Old Town of Bar

About

Old Town of Bar is one of Montenegro’s most atmospheric archaeological sites, a vast open‑air museum set beneath Mount Rumija. Abandoned after the 1878 war and a devastating earthquake in 1979, it preserves more than a thousand years of history within its crumbling walls. Walking through the gate feels like entering a forgotten city where every stone hints at a different era—Illyrian, Roman, Byzantine, Venetian, and Ottoman. Inside, the most striking landmark is St. Nicholas’ Church, partly restored and showing layers of medieval architecture. Nearby stands the Clock Tower, built by the Ottomans, still carrying the inscription of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. The Aqueduct, visible from the upper terraces, once supplied the town with water from a spring several kilometres away—an impressive engineering feat for its time. One of the most interesting features is the King’s Palace, a complex of halls and courtyards that reveals how Bar’s rulers lived. You can also explore the remains of workshops, houses, and defensive towers, all arranged along steep stone paths that open to dramatic views of the coastal plain.

Bar Montenegro

Location

Old Town of Bar, also known as Stari Bar, is one of the most impressive historic sites in Montenegro and definitely not to be confused with the modern city center. It is located about 4 kilometers inland from the new town, at Stari Bar, Bar, Montenegro, on a hill at the foot of Mount Rumija. It is a huge fortified ruined town, abandoned after an explosion in the 19th century, and today it is an open-air museum full of stone streets, old churches, mosques and fortress walls. The location itself is already an attraction, but nearby you have a lot more to see. Just below the Old Town there is the famous old Olive Tree of Mirovica, said to be over 2000 years old. Down towards the coast you come to the new town of Bar where you have King Nikola's Palace with its park and museum, and the Kalafatska Radionica Bokovac, the small museum of traditional boat building. In the Stari Bar complex itself you can explore the Bar Fortress walls, the Church of St. George, the Church of St. Veneranda, and the ruins of the old Turkish bath and Aqueduct. It is a perfect place to spend half a day walking through history.