Montenegro - Durmitor National Park

Montenegro - Durmitor

Sent by Tina of Slovenia who visited Durmitor National Park.

Durmitor National Park comprises Mount Durmitor plateau and the valley formed by the canyon of the River Tara, incorporating three major geomorphologic features: canyons, mountains and plateaux. Because of its geographical location and range in altitude, the park is under the influence of both Mediterranean and alpine microclimates, which has resulted in an exceptional range of species.

Geologically, Durmitor and Tara canyons are made up of rocky massifs of the Mesozoic era (from the Lower Triassic to the Upper Cretaceous), Tertiary and Quaternary periods. The dominant features are the limestone formations of the Middle and Upper Triassic, the Upper Jurassic and the Upper Cretaceous, especially the so-called Durmitorean flysch. The River Tara, one of the last wild rivers in Europe, has pure, clear waters, a gorge 1,300 m deep and notable floristic and faunistic diversity. The 16 glacial lakes of the Durmitor and the canyons of the Tara, Susica and Draga rivers were formed during the Quaternary period, following the sudden thaw of the snow and the formation of glaciers on the Durmitor and neighbouring mountains. The waters of the largest lake, Black Lake, feed two separate river basins: the River Tara, and underground through the Durmitor Massif, the River Komarnica or Piva. There are numerous examples of weathering processes, rock shapes and land features characteristic of karstic erosion, fluvial erosion and glacial erosion.

Vegetation zones include deciduous forest, coniferous forest and subalpine zones. The dominant species include Scots pine, Norway pine, silver fir, beech, occasional birch, mugo pine and juniper. The park supports a rich karstic flora with many rare and endemic species. There are 37 taxa endemic to the area and six specific to Durmitor. The park contains one of the last virgin black pine forests in Europe, on soils that would usually develop beech woodland.

The Tara and its tributaries, as well as the lakes, contain a large number of salmonidae. Forest fauna includes brown bear, wolf, wild boar, wild cat, chamois, various species of eagle, capercaillie, black grouse and rock partridge. (Source)

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.

Mapcard of Montenegro

A beautiful mapcard of Montenegro.

Sent by Marija, a Facebook friend from Bar in Montenegro.

Montenegro - Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor

The view of Kotor from the main entrance. The first postcard ever received from Montenegro. Sent by Marija.

The culturo-historical region of Kotor has exerted considerable influence, over a span of time and within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture and human settlement. Kotor and its neighbours were main bridgeheads of Venice on the southern Adriatic coast. Its art, goldsmithing and architecture schools had a profound and durable influence on the arts of the coast. It is among the most characteristic examples of a type of structure representing important cultural, social and artistic values. It is considered to possess outstanding universal value by the quality of its architecture, the successful integration of its cities to the Gulf of Kotor and by its unique testimony to the exceptionally important role that it played in the diffusion of Mediterranean culture in the Balkan lands.

Founded by the Romans on the Adriatic coast in Montenegro, Kotor developed in the Middle Ages into an important commercial and artistic centre with its own famous schools of masonry and iconography. Throughout the centuries, many empires battled for control of the city. In the 10th century, it was an autonomous city of the Byzantine Empire. From 1186 to 1371, it was a free city of medieval Serbia. It was under Venetian and Hungarian control for brief periods, an independent republic from 1395 to 1420, and then returned to Venetian control once again. French occupation from 1807 to 1914 was followed by Austrian rule until 1918, when Kotor finally became part of Yugoslavia. Throughout its turbulent history, a variety of buildings have been erected. The largest and most impressive of these is the St Tryphon Cathedral. The original church was constructed in the 8th century, according to the annals of the Byzantine Emperor. A new church, built in 1166, was subsequently damaged during the 1667 earthquake and then restored.

The limits of the World Heritage site coincide approximately with the crests of the natural sinkhole formation. At both ends, the site is bordered by the national parks of Orten and Lovcen, making a vast protected natural area. The Gulf of Tivat (formerly part of the approaches to Kotor) is omitted because of the authenticity of its settlements, which has been downgraded by recent industrialization (shipyards, harbour equipment).

Most of Kotor's palaces and houses, many Romanesque churches, all of Dobrota's palaces, and Perast's main buildings have all suffered from earthquakes, and some have been partly destroyed. The city was evacuated by all its inhabitants after the most recent, on 15 April 1979. An intensive restoration and reconstruction programme has now been completed and the city is flourishing again. (Source)