Staying in Bar and not visiting its old part, Old Bar, is like never having been there. Located 4 kilometers from the center of New Bar, Old Bar sits on a steep cliff at the foot of Mount Rumija. The town was built over several centuries.
The area covered by Old Bar was originally closer to the coast, but frequent pirate attacks forced the population to migrate inland, so today Old Bar is approximately 5 kilometers from the sea.
Bar consists of a fortified city-lake surrounded by walls dating from the 11th and 12th centuries, which were renovated in the 14th and 15th centuries. When you visit that part of Bar, you’ll see an old city gate dating from the 11th century. Next to the gate is a fortress built for defensive purposes. Since part of Old Bar was annexed during the Venetian period, in the 15th century and the first half of the 16th century, numerous monuments bear authentic traces of that time.
Two very well-preserved churches remain in Old Bar: the 16th-century Church of St. Katarina and the 15th-century Church of St. Veneranda. The old town also boasts a Turkish bathhouse, a 17th-century steam bath, a gunpowder depot, and other interesting structures, including the ruins of the Church of St. Nicholas, built in 1288 by the wife of the Serbian Emperor Uros, better known as Jelena Anzujska or Jelena Kurtnejska. Beneath the old town are also the remains of an aqueduct from the 16th and 17th centuries, which brought water to the city.
Old Bar, now devoid of inhabitants, was once full of people engaged in various trades, selling olive oil, salt, and handicrafts.
Old Bar also boasts Podgrad (Underground City), a mid-century town still inhabited today. The community boasts several old inns, shops, craft shops, and a meat market. Podgrad boasts two mosques and a Catholic church dedicated to St. Marija.
Especially in the last few years, the community of friends of Old Bar and descendants of the families who lived there have initiated a series of activities to revitalize Old Bar as an ancient architectural landmark and the oldest settlement in the town’s territory. Over the summer, Old Bar has been transformed into a tourist attraction thanks to the outstanding efforts of architects, archaeologists, cultural and public officials who have come up with interesting ideas and created various projects to revitalize Old Bar and save it from oblivion.
If you’d like to explore the area around Old Bar, we recommend a leisurely stroll to Mirovica, where the famous trunk of the over 2,000-year-old Bar olive tree is located.