Mamula Island history. Boat trip to the Blue Cave and Fort Mamula, Montenegro. Excursion “Ostrog and Cetinje Monasteries”

With a fascinating story. Once upon a time the Austrians were the owners here, and the island is named after General Lazar Mamula.

Lastavitsaor Mamula?

The island is a relatively small piece of land with a diameter of no more than 200 m, located southeast of the city of Igalo (it is possible to get around the whole thing in no more than 20-25 minutes). It blocks the entrance to the bay, so it was initially of extremely important strategic importance.

At a time when there was no fortress on the island, it was called Lastavica - “island of swallows”, later Lazar Mamula - one of the Austro-Hungarian generals gave the order to build a fortress here in order to be able to protect the entrance to the bay from the sea.

From that moment on, the island was named similarly to the fortress - Mamula (at present, nautical charts still call this landmass the Swallow).

The garrisons hiding behind the walls of the fort could perfectly repel all attacks by any enemy from the sea (the fortress occupied 90% of the entire area of the island).

However, if you believe the words local residents, not a single shot was fired from the fort. Perhaps this is precisely what explains the fact that the fortress has reached our times in almost the same condition as it was (except for the effects of time on it).

It was an ideal fortpost: it had an exceptional view of both land and sea. Thanks to its favorable location between the two states, the fort almost completely blocks the entrance to the bay, which is why it was simply impossible to get there without passing the island with the fortress. And few people even tried to do this.

In addition to its strategic defensive function, the fortress was an excellent fortification during World Wars I and II. And during and after the Second Great Patriotic War, a concentration camp was set up here.

Alas, the walls of the fort did not always protect their people. It is believed that freedom fighters were once imprisoned and tortured here.

Mamula Island in cinema

In 2014, Serbia filmed a thriller about the island under the same name “Mamula” (the title was “Mermaid”). The plot of the “horror story” was a hunt for the guests of the island by a guardian who guarded the peace of the mermaid (in the film, her habitat was underground fortress caves).

An excellent film for those who want to tickle their nerves. At first, tourists eager to visit these places were directly invited to watch a film before visiting the island for some mystification of this amazing place.

Since it comes to horror stories, we cannot help but note the legend about the dead tourists on this island, who allegedly fell into wells located between the thickets, and from which there is no way out.

There is no direct evidence of this, but this story is always told to tourists and travelers in order to fuel the excitement and delight of visiting these places. Well, and awaken vigilance and attentiveness when moving around the territory!

Desert Island in the Modern Age

Now Mamula Island - no one lives there (except for animals and abundant vegetation). The spirit of the Middle Ages still reigns here. The headquarters tower and loopholes still stand, you can look at the bakery and walk along the spiral staircases.

The pier, alas, has been destroyed, but curious tourists and travelers are still happy to come here on excursions one day, because... the fortress is not closed to visitors. Artists also come here for creative inspiration.

The area is densely covered with ivy and agave. Passing cruise ships always dock at the island. Anyone who has ever been here will forever be fascinated by the rocky shores, stunningly beautiful pebbles and clear water of an incredible blue color.

It's also worth visiting for the annual and world-famous Mimosa Festival, which takes place throughout the entire winter month. This is truly an unforgettable sight!

The Mamula fortress itself is now considered one of the largest fortifications of Austrian origin in the Adriatic. It is remembered for its monumentality, precisely thought-out forms, functionality and well-designed buildings.

The state protects it as a cultural monument. There are plans to increase the tourist influx here by creating a historical museum, tourist complex or a mini-hotel, but for now this all remains in theoretical plans.

Mamula Island is a small picturesque rocky island of round shape, which is located near famous resort Herceg Novi, at the entrance to the Bay of Kotor.

Fortress on Mamula Island

In ancient times he was called the Swallow. This continued until, in the 19th century, a defensive fortress was built near Herceg Novi under the leadership of the governor of Austro-Hungarian Dalmatia, General Lazar Mamul. The fortress was erected to protect the Bay of Kotor from enemy attacks from the sea. Since that time, Mamula Island received a new modern name.

Although the island is tiny in size, it was important due to its strategic location. The island served as a reliable shield before entering the bay, which was used during hostilities. During both world wars this defensive fortress on the island of Mamula it was used as a prison. However, this place is remembered with an unkind word even after wartime: cruel torture of political prisoners was used here.

The fortress near Herceg Novi is perfectly preserved. Nowadays it is under state protection as a monument of architecture and culture of Montenegro. Now the Mamula fortress is the largest surviving Austrian defensive structure in the Adriatic Sea. It is distinguished by its monumentality, high precision of construction and functionality of forms.

