Masterplan Ulcinj - Ada Bojana

Image 5.10:Mala Plaza,UlcinjImage 5.11: Valdanos Lagoon5.3 Ulcinj – history, setting and legendsUlcinj is one of the oldest towns on the AdriaticCoast. Even Livie and Plinie, who called itOlchinium, reported on it. Coronelli tells itshistory and describes its position on the rockwhich penetrates the sea and which made thetown unconquerable from the sea in the oldtimes. This dominating position of the townfortress is still typical for Ulcinj even nowadays,as well as fertile valleys, vineyards and olivegrove that Coronelli spoke of enchanted.For its protected port, fierce battles were wagedover Ulcinj. In 1421 it was conquered by theVenetians, and in 1571 the Turks. In the waragainst the Venetians, the Turks hired andsettled Algerian pirates, so that Ulcinj, to quoteCoronelli, degraded becoming the refuge forunrestrained company. Because of the big salvesmarket and the pirates the town had had foralmost 300 years bad reputation.In the liberation war against the Turks (1876-78),the Montenegrin took Ulcinj over, but had to giveit up again under the conventions of the BerlinCongress. Only in 1880 did Montenegro getUlcinj finally back; this was preceded by theexchange of the territories, that Big Porta had toapprove of under the pressure of the EuropeanMilitary. In the year 1979 the earthquakedevastated Ulcinj when almost all old buildingswere ruined stripping it of its charm. However,much of it was renovated, in particular in the Oldhistorical town, but the damage from theearthquake can not be overseen.Ulcinj has always been and still is different fromthe old towns in the country. However, in the pastdecades many buildings which were constructeddo not reflect local traditional style, having purefunctional architecture, but with oriental feelingreflected in the mosque minarets, in the call ofthe khoja for people to prey, narrow alleyswhose stream of visitors remind of bazaar and inpeasant men and women wearing their traditionalclothes.From the aspect of tourism industry , the identityfactors are of greatest importance. To treasureand strengthen them is an imperative ofsustainability, economic reasoning and thesource of new jobs.Image 5.12:The Old Town of UlcinjImage 5.13:Isolario del P.Coronelli,1696