Risan-Montenegro | Oldest Gate in the Magnificent Bay of Kotor.

Risan is a splendid destination of Montenegro of an immense scenic beauty well known to be the oldest gate in the magnificent bay of Kotor, a place which shows in all its superb splendour a wild and stunning environment highlighted by striking sea views from the heights of the scenic Dinaric Alps dominating one of the most enchanting sites of the Eastern Mediterranean, a unique shining diamond you can admire along an extraordinary  Adriatic coastline.  

Part of the municipality of Kotor situated in the innermost point of a marvellous gulf with the same name in the shade of the imposing Orjen montain and at the foot of the picturesque Krivošije, a superb high karst plateau, Risan has a very ancient, captivating history to narrate able to capture in a while the attention of many tourists.

Historical events and natural marvels are protagonists together in a resort which is an emblematic symbol of the wonderful Boka Kotorska, the famous mouth of Kotor as it is called in Slavic language, a masterpiece of nature consisting in series of inlets defined and classified as a Southern European fjord, a spectacular attraction in a place of a unique charm where rugged peaks embrace a shimmering coast forming a scenery born to donate dreams.  

The ravishing branches of that striking sea arm penetrating in the Montenegrin mainland are certainly an unforgettable attraction in which the first is immediately visible between the enchanting Prevlaka and  Zanjic peninsulas forming a huge bay something of fabulous at first sight for sinuous bends creating a kind of suggestive labyrinth of blue waters and that is immediately an image to imprint in your best memories.

The second one is equally wonderful flanking Denovici east of the beautiful town of Herceg Novi, that famous former old Venetian town also known in old times as Castelnuovo and in that point you can admire something of simply extraordinary and highly scenic as a kind of big lagoon lining a marvellous jagged coastline occupied by the charming centres of Bijela and Tivat. (I wrote a post about that other beautiful place)

That spectacular image is absolutely magic and hypnotising with a superb highlight made by a natural channel as Verige Strait facing the impressive silhouette of the trendy Porto Montenegro showing the visitors something of unforgettable and extremely attractive.

In the last step that marvel entering in the inland takes a shape resembling a horseshoe at the foot of a rugged mountainous chain where in the case you want to enjoy an excursion reaching its summit you can admire from another perspective the beauty of Risan almost hidden in a corner of that marvellous bay.
  
From those steep heights you will be furthermore bewitched by the view on a picturesque rounded promontory on which is situated another local pearl consisting in that marvellous resort called Perast. (I also wrote a post about that superb place in the case you are interested).

Risan apart its stunning natural fascination is a place highly recommended to all those who love history, a site which saw during all its historical periods the landing on its soil of Illyrians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Slavs, Turks, Venetians and Austrian, it conserves pearls of art linked to glorious times of the Imperial Rome and other memories related to all those civilisations. 

In addition it is also particularly suggested for who is a an admirer of scenic landscapes,  along its coast you will be delighted by small pebbled beaches beneath verdant hills or cliffs, a very peaceful and tranquil destination very ideal for those who desire to have calm and relaxing holidays.

The proximity of the wonderful Perast is a great attraction pretty recommended for the most enthusiastic sea lovers who can enjoy some kilometres of unspoiled coastline simply great to practise different kinds of water sports.

That Montenegrin territory is an authentic pearl for its scenic environment with blue waters and those incomparable contrasts of the green of its vegetation, the gray and light brown tonalities of its shaped cliffs and rocky spurs, an Eden for photographers who  who can chose that place for one of their successful works.

In a land in which high marvellous plateaus are so close to the sea with a wild and rugged territory in the immediate inland, Risan is a perfect destination for fervent trekkers who will find there a heaven,with a large network of trails reaching hamlets of a superb charm in which the time seems stands still and in their boundaries living a unique experience with the chance to see in their small cores the most genuine, true rural  Montenegro.

Further great details are that during a late afternoon or in an evening you will be delighted by a cool Adriatic breeze,  the presence of local fishermen landing the banks of the  small but scenic local harbour with their fresh catch, the Orthodox priest talking in the street with locals and families and the smell of a homemade cuisine always prepared with genuine products, a destination absolutely rich of pleasant and captivating surprises.