Nature of Herceg Novi

Nowadays, on the island of Mamula there is an amazing city park, the nature of which delights with a rich variety of tropical and subtropical plants. Among them, several unique varieties of mimosa stand out. In winter, the park hosts the world-famous Mimosa Festival, which lasts a whole month.

Combat power of the state

Very scenic view The nature of the rocky bay opens from the sea, from the deck of ships passing by. An interesting fact is that under the slopes of the Bay of Kotor there are three tunnels for submarines. Previously, the island of Mamula near Herceg Novi represented the fighting power of Yugoslavia. Submarines sailed into tunnels under water, and the enemy could not guess about the existence of their secret base here. Now everything is in an abandoned state, although Montenegro has its own submarine fleet. IN Kotor Bay There is also a ship repair yard.

Excursions to mysterious world islands

These days, educational excursions to Mamula Island and its fort are very popular among tourists and travelers. Those sailing by are sure to land near this island. large airliners. Not a single tourist who comes to Herceg Novi is left indifferent by the natural beauty of the island with its steep rocky shores. And in the northern part of Mamula Island there are beautiful secluded beaches.

It should be noted that the island of Mamula near Herceg Novi is located on the border of two states: Montenegro and Croatia. These countries cannot resolve the controversial issue of ownership of this unique island, which is promising for the development of tourism. For this reason, organized excursion groups stopped bringing people to the fortress for some time. It is not looked after and is slowly deteriorating.

If, despite this, you want to decorate yours with a tour of the lush nature of Herceg Novi, then you can privately negotiate with the captain of a local ship and sail to this island on your own. We can recommend visiting Žanjic Beach and the Blue Cave along the way. To fully enjoy the nature of Herceg Novi, it is better to find and book a comfortable one in advance.

Mamula Island with its fortress is one of the main attractions in the Bay of Kotor area. The Government of Montenegro has big plans about this uninhabited island in the Adriatic Sea. But for now, let's focus on what we have now.
Mamula Island undeservedly remains aloof from the attention of many tourists. This is due to its not very convenient location, which makes the island difficult to include in excursion programs. So mainly tourists come to this island to relax in the resorts of Herceg Novi and Igalo. However, one popular excursion does include a visit to Mamula Island. This is daytime excursion to the Bay of Kotor .

Mamula Island on the map of Montenegro

Mamula Fortress

The first inhabitants appeared on Mamula Island in 1853, when an Austro-Hungarian military fort was built here. However, the worst period in the island's history occurred during World War II, when it was the site of an isolated concentration camp. From May 30, 1942 until the end of the war, forces Benito Mussolini used Mamula Island to house thousands of people against their will.

Although record-keeping practices were not a strong point of Mussolini's regime, Mamula Island was still known as a den of cruelty and torture. At least 130 deaths have been linked to this location. most of which was caused by famine. After the closure of the concentration camp on Mamula Island, the fort and other buildings were abandoned. Since then, no one has lived on the island.

Prospects for Mamula Island

Since the island is located the perfect distance from shore to get that sense of isolation you need but still have quick access to the island or the mainland, it has a lot of potential. Investors also noticed this. We understand that work will begin soon to redevelop the land and buildings, including hundreds of cells that once housed prisoners. Officials in Montenegro have a plan to rebuild the crumbling fort. According to the latest data, the former concentration camp will turn into a modern, upscale beach resort. Swiss investment firm Orascom Development Holding AG has signed a 49-year lease on the island and plans to transform Mamula Island into a luxury holiday destination.

Montenegro has a lot interesting places, and there are simply countless ancient fortresses! I had previously only looked at the fortress island of Mamula from afar. I only had the chance to be close in November 2013, when my friend celebrated her birthday in Herceg Novi. We boarded a rented boat for 30 euros at the pier and set off to conquer the fortress. Well, that’s what we thought at that moment... and while we were swimming against the current on the waves for half an hour, we got a little seasick, the smell of diesel fuel began to irritate us, and the alluring fortress turned out to be almost impregnable.

Mamula is located between two peninsulas: on the Montenegro side - Lustica, on the Croatian side - Prevlaka. This desert island in the Adriatic, the fortress in diameter is 200 meters, its height is 16 m. The island is covered with low shrubby vegetation and some huge cacti (or what is it called?) It is 6.3 km away from the city of Herceg Novi.

Or there is a more modern filming, however, with a preconceived opinion about Montenegro (in which there is nothing to do) from Tema Lebedev. Watch from 1:15 how he and the expedition visited Mamula.

