Herceg Novi

Herceg Novi was founded in 1382 as Sveti Stjepan by the Bosnian king Tvrtko I, who wanted to obtain his own port so that he would no longer be dependent on the autonomous trading cities of Dubrovnik and Kotor. The name Herceg Novi, which is still in use today, recalls that in the 15th century the town belonged to Duke Stjepan Vukčić Kosača, from whose title the name of Herzegovina is also derived.  As the only fixed place on the Bay of Kotor, Herceg Novi did not fall to the Venetians after 1420; rather, the town was taken by the Turks in 1482, when they conquered Herzegovina. Herceg Novi remained in their possession, with one interruption (1538/1539), until the Great Turkish War (1683-1699). In 1687 Gerolamo Cornaro, the Provveditore generale of Dalmatia, was able to conquer "Castelnuovo" (so now called) for the Republic of Venice. The "Serenissima" made its new acquisition the so-called Venetian Albania, which was administered from Cattaro. After the fall of the Republic of St. Mark (1797) and changing masters during the Napoleonic Wars, the town, which continued to be called Castelnuovo, came under Austrian rule for a century in 1815 and became part of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1919. It was only from this time that the name Herceg Novi was again applied. During the Second World War it was occupied first by Italy (1941-1943), then by Germany. On October 28, 1944, the town was conquered by the communist Yugoslav partisans and immediately after that it became part of the Republic of Montenegro. The town is terraced, the center is the three-kilometer-long promenade "Pet Danica", on the sea side of which is the more than two-kilometer-long, mostly concrete beach. The promenade is lined with countless restaurants and stalls, as well as various discotheques and hotels. The spa business continues all year round, around the middle of June the summer guests flock to Herceg Novi. There is also an old town worth seeing. Especially recently, Herceg Novi has become a destination for mass tourism. This development has damaged the town's reputation as a vacation destination. One of the most famous hotels is the hotel "Plaza". More beautiful bathing facilities can be found on the eastern side of Herceg-Novi, where the towns of Meljine, Zelenika and Bijela stretch along the coast and also contributed to the popularity of water polo in the region. The domestic club PVK Jadran Herceg Novi was several times champion of Yugoslavia and Montenegro, and in 2004 was in the final of the Euro League.