Bijela (
Serbian Cyrillic: Бијела, ) is a coastal town in the municipality of
Herceg Novi,
Montenegro. It is also located north of Herceg Novi, by the Verige strait in the
Bay of Kotor.
The chronicler
Andrija Zmajević claimed that the 16th-century
Pope Sixtus V
Pope Sixtus V ( it, Sisto V; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order ...
descended from a family originating in the area of Bijela. He also stated that the future Pope's father, Piergentile di Giacomo, was born in the village
Bjelske Kruševice near Bijela and moved to Italy to escape the Ottoman conquest.
Demographics
The 2003 census recorded a population of 3,748.
According to the 2011 census, its population was 3,691.
Bijela Adriatic Shipyard
Bijela was the home of the ''Jadransko brodogradilište Bijela'', (
Montenegrin: Јадранско бродоградилиште Бијела) ("Bijela Adriatic Shipyard"), the largest maintenance and repair
shipyard
A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...
dock in Montenegro. The remains of the bankrupt enterprise were sold off in 2020.
In December 2001 the
turbo-electric
A turbo-electric transmission uses electric generators to convert the mechanical energy of a turbine (steam or gas) into electric energy, which then powers electric motors and converts back into mechanical energy that power the driveshafts.
Tur ...
car ferry ''
Alexander the Great'' was towed to the shipyard in December 2001 to be converted into a
cruise ship,
but the project came to a halt and it was not until January 2005 that the ship was towed away.
Sports
The local football club is FK Bijela, who played in Montenegro's third tier but currently only play in youth football. The club played their home games at Stadion Bijela.
References
External links
Adriatic Shipyard Bijela
Hotel Delfin, Bijela
Official web site of Herceg Novi municipality
Populated places in Herceg Novi Municipality
Populated places in Bay of Kotor
Mediterranean port cities and towns in Montenegro
Coastal towns in Montenegro
Serb communities in Montenegro
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