That area is  more than suggestive, also mystical, enchanting a myriad of visitors who think to be landed in a Paradise surrounded by a sort of magic aura and that fraction of the old Cattaro with its divine charm bewitched many prominent people.

It is enough to mention the Venetian Doges, the Austrian Emperors among them Franz Josef I, Russian Tsar Aleksandr I but also eminent writers such as  Bernard Shaw, Ivo Andric, Lord Byron and  another iconic figure as the Genoese Admiral Andrea Doria fell in love with that wonderful place.

It is very easy to be enchanted by the magnificent view of a place which only mother nature could create along a coast kissed by a divinity for its incomparable fascination, it was not a case that those famed characters often returned there to admire something highly inspiring which probably left indelible marks in their memories.

Founded probably in the 4th century BC by the Illyrians, an ancient population which settled the Balkans until the current Slovenia, they established along that shoreline one of their impenetrable strongholds and the former name of the settlement was Rizan deriving from a tribe linked to that civilisation called Rizonti, a branch of that ethnic group which occupied that corner of Montenegro despite there is another version attesting as Sinus Rhizonicus a further denomination.

The Ancient Greeks who explored that area called that place Rhizon, the land of those settlers who venerated the God Medaurus who in mythology represented a warrior riding a horse  killing dragons, snakes and monsters, considered the sacred protector of that land and its inhabitants. 

Many mythological legends are linked to that divinity who flanked the warriors od Rizan fighting during the invasions of pirates and arresting the landing of all those who tried to approach their coastal domains and it said that figure transmitted them an invincible spirit with frequent appearances leading them to victorious battles against enemies and to face all the pitfalls of the Adriatic.

The Hellenic navigators met the Rizonti along the oldest gate in the magnificent Bay of Kotor several times considering them a very belligerent population always focused to attack and searching lands of conquests, skilled sailors, well known for their incursions all along that Adriatic coastline, protagonists of  sudden raids returning to their settlements singing hymns to their divinities after their plunders.   

Linked to several stories that land has always been since many centuries ago surrounded by myths,narrations , suggestive episodes a favourite subject of historians and philosophers who depicted it several times as an epic, legendary site in many of their works.

One of the most famous is that one related to Cadmus founder of Thebes, descendant of the first Phoenician settlers who established his refuge in the current Risan after the fall of his former Reign. 

That powerful ancient Monarch moved to that Montenegrin haven with his wife Harmonia daughter of the Gods Ares and Aphrodite, since then that land became the oldest gate of the magnificent Bay of Kotor with the development of the Kingdom founded by that mythological character.

A legend narrated that the powerful Illyrian Queen Teuta ordered to kill two Roman diplomatic figures sent by Emperor Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander in 230 BC.

After that event when that Sovereign saw the Imperial fleet entering in the bay in proximity of the shore of her stronghold feared to be taken prisoner and judged by the Senate committed suicide jumping from the top of the fortress situated on a height overlooking Risan and according to some legends that act created part of mouth of the bay of Kotor with her spirit wandering around the waters bathing Risan.

The Rizonti also established a mint producing bronze coins, some of them depicted one of the their Kings called Ballaios, another had the image of the town and a further one with the gulf, probably indicating the foundation league with other local nearest settlements according to historic information.  

That centre was for long time a notable Roman Colony called Rhisinium or Rhizinium and in addition achieving the title of Oppidium Civium Romanorum meaning in  Latin language Municipal town part of Rome. 

That centre was mentioned by the famous philosopher and author Pliny the Elder as a wealthy and prominent site with a very developed, thriving society, a flourishing port with an important trade established as a relevant cross point of several busy routes along all the coasts of Dalmatia, the Southern Adriatic, including reaching the Aegean Sea.

In that period the current resort was fortified by the Romans and in the meantime also born a great artistic activity with the construction of temples and Roman Domus, noble Patrician houses residences of powerful families linked to the highest sphere of the Empire emigrated in those lands in continuous development offering them a prosperous heaven. 

Those events leaving Rome became very usual as frequent operations managed by the most relevant and influential dynasties to increase and elevate much more their power and ranking also abroad.

All that is highly confirmed by the rests of buildings of that ancient civilisation with the found of considerable remnants and much more highlighted  by the discovery of some relevant mosaics, iconic symbols of the finest artistic Roman civilisation, superb marks left in that marvellous place many centuries ago.

