the frescoes preserved in the Gradiste monastery and dating back to the late Middle Ages.
Monastery Rezevici
A few kilometers north-west of Petrovac there is another monastery complex included in the lists of protected objects of historical and cultural heritage of Montenegro. The exact date of the foundation of the Rezhevichi monastery is not known, but in the historical annals the monastery is mentioned already in the 13th century.
The complex consists of two churches, monastic cells, outbuildings. One of the temples was built in the XIII century. and consecrated in honor of the Ascension of the Virgin. Its frescoes by local painters are of great value. The wall painting of the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin is dated to the 17th century.
The monastery stands in a picturesque place on a plateau with a beautiful view of the sea and Petrovac.
Old town of Budva
Old town of Budva
Budva and Petrovac are separated by only 17 km, and therefore an excursion to a neighboring resort will not take much time. But in terms of the number of impressions, it will clearly exceed all expectations!
Old Budva is the place where the main attractions of the resort are concentrated. The city stands on a peninsula protruding into the sea, surrounded by a fortress wall, erected during the Venetian rule. Inside the fortress there are several buildings of interest to tourists:
- Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, where sacred relics are kept.
- Church of St. Mary, preserved from the IX century. and is the oldest building in Budva.
- Orthodox church of the early 19th century, consecrated in honor of the Holy Trinity.
- Church of St. Sava 1141, which contains fragments of frescoes of the 12th century. The small temple is the starting point from where Saint Sava went on a walking pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
On the shores of Budva, on an island connected to the mainland by an isthmus, there is the resort of Sveti Stefan, a vacation spot for millionaires and movie stars.
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist
Going on an excursion from Petrovac to Budva, in order to diversify the resort experience, do not forget to look at the main temple of the city, built in the 17th century. The church is included in the list of protected cultural sites in Montenegro.
The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist was founded on the site of an earlier church dating from the 7th century. Fragments of the mosaic that adorned the original building are still preserved on the floor of the temple.
The first stone in the foundation of the cathedral was laid at the end of the 12th century, but numerous destructions and damages as a result of earthquakes and natural disasters prevented it from preserving its original appearance. The cathedral acquired its present appearance in 1640, as evidenced by the inscription on its western facade.
Soon after the construction of the temple in Budva, a miraculous discovery of a fragment of the Holy Cross happened. The relic was placed in a specially made chest with gold stars. Today, a fragment of the Holy Cross is kept in a silver reliquary made in the shape of a bowl. Another shrine of the Budva Cathedral is the image of the Mother of God, dating back to the 12th century.
Archaeological Museum
If you like to get acquainted with the history of the country through museum exhibitions, go to Budva. The first collection of the local museum of archeology consisted of 2,500 exhibits, and today it occupies four floors of a large building and allows you to trace all stages of the development of the region.
In the Archaeological Museum you will see ancient stone slabs decorated with carvings, glass funerary urns, jewelry and coins, the earliest of which date back to the 5th century. BC e., ancient weapons and tools of ancient people, amphorae for storing olive oil, wine goblets and kitchen utensils.
The ethnographic collection includes national costumes of Montenegrins, instruments for controlling sea vessels of the 18th-19th centuries, pieces of furniture, dishes and military equipment.
Old Bar
Old Bar
22 km south of Petrovac on the Adriatic coast is the city of Bar, the new part of which is a modern Balkan metropolis, and the old one is an interesting architectural and historical open-air museum. On the territory of the city, the fortress walls and city gates dating back to the 11th century have been preserved. Within the walls were built churches, the oldest of which was consecrated in the XI century in honor of George the Victorious, and the rest - St. Catherine and St. Veneranda dated to the XIV century. The Church of St. Nicholas in the western part of the Old Bar was built in the 13th century. During Turkish rule it was converted into a mosque and then used as an ammunition depot.
Other old buildings of Bar, worthy of the attention of tourists, are the Turkish aqueduct of the 15th century, the clock tower from 1753 and the mosque with a minaret from the middle of the 17th century.
Old olive
In the suburb of Bar, the village of Mirovica, an olive tree grows, the age of which, according to local residents, is estimated to be 20 centuries. The old olive, as the tree is called, was declared a natural monument in 1963. Now the tree, which appeared, possibly even before the onset of our era, is protected by the state.
An ancient Montenegrin legend says that a young man had no right to marry until he planted at least a dozen olives. It is not surprising that in the vicinity of Bar, Petrovac and other cities you can not only see how olives grow, but also buy oil, which is considered one of the healthiest Balkan products.
