The Island of Flowers ( Montenegrin: Ostrvo cvijeća/Острво цвијећа), also known as Miholjska Prevlaka ( cnr, Михољска превлака, Miholjska prevlaka), or Island of St. Archangel Michael ( cnr, Острво Свети Михаило, Ostrvo Sveti Mihailo), is an island in the

Tivat Tivat (, ) is a coastal town in southwest Montenegro, located in the Bay of Kotor. , its population was 9,367. Tivat is the centre of Tivat Municipality, which is the smallest municipality by area in Montenegro. Name In Serbian and Montenegrin l ...

municipality in the

Bay of Kotor The Bay of Kotor ( Montenegrin and Serbian: , Italian: ), also known as the Boka, is a winding bay of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Montenegro and the region of Montenegro concentrated around the bay. It is also the southernmost part of the hi ...

, on the Montenegrin Littoral. It has population of 100 people. The Island of Flowers is located near the town of Tivat, in the

. The island is 300 m long and 200 m wide. It is connected with the mainland by a narrow

isthmus An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmus ...

. Today, the island is inhabited by about a hundred people, mainly living in bungalows. The island includes a monastery dedicated to Archangel Michael, built in the early 13th century by

Saint Sava Saint Sava ( sr, Свети Сава, Sveti Sava, ; Old Church Slavonic: ; gr, Άγιος Σάββας; 1169 or 1174 – 14 January 1236), known as the Enlightener, was a Serbian prince and Orthodox monk, the first Archbishop of the autocephalou ...

, the medieval seat of the

Metropolitanate of Montenegro The Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral of the Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr, Митрополија црногорско-приморска Српске православне цркве, Mitropolija crnogorsko-primorska Srpske pravoslav ...

. It was a tourist resort for Yugoslav military personnel, closed for the general public in the

Socialist Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yugo ...

period.

History

In the Middle Ages the two adjacent islands, Island of Flowers and

Sveti Marko Island Sveti Marko Island ( cnr, Острво Свети Марко, Ostrvo Sveti Marko), historically known as Stradioti, is an island on the Adriatic Sea, in the Montenegrin municipality of Tivat. History According to an Ancient Greek legend the isla ...

, were named islands of Sveti Mihailo and Sveti Gavrilo respectively, after the two holy archangels. After the Montenegrin littoral became part of the

Venetian Republic The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia ...

, both islands were renamed. Sveti Mihailo Island became Miholjska Prevlaka, while Sveti Gavrilo Island island became first named Stradioti, then Sveti Marko Island.

Monastery

The Monastery of Saint Archangel Michael ( sr, Манастир Светог Архангела Михаила, Manastir Svetog Arhangela Mihaila) was founded by Serbian Archbishop Sava (s. 1219–35). The church base was built earlier, reconstructed in the 9th century and destroyed in the 11th century. The monastery was the seat of the

Eparchy of Zeta The Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral of the Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr, Митрополија црногорско-приморска Српске православне цркве, Mitropolija crnogorsko-primorska Srpske pravoslav ...

between the 13th and 15th centuries. Under planned restoration, the monastery was destroyed by the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

in 1441 after it was proclaimed unsafe due to the rumors of a plague breakout. Recent research by the Military Medical Academy in Belgrade, using recovered remains of monks from that time have revealed that the monks died probably due to arsenic poisoning. There are remains of the church base.

References

External links

* Islands of Montenegro Islands of the Adriatic Sea Tivat Municipality {{Montenegro-geo-stub

History

Monastery

See also

References

External links