The former town after the decay of Rome with its consequent fall saw the landings of the first Slavic and Avar tribes with in addition other populations coming from East becoming a place pretty unsafe because those meetings of different ethnic groups focused to impose predominant hierarchies with desires of conquest and expansion. episodes which  generated several disputes and clashes.

 There was not in those times plans to settle a very strategic site creating there a notable bastion between the sea and the interior but only battles and wars which transformed for a period Risan in a sort of no man´s land due to continuous conflicts ending with a victory by one side and a new conquest by a rival in a while in just some days.

All those fights created in Risan times of destruction, desolation and for many years that centre was almost abandoned with the population obliged to escape in the inland trying to escape by a tragic destiny. 

All that happened until the return of the second cycle of the Romans with the successful advent of Constantinople, influential Capital the Roman Empire of Orient with seat in the current Istanbul and former Byzantium.

The Byzantines in that period had elevated fortresses alongside all the Greek coasts and in North Africa and just like those domains they fortified that settlement of Montenegro which re-started centre since to live new golden ages with a settlement totally protected,  restored and with an extraordinary rebirth not just in terms of defencive and military aspects but also highlighted by a renaissance of a very active artistic life.

Many old businesses as the trade on the Dalmatian coastline were re-activated and the citizens of Risan obtained privileges to develop commercial, mercantile and handcraft activities transforming that site in one of the wealthiest settlement of the current country.

All that happened in the 10th century thanks to the iconic Emperor Constantine VII also known as Porphyrogenettos or "the  Purple born" who also gave a defined profile to that centre incorporating it in a Travunija, a sort of principality and declared by the Religious rector of Doclea, also known as Duklja a former centre which existed in the current boundaries of capital Podgorica founded by Emperor Diocletian,  part of a district called Rissenia or Rissena.

In medieval times the town lived a brief period  under the influence of Stjepan Vukčić Kosača, Grand Duke of Bosnia and also that concrete period corresponding to the 15th century is very interesting for some special episodes which saw protagonist in the history of Risan a new entry as contender for the domain of the Bay of Kotor the powerful  Maritime Republic of Venice.

The Venetian Doges extremely focused to enlarge their domains along the Adriatic and concretely in that strategic point with the aim to establish an impenetrable stronghold and much more a splendid gate to the Balkans for their active trades  treated to arrange with that Slavic Governor an exchange of territories in 1466.

The Venetians offered in change of Risan a land which had an extension from Omis in proximity of the current Split until Bar, a centre situated south of Budva (If you are interested I wrote a post about that resort) with a proposal of a fast agreement also asking the town of Herceg Novi in change of the Dalmatian island of Brač currently part of Croatia which was in that period a domain of that glorious Republic from Veneto.

Those operations which endured many years unfortunately were not successful because Vlatko Vukčić,  one of the sons of the Grand Duke preferred to give Risan to the Ottoman Empire in 1482.

The reason of that famous historic no to Venice was simply to consider it a too dangerous neighbouring in continuous expansion and in that period there was a strong desire from part of that young Slavic noble to establish terms of a possible alliance with the Turks giving them that centre hoping in a long treaty of no aggression and perhaps protection in the case his domains were attacked.

That strategy of that character was to keep the city of St. Mark offside without that important place which could increase its influences in the entire bay. Those arrangements between the Ottomans and the young Duke had not a happy final because the Turks ignoring that request of a possible alliance invaded the Bay of Kotor also conquering Herceg Novi in the same year.

The fall of that House and the new Ottoman domination generated a long frontal direct clash in the Adriatic between the Venetians and the Turkish Empire which kept Risan until 1688.


Some defeats of the  Ottomans in different battles between the current Southern Dalmatia and the Montenegrin coastline determined the advent of Venice which conquered that centre in that year incorporating it in the Albania Veneta.

The local area once part of the Republic of St Mark's  was fortified once again and called Risano during ther times of Doge Francesco Morosini, becoming one of the most inaccessible strongholds along the entire Adriatic coastline, very difficult to siege because in a position hidden in the interior of the local gulf behind high hills, protected by a labyrinth of coves and inlets by sea and much more in the innermost point of the magnificent Bay of Kotor.

