ULQIN HISTORY-Montenegro

Ulqin (Ulcinj in Montenegrin) is the southernmost town in Montenegro. It lies from the Cape of Mendra in the north to the point where the river Buna flows to the Adriatic. The town covers 20 kilometers in the north-south direction and 25 kilometers in the east-west direction. Its area is 255 squared kilometers. Ulqin (pronounced Oul-chin) is one of the oldest towns of the Adriatic coast. Illyrian tombs (tumuli), found in the village of Zogaj, in the vincity of Ulqin, date back to the Bronze Age. Ulqin is believed to be founded in the 5th century B.C. by Greek colonists from Colchis. The Colchian colonization is mentioned in the 3rd century B.C., in a poem by Apollonius of Rhodos. Illyrians lived in the region in that time, and under Greek influence built immense so-called Cyclopean Walls. These walls are the remains of the oldest habitation in today's Old Town, and the oldest structure of its kind in the eastern coast of the Adriatic. Colchinium became Olcinium when the Romans took the town from the Illyrian tribe of Olciniates (Labeat). Ulqin is encountered under that name for the first time in Pliny the Elder, in Naturalis Historia, and is also mentioned by Titus Livius. Under the Romans Ulqin became a municipium - a city with self-government. From this period also remains a wall, distinguished from the Illyrian-Greek wall by its coarser manner of construction. In the 7th century, after the division of the Roman Empire, Ulqin became part of the province of Prevalis, under the Byzantine Empire. From the 12th to the 14th century, Ulqin was part of the Serbian Empire, a period from which remain several foundations of churches. After the disintegration of the Serbian Empire, the Albanian feudal family of Balshaj and Venice fought over control of the town. The Balshajs were victorious, and the striking Balshaj Tower (Kulla e Balshajve), located in the upper part of the old town, is one of the remains from this period. The Venetians took over the town in 1405 and ruled Ulqin for 150 years. During this period, the town got the urban Venetian stamp of the eastern Adriatic type, with lovely palaces, churches, and squares. Venice protected the town until 1571, when it was captured by the Ottoman Turks. Under the Turks, Ulqin went under another transformation, gaining an oriental appearance. Mosques such as the Pasha Mosque (1719), The Main Mosque (1728), The Mountain Mosque (1783), were built, as were many Turkish baths (hamams). An especially impressive structure is the Clock Tower, built in 1754. During the years of the Albanian independence movement, the League of Prizren, Ulqin together with Shkodra, became the focus of Albanian resistance to Ottoman, Montenegrin, and west European armies. The Albanian population was caught between the Montenegrin and European powers armies' on one side, which were there to implement the resolution of the Congress of Berlin (1878), which had accorded Ulqin to Montenegro, and the Ottomans, which refused to comply with the decisions. After the resistance movement was supressed, Ulqin, together with the Albanian populated regions of Plav, Guci, Podgorica, Tivar (Bar), Berana (Ivangrad), became part of the Principality of Montenegro in 1880. Albanians still comprise the majority of the population in Ulqin, despite the pressure from the Montenegrin regime. Ulqin is a major touristic center of Montenegro. The longest beach of Ulqin is, as the name suggests, the Great Beach (Plazhi i Madh ), which is 12.5 kilometers long and an average of 50 meters wide. Behind the beach there are pine woods, maquis, green and deciduous trees. In a park at the beginning of the beach, 150 meters from the sea, is a holiday village comprised of the hotels Olimpic, Grand Lido, Otrant, Belvi, and Lido. The Small Beach (Plazhi i Vog‘l ) and its bay lie between the points of Punta e Nuradinit and Suka. Other A class hotels in Ulqin include Albatross, Mediteran, Galeb, the Palace of Balshaj suites and Palace Venice. geovisit