Petrovac ( cnr, Петровац, ) is a coastal

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

, within

Budva Municipality Budva Municipality is one of the municipalities of Montenegro. The administrative center is Town of Budva. The municipality is located at the Adriatic coast in southwestern Montenegro. Location and tourism Budva municipality is located on the Bud ...

. Petrovac is located on the coast between

Budva Budva ( cnr, Будва, or ) is a Montenegrin town on the Adriatic Sea. It has 19,218 inhabitants, and it is the centre of Budva Municipality. The coastal area around Budva, called the Budva riviera, is the center of Montenegrin tourism, kno ...

and

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

, where the old mountain road from

Podgorica Podgorica (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; Literal translation, lit. 'under the hill') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd ...

reaches the coast. It has a 600 m long sandy beach and it is a popular tourist destination. Petrovac is seen as a somewhat "calmer"

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort ...

, in contrast to the lively and developed nearby towns of Budva and

Sutomore Sutomore ( cnr, Сутоморе, ) is a small coastal town in Bar Municipality, Montenegro. A 2011 census put the population at 2,004. History Sutomore was called ''Spizza'' in Venetian, when it was under the Republic of Venice from 1420 to 17 ...

Population

The 2011 census found the town's population to be 1,398. The ethnicity of residents was: :

Montenegrins Montenegrins ( cnr, Црногорци, Crnogorci, or ; lit. "Black Mountain People") are a South Slavic ethnic group that share a common Montenegrin culture, history, and language, identified with the country of Montenegro. Genetics Accordin ...

- 615 (43,99%) :

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

- 545 (38,98%) :

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...

- 12 (0,86%) :Others - 226

History

The history of Petrovac began in Roman times, when a couple of villas were built at Krš Medinski: a 4th-century

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

floor, remains of a villa and baths have been found behind St Ilija's church. Later, there was a Slav village. The village was first mentioned in the

Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja The ''Chronicle of the Priest of Dioclea or Duklja'' ( sh, Ljetopis popa Dukljanina) is the usual name given to a purportedly medieval chronicle written in the late 13th century by an anonymous priest from Duklja. Its oldest preserved copy is in La ...

. At the northern end of the bay is a 16th-century Venetian fortress, Kastel Lastva, built to discourage pirates. When in the late 16th century jurisdiction of the Benedictine monastery Ratac collapses the Orthodox rite began to strengthen in the area of Catholic parishes, Spič, Sozina and Kastel Lastva which were under jurisdiction of this monastery. The Orthodox clergy and the Orthodox believers at the same time began to use Catholic Churches of that area for their rites.Ivan Jovović, 2013, Dvooltarske crkve na crnogorskom primorju, https://www.maticacrnogorska.me/files/53/06%20ivan%20jovovic.pdf #page=77-78 The name, Petrovac, was given at the beginning of the 20th century after King

Peter I Karađorđević Peter I ( sr-Cyr, Петар I Карађорђевић, Petar I Кarađorđević; – 16 August 1921) was the last king of Serbia, reigning from 15 June 1903 to 1 December 1918. On 1 December 1918, he became the first king of the Serbs, C ...

. Before, the name was Kaštel Lastva. In the bay are two islets (Katič and Sveta Neđelja), one of which is topped by a small chapel, built in thanksgiving for a shipwrecked sailor's life. At the beginning of the 20th century, Petrovac had around 300 inhabitants. In World War II, British agents were landed at nearby Perazića Do. They intended to establish contact with

Yugoslav partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...

( Operation Hydra).

Tourism

Between the two

world war A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...

s, Petrovac was famous as a popular destination for wealthy tourists from (the former)

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. Petrovac is today a popular summer beach resort, its visitors coming predominantly from Montenegro,

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. Tourist accommodation has expanded greatly in recent years, although less obtrusively than at Budva and the quality has also improved in response to market demand. The resort's main attraction is its beach. There is a night club in the old castle. There is ready access to neighbouring beaches at Lučice and Buljarica.

Sport

Despite the town's small size, it has a

football club A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...

OFK Petrovac OFK Petrovac is a football club based in Petrovac, Montenegro. They currently compete in the First League of Montenegro. History OFK Petrovac was founded in 1969, under the name ''FK Nafta''. During the first season, they played in the lowest- ...

, in the

Montenegrin First League The First League of Montenegro ( Montenegrin: ''Prva crnogorska fudbalska liga'' — ''Prva CFL'' — ''1. CFL''; ) is the top football league in Montenegro. Founded in 2006, competition is headed by the Football Association of Montenegro. 10 tea ...

. They play at the town's stadium, called Pod Malim Brdom, which literally means ''Under the Little Hill'' in Serbian.

Popular culture

In the 21st James Bond film, '' Casino Royale'', Petrovac was supposedly the location of the eponymous casino but the movie was shot in the Czech Republic instead. In the film, little is seen of the town, only the casino's environs and an outdoor cafe. A part of the movie Brothers Bloom was filmed in Petrovac. The locality has often been used in music videos of regional singers.

References

External links

Petrovac, Montenegro - the village, its beaches, islands, and waves
{{Authority control Populated places in Budva Municipality