Venice ruled that site until the late 18th century when that centre of Boka Kotorska fell under Austrian influence with the House of Habsburg becoming  new owner of a land since a long time before more than desired.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire during a long period with attempts to take that place  saw how was difficult for the fleets of the enemy to reach that point of Europe and to land on the coastal towns lining that mosaic of waters.  

Obviously that new domain was a relevant achievement for the the Austrian Emperors much more highlighted knowing the defeats of the Ottoman Empire. an eternal rival which had lost Risan in the late 17th century.

The conquest of the centre by those new rulers is pretty curious and peculiar in its kind because despite the occupation of part of Montenegro that centre never fell in a true siege or in a real naval battle with a similar situation to that of Perast.

The change of rule was after a treaty with the Austrian troops landed in that territory when the legendary Republic of Veneto delivered its former Montenegrin and Dalmatian territories some of them never directly conquered in battles.

 That episode was simply related to an agreement in which those two contenders stipulated a sort of pact of no future aggressions in change of ceded territories.

That strategic position of that site is simply unique because apart the difficulties to enter in the Boka Kotorska the strategic presence of the Orjen Gora, the Mount Orjen which is like a sentinel, a natural check point overlooking the entire gulf also played an important role with an ample control of the interior in the Dinaric Alps thanks to its 1894,0 metres of altitude.

It was used later by the Imperial Austrian guards controlling from its summit all the movements and attempts of incursions by the Turks, including from its top the visibility reaches the second space of the Bay of Kotor corresponding to the village of Donja Lastva in proximity of Porto Montenegro.

After the fall of Austria after the First World War, Risan joined of the Kingdom of Montenegro following historic steps of the Balkan Wars facing Turkey in the early 20th century once again and afterwards it was incorporated despite some clashes as part of the New former Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenian. 

That event was not very loved by many locals for the lost of their true Monarch and identity also considered by many Montenegrin citizens a very unclear union with a pretty limited national visibility obscured by bigger realities as Croatia and Serbia.

During the Second World War, from 1941 to 1943 Risan  was occupied by Italian troops and later by the German army. In 1944 it was protagonist as scene and focal point of a historic bloody battle in the nearest mountains mainly characterised around the mount Orjen extending along its harbour between the Yugoslav Partisans led by Josip Broz alias  Marshal  Tito and the Wermacht, the German troops with a fight house by house, metre by metre.

Germany to face a situation pretty difficult facing an enemy who perfectly knew the territory organising plans of a very strategic guerrilla sent in the current resort some SS divisions,  SS special force to tame those belligerent fervent patriots but with an unsucessful destiny.

The contemporary history continued when Risan was officially incorporated as a territory of the former Republic of Yugoslavia after the 2nd World War while since 2006 it is  part of the new Republika Crna Gora, the Independent Republic of Montenegro which left the former Confederation shared with the nearest  Serbia in that year, leaving the last country with which had a national bond.

In a new design of the Montenegrin maps the former town was added as a neighbourhood of the municipality of Kotor and it suffered during its history some earthquakes which have destroyed part of its relevant historical patrimony.

Today the main local important resources are tourism and agriculture, the latter pretty developed while in its immediate interior, on the slopes of the nearest hills, mountains there are small farms and pastures especially in the area of Bijela which continue to be active as since centuries ago.

Risan has not kept a lot its former medieval aspect due to those natural disasters but you can see the ruins of one of its Trdava, a towered structure part of the former fortress situated on the top of a hill visible are also part of the stone defencive walls and the rests of another tower originally erected on a circular plan.

The lively local core lies around the small but captivating Trziste Trg, the market square and  Risan Luka the harbour. Those two places were already in the previous centuries the hub of the local life and focal point of the business meetings of Slavic and Venetian merchants in a period in which the resort was an important town very active in the commerce of spices and textiles products.

From there you can have wonderful views on the bay and you can start the visit taking a look to Ulica  Gabela Ulica, considered the oldest street of Montenegro, a very charming cobbled street flanked by stone houses leading to the mountainous area behind the centre.

It is a very a historic hallway which was originally during the occupation of the Ottoman Empire the heart of the Turkish community until the late 17th century. 

Other interesting monuments are the rests of an old Venetian Palace conserving a part of the main facade with a series of rectangular and arched windows and the remnants of a relevant fine loggia reminiscent in many of its details the refined architectural lines characterised by the artistic movements born in the Republic of St. Mark.

