Montenegro - Herceg Novi

HERCEG NOVI
The main gate was the way to the old, fortified town, through the Clock Tower (Sahat Kula), 19th century.

Sent by Slavinka from Herceg Novi, Montenegro.

This is from Wikipedia : Herceg Novi (Serbian Cyrillic: Херцег Нови; pronounced [xě̞rt͡se̞g nɔ̝̂v̞iː]; Italian: Castelnuovo; Greek: Νεοκαστρον, Neòkastron) is a coastal town in Montenegro located at the entrance to the Bay of Kotor and at the foot of Mount Orjen. It is the administrative center of the Herceg Novi Municipality with around 33,000 inhabitants. Herceg Novi was known as Castelnuovo ("New castle" in Italian) between 1420 and 1797 when was part of the Albania Veneta of the Republic of Venice. Herceg Novi has had a turbulent past, despite being one of the youngest settlements on the Adriatic. A history of varied occupations has created a blend of diverse and picturesque architectural style in the city. The City Administration is formed by a coalition of the SNP, SNS, NS and DSS political parties.

Herceg Novi was founded (on a former small fishing village existing since Roman Empire times) as a fortress in 1382 by Bosnian King Stjepan Tvrtko I and was called Sveti Stefan or Castelnuovo. After the death of Tvrtko, Duke Sandalj Hranić of the Herzegovinian Kosačas acquired Castelnuovo. During his reign, Herceg Novi picked up trading salt. When Hranić died, his nephew, Herzog Stjepan Vukčić Kosača, inherited Castelnuovo. Under Stjepan, Castelnuovo expanded and thus became a city, renaming it to Herceg Novi. The Turks conquered Herceg Novi in 1482, and ruled for 200 years, until 1687. However, there was a short pause between 1538 and 1539 when it was overtaken by the Spaniards.

Venice gained control of the city and organised it into one administrative unit called Albania Veneta, along with the Bay of Kotor (then called "Bocche di Cattaro") and present-day coastal Montenegro. On 24 August 1798, Herceg Novi was annexed by Austria but was then ceded to Russia as per the Treaty of Pressburg on 26 December 1805. The Russians officially occupied Herceg Novi between 28 February 1806 and 12 August 1807.

On 7 July 1807, Herceg Novi was ceded to France as per the Treaty of Tilsit. Official French rule over Herceg Novi began on 12 August 1807, when the Russians left the city. The city was part of Dalmatia until 14 October 1809, when it was annexed to the newly-created Illyrian Provinces.

Herceg Novi, as well as the rest of the Bay of Kotor, was overtaken by Montenegrin forces in 1813. It was under control of a temporary government based in Dobrota between 11 September 1813 and 10 June 1814, which was supported by Montenegro. The appearance of Austro-Hungarian forces in 1814 caused the Prince-Bishop of Montenegro to turn over the territory to Austrian administration on June 11.

After Herceg Novi was retaken, as well as the rest of the bay, it became part of the Dalmatian crownland. The bay was under Austro-Hungarian control until 1918.

The Kingdom of Montenegro attempted to retake the Bay of Kotor during World War I, it was bombarded from Lovćen, but by 1916 Austria-Hungary defeated Montenegro. On 7 November 1918, the Serbian Army entered the bay and were greeted by the people as liberators. The bay later became a part of the self-proclaimed State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, although expressed for a direct union with Serbia rather. Within a month, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was formed, renamed to Yugoslavia in 1929. The bay was a municipality of Dalmatia until it was, like all historic entities, abolished in 1922. It was incorporated into the Zeta Oblast, from 1929 Zeta Banate.

Herceg Novi was annexed by the Italians during World War II in 1941. It became a part of the province of Cattaro. Herceg Novi was later retaken by Yugoslav Partisan forces on 10 September 1943. Herceg Novi was later officially annexed to Yugoslavia as part of the People's Republic of Montenegro.