In the fall of 2013, a horror film was filmed on Mamula!!! Filming lasted only 15 days :) The director from Serbia is Milan Todorovic (standing in the photo), and the main roles are played by foreign actors: Kristina Klebe, Natalie Bern (Natalia Guslistaya) and Franco Nero.

The plot is banal, but the ending is amazing: Two American tourists come to Montenegro on vacation at the invitation of their friend. After resting for several days, they decide to go on a trip to the Mamula fortress, which is notorious. In the fortress they find a mysterious fisherman who is holding a beautiful girl captive. The tourists free her, but soon see that this is by no means beautiful girl, but a siren who is not averse to tasting the blood of her liberators.

An ominous horror poster, which will premiere on International Women's Day on March 8 at the Belgrade Film Festival :)

What's in the conclusion? Nothing new - come to Montenegro, lie on the beaches less, ride unexplored paths more and see the country, then it won’t seem like a dull village to you :))

My past articles about fortresses.

Our walk today will again be dedicated to Boka Kotor, but we will not go by car, but by boat on the sea. Boat trips in Montenegro are very popular look rest, you will be able to visit such places, swim on such beaches, where it is not possible to drive by car, you can’t even walk everywhere. You can rent a boat in Montenegro for boat trips and fishing anywhere on the coast. In the area from Herceg Novi to Bijeloj, you can rent a boat starting from 15 euros per hour; in total, the trip will take us about half a day, i.e. approximately 6-7 hours. The boat will be about 4-5 people, more spacious boats will cost more. So, we start from the city of Herceg Novi and head straight to the island of Lastvica, located at the mouth of the Boka Kotorska. On this island at the beginning of the 19th century, the military fort Mamula was built to protect Boka from the enemy fleet. Similar forts stand on the mainland on both sides of the mouth of the bay, currently one is in Montenegro, the other in Croatia. The forts were built by Austria-Hungary in the 19th century.

A small boat will reach Mamula from Herceg Novi in about forty minutes.

The old pier is completely destroyed by waves, it is very difficult to land, but local sailors are experienced and easily cope with it. By the way, about sailors. All local boatmen are big bores, get ready to hear all the way: “This is not possible, that is not possible, don’t swim alone, you’ll cramp your leg... etc.” Of course, when at sea on a boat, you should be careful, but not to the same extent. Therefore, it is better to go on a boat with friends, if anyone needs it, I can recommend it. Okay, so. we landed on the island. In June, when we were there, the island was the habitat of cormorants, which hatch their chicks there. Young cormorant chicks differ from adults in the gray color of their plumage. It is not recommended to approach them; they can attack uninvited guests.

By the way, despite the fact that the island is abandoned, the municipality regularly cleans it of garbage left by tourists (stupid bastards), as well as of bushes, which grow so much every year that it is quite difficult to walk along the paths. So, you can walk around the island quite comfortably.

Fort:

The construction is of excellent quality. The Austrians built conscientiously:

Courtyard:

You can climb to the top of the fort using a spiral staircase:

View of Lustica. Another fort at the mouth of the Boka, which I wrote about above:

The entire island is overgrown with agave cactus - the same one from which Tequila is made in Mexico. The cactus lives 5-7 years, blooms once in its life and dies after flowering. These long shoots are the agave flowers:

Inside the fort:

The fortress on the Croatian coast, which I wrote about above:

During World War II, Fort Mamula was a military prison. Prisoners' cells:

This is such a prison with a view of the sea. Both funny and sad...

Moat in front of the fortress wall:

Gray cormorant chick:

We leave the island and go to the Blue Grotto, Plava Shpilya in Montenegrin style.

Look at the green edge on land. Winter storms in the Adriatic reach this point. Sea waves wash away the coastal rocks so much that they become sharp, like a knife blade. For this reason, if a ship was in distress near such an uninhabited coast, the sailors did not have the opportunity to escape or get ashore. A couple of blows from the wave on such stones turned out to be fatal.

And here is the Blue Grotto. It has two exits; not only a boat, but also a small sea tram can go inside. Thanks to the play of light and water, the inside is extremely beautiful, the water is softly turquoise and very clean. The bottom can be seen just fine at depths of many meters. Swimming there is a pleasure.

Having had a good swim (by the way, be sure to swim near Mamula), we leave the grotto through another exit:

Here, near the exit from the Blue Grotto, there will be two more small grottoes in the rock, not so beautiful, of course. Be sure to swim into the smallest grotto, when you are inside, stay to the right and look left up at the ceiling of the cave - there will be beautiful stalactites there.