Crkva Svetog Petra i Pavla is the local Orthodox Church dedicated to the Evangelists St. Peter and St. Paul and it is one of the local highlights. That Religious building elevated in the early 17th century is a splendid architectural example of Neo-Byzantine art boasting a beautiful tower and fine curved windows in the section of the belfry with a scenic dome placed above a polygonal element on the top of a square base surmounted on its summit by a pinnacle.

Between the harbour and that Church you can enjoy relaxing times in Park Risan, the green lung of that charming place situated at approximately 100,0 metres from the waterfront, meeting point of locals and frequent place of transit of tourists visiting the historic centre.

The most important attraction in terms of historic patrimony with an incomparable value are undoubtedly the beautiful Rimski Mozaici, consisting in five stunning mosaics executed by the  Romans, a great treasure of that civilisation left in the boundaries of the resort elevated as the highest symbol of the local heritage patrimony.

  Those magnificent masterpieces were originally arranged in a Roman villa established in 3rd century and  discovered in the 30's. in operations led by the British archaeologist Arthur Evans.After that event they started to be  displayed in 1960 becoming since then a sort of icon in the former Republic of Yugoslavia until today. 

Those superb works have an immense value and the most relevant is certainly that one depicting the Greek God Hypnos father of Morpheus mentioned by Homer in his famous work the Iliad, a mosaic unique in its kind in the world and considered one of the best existing outside Rome.

Hypnos was venerated by the Romans for his magic powers, a mythological figure able to hypnotise human beings and evil Gods. According to the most suggestive mythology that divinity was well known to be highly regarded and respected by many Hellenic and Roman Gods and a legend tells that Poseidon for the Greeks alias Neptune for the Romans, God of the sea and brother of Jupiter and Pluto asked him to numb Zeus. 

A splendid view point to have a fantastic image of the local bay is a pleasant and enjoyable walk of approximately 300, 0 metres north of the harbour, you will reach a rounded headland and from there you will have a stunning image of the local gulf.

Once there you will be delighted by impressive views towards the opposite coast on which is situated the small scenic coastal village of Kostanjica next an impressive sight of the last channel of the sea arm entering in the innermost point of the bay of Kotor south of Perast exactly facing you, something absolutely wonderful. 

Another of the most beautiful attractions of the resort is its magnificent natural scenery, a great combination of Adriatic, mountains and forests. Risan has approximately 2,300 but it h inhabitants but it has a pretty wide territory, dominated along its coast by a long series of hills among them Sokolova Gora and low mountains with an altitude between the 800, 0 and 950, 0 metres and they are Celiac Gora, Usanik Gora, Glogovo Gora, Struga Gora, Gradina Gora and Povrsnice Gora.

All those heights are a perfect destination for all the nature lovers enjoying a wild and uncontaminated nature, beautiful forests and stunning paths with wonderful views over that iconic oldest gate of the magnificent Bay of Kotor and the Dalmatian coast.

Hiking and photography are absolutely a must if you love that kind of activities, from those high hills you can immortalise in unforgettable pictures a big coastal space of Montenegro, an absolute paradise and along the entire chain you will have the chance to enjoy several images from different perspectives and that is definitely great enjoying the coastal formation from a large variety of points.

Apart that magnificent natural frame offered by the slopes of those high plateaus you will also have the opportunities to see some scattered hamlets absolutely charming and to see the rural Montenegrin life with the locals preparing homemade food and artisans working as in the times of their old predecessors, also that is a great incentive to learn more about the local lifestyle and cultural roots in those remote small villages.

Apart that brilliant chance to know something extremely captivating all around those small realities, I suggest you an excursion on one of those hills called Gradina Gora boasting an incomparable historic patrimony preserving the archaeological area of Carine. 

In that place you can admire the ruins of an ancient Greek-Illyrian Necropolis and in addition it is also the site where the Ottomans erected a former fortress, a Kale as the Turks called it  used as check point with a Kule, a tower overlooking the local coasts and the route Risan-Onogošt with the hilltop practically inaccessible. 

The local cuisine is another great highlight ready to delight your palate for its varied flavours and a wide range of different plates. 

The traditional gastronomy of the Bay of Kotor is typically based on fish and seafood really excellent and every day fresh, traditionally Mediterranean, very similar in many aspects to that of the nearest Croatia and Serbia but with its own strong identity.

Delicious is the local Rizot, a kind of risotto with cuttlefish and another delight is the Przena Lignje, delectable fried squid. A further plate pretty common is the tastefully Salata ot Hobotnice, an exquisite octopus salad very appreciated for the high quality of that sea product and the superb Škampi,  shrimp elevated as a culinary highlight.

You can also taste and enjoy the traditional gastronomy of the interior in some restaurants in other villages as the traditional Montenegrin Sarma made with cabbage leafs filled with minced meat, rice, vegetables and paprika.

The popular local Cevavpcici has many affinities with that speciality prepared in Serbia consisting in cylinder of minced lamb or beef meat grilled in barbecue style, the shape is similar to a sausage and once well cooked it is served with the iconic Ajvar, a kind of mixture forming a dense sauce made with garlic, pepper, chili and aubergines and accompanied by slices of onion or other vegetables.

If you love to taste something linked to the old traditions try the Pljeskavica, it is a dish with a very old gastronomic history made with different kinds of ground meats such as veal, beef, lamb and pork resembling a bit to a giant hamburger, grilled, served with slices of onion or chips, roasted peppers or in some places with beans and that is a very traditional plate often present on the tables of Serbia and Montenegro. 

You can find different kinds of Čorba, typical soups which can contain meat but also vegetables. Accompanying many dishes is the popular Kacamak, a kind of maize porridge pretty similar to an Italian polenta. Very common is the notorious Sataras, a vegetable stew made with onions and tomatoes in slices  combined with paprika, olive oil, black pepper and salt. 

The Domaca is another well known plate consisting in a soup containing chicken wings cooked in a hot stock with carrots celery, parsley, salt adding pasta or as variant noodles. 

A traditional sausage you will often find is the famed Kobasica made with pork, beef meats and pretty spicy due to a notable addition of paprika, a good quantity of black pepper and salt, depending of the local traditions is completed by the addition of other flavoured spices.

You will be delighted by an excellent selection of cheeses in particular made by milk of goat and sheep some of them are soft other salty with a vague resemblance in taste to the Italian Pecorino or the Spanish Cabral. 

The opportunity to taste fine local wines will be another great experience, do not not miss to try the renowned Vranas and Krstac very palatable, smooth, with texture, pretty versatile and appropriate to accompany different plates.

Tivat Aerodromi Crne Gore Airport is situated just 24,0 kilometres away and from there you can reach in less than half hour Risan driving along the motorways E65 and E80, that last one is a prolongation of the previous, via Kotor and Dobrota.

The capital Podgorica is situated at 112, 0 kilometres of distance in the case you land in former Titograd and is another option in the case you want to plan your arrival in that city.  

From there you have to take the mentioned E80 motorway which connects that city to the resort of Sutumore continuing further north and in approximately two hours driving you will be at destination.I added some links below for your use if you have a great idea to plan a trip to that marvellous place with also indicated some suggested accommodations.

Risan is a great destination, its pleasant and relaxing atmosphere and the opportunity to discover the beauty of that wonderful, picturesque, historic and charming corner of Montenegro called Bay of Kotor visiting its magnificent oldest gate is a more than exciting experience. 

You will have the opportunity there to admire a place which could compared to a shining jewel, a place highly recommended for a stay, for sure it will impress and surprise you very much.

That coastal centre is so special, sea, mountains, art, history, an active tourism in all its surroundings and much more, a unique tempting idea for a great vacation which will charm you once landed there with the chance to spend wonderful days in that unforgettable Adriatic point absolutely unique in its kind.

Francesco Mari

Recommended Accommodations in Risan

Apartments Ognjenovic

Apartments Stella del Mare 

Apartments Vojin

Lorena Rooms

 

Useful links

montenegrotours.com/risan

www.discover-montenegro.com

www.gotomontenegro.eu 
www.apartmentsognjenovic.com 
apartments-stella-del-mare.montenegrohotel24.com 
www.montenegro.com/accommodation/risan/Vojin_Apartments 
www.ammeo.com › Montenegro › Risan 

www.apartmani-montenegro.com