home Pike Fort mamula history. Mamula Island (Montenegro) - impregnable fortress-hotel

Fort mamula history. Mamula Island (Montenegro) - impregnable fortress-hotel

In the Adriatic Sea basin there is an uninhabited island of Mamula (Mamula island) of a rounded shape. It is covered with bushes of cacti, agave and aloe.

basic information

The island has long been the subject of a dispute between Croatia and Montenegro. Historically, it belongs to the first country, but is located closer to the second, so in 1947 it was transferred to the possession of Montenegro.

Almost the entire territory of Mamula Island (about 90%) is occupied by the defensive fortress of the same name. Its height is 16 m, diameter - 200 m. It was erected in 1853 by order of the Austro-Hungarian General Lazar Mamul. In honor of the latter, the fort got its name. From the fortress, both the coast and the sea are perfectly visible. The main purpose of the citadel was to block the way to the Bay of Kotor.

Mamula Fortress was one of the fundamental and large structures of that time. Its distinguishing feature is considered to be the remarkable functionality and precision of forms, which even today look the most impressive and reliable in the region.

The citadel was used for its intended purpose during two world wars in the twentieth century, and was occupied several times. In the period from 1942 to 1943, a concentration camp was established in the fortress on the orders of Benito Mussolini, in which prisoners were brutally tortured. Now a memorial plaque reminds of this.

At present, Mamula is designated on sea charts as Lastovitsa, which translates as “Swallow Island”.

Description of Fort Mamula

The fortress is well preserved and is now under government protection as a historical monument of the country. Today, the building looks abandoned, but the state is actively developing a project to restore it.

A drawbridge was laid to the main entrance of the fort across a deep ditch. The following structures survived completely:

external walls;
gates;
loopholes;
dry well;
cellars and attics;
courtyard paved with stone slabs with various buildings.

An observation deck was also made to last, to which a spiral staircase, consisting of 56 steps, leads. From here you have a stunning view of the bay, the nearest islands and the citadel itself.

What else is the island famous for?

The island has a city park, where many tropical and subtropical plants grow, as well as unique varieties of mimosa. In winter, the world-famous festival dedicated to this plant is held here, which lasts about a month.

Mamula can be walked around in 20 minutes to take beautiful photos against the backdrop of a picturesque, but at the same time diverse landscape (pebble and rocky shores). Black rabbits, lizards and a large number of gulls live here.

The amazing island is very much loved by local cinemas. In 1959, the war film Campo Mamula was filmed here by Velimir Stojanovic. It tells about the tragic events on the island during the Second World War. In 2013, Milan Todorovic filmed the thriller Mamula in the fortress.

How to get to the island?

You can come here for one day as part of an organized or on a cruise ship, which always stops at the island. Mamula is located between 2 peninsulas: Prevlaka and Lustica. From the mainland to the island, it is most convenient to get on a boat rented from local residents, or on a boat from (the distance is about 7 km).

Mamula Island attracts travelers with its secluded beaches, rocky steep coasts, natural beauty and unique architecture.

With a fascinating history. Once upon a time, the Austrians were the owners here, and the island bears the name in honor of 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 bypass the whole in no more than 20-25 minutes). It blocks the entrance to the bay, therefore, initially it was of extremely important strategic importance.

At a time when there was no fortress on the island, it was called Lastavitsa - "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 the present time, sea charts still call this piece of land the Swallow).

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

However, according to the words of 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 (with the exception of the impact of time on it).

It was an ideal outpost: both land and sea were exceptionally visible from it. Due 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 very few people even tried to do it.

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

Alas, the walls of the fort did not always protect their people. There is an opinion that freedom fighters were imprisoned and tortured here at one time.

Mamula Island in the movies

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

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

Since it has come to horror stories, it is impossible not to mention the legend of 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 for this, but this story is always told to tourists and travelers to warm up the excitement and delight of visiting these places. Well, and wake up vigilance and attentiveness when moving around the territory!

Desert island in modern times

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

The pier, alas, is destroyed, however, curious tourists and travelers still come here with pleasure on excursions one day, because. The fortress is not closed to the public. Artists also come here for creative inspiration.

The area is densely covered with ivy and agave. Passing cruise ships are sure to moor to the island. Everyone who has ever been here will forever be fascinated by the rocky shores, the stunning beauty of the pebbles and the purest water of an incredible blue color.

It's also worth a visit because of 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, well-thought-out forms, functionality and well-calculated buildings.

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

November 2013

// sasha0404.livejournal.com

Mamula is located between two peninsulas: from Montenegro - Lustica, from Croatia - Prevlaka. This is an uninhabited island in the Adriatic, the fortress is 200 meters in diameter, its height is 16 m. The island is covered with low shrub vegetation and some huge cacti. From the city of Herceg Novi removed 6.3 km.

// sasha0404.livejournal.com

I'll show you on Google Maps de it's exactly located. Above - Herceg Novi, on the right - Tivat, Kotor and other cities, and below the dot near the phrase "Boka Kotorska" - this is the island of Mamula. Note that the spit on the left is already Croatia, a visa country in "floating" availability.

Of course, we asked our skipper how the Croatian border guards were doing there, whether they respected the borders very much, he assured that they didn’t - if you wish, you can safely visit without a visa. And opposite the island there is a wonderful beach Zhanice. This is an amazing place to relax with emerald water! This is the best place to take a boat from. The photo shows the Croatian peninsula of Prevlaka with fortifications.

// sasha0404.livejournal.com

The fort appeared in 1853, it occupied about 90% of the surface area of the island, and it was ordered to be built by the general of Austria-Hungary - Lazar Mamula, in honor of him the fortress got its name, and the island itself is called the Swallow. Together with the fortifications on Prevlaka and Lustica, both of which were erected at the same time by an Austro-Hungarian general, Mamula Fort was necessary as a barrier to the enemy from entering the Bay of Kotor.

// sasha0404.livejournal.com

During the Second World War, on May 30, 1942, the fascists from Italy, on the orders of Mussolini, turned Mamula into a concentration camp. The fort became a place for brutal torture of prisoners. Now a memorial plaque reminds tourists of the prison.

// sasha0404.livejournal.com

And now a small digression - I will show the places where they sailed from and through which they sailed. After all, the landscapes in Montenegro are breathtaking at every step! Approximately from this place in the photo we set off from Herceg Novi, we found a boatman corny - they approached and asked, after all, in November they do not hunt for tourists, since there are almost none ...

// sasha0404.livejournal.com

We sail on the sea and see how Boka leaves towards Dzhenovichi, Zelenika, Biela, Kotor, Tivat ...

// sasha0404.livejournal.com

We are all moving away from Herceg Novi, watching how gray clouds want to swallow the mountains.

// sasha0404.livejournal.com

Our goal is near! The sailboat there is also tormented off the coast :)

// sasha0404.livejournal.com

The island after the collapse of Yugoslavia was the subject of a dispute between Montenegro and Croatia. Although culturally and historically it belongs to Croatia, and until 1947 it was in the Dubrovnik cadastre, but ... closer to Montenegro, so the island now belongs to Montenegro. Over the years, it began to collapse, although they are talking about restoration, but no one is investing money, spiral staircases, a bakery, a headquarters tower and loopholes have been preserved here.

There are a lot of interesting places in Montenegro, and there are simply no counting of ancient fortresses! We went to the island-fortress of Mamula on a rented boat from the pier in Herceg Novi. But the alluring fortress turned out to be almost impregnable, it was already very stormy, they did not come out on the beret. But in this report, I will show it not only outside, but also inside, plus old pictures and excerpts from films that were filmed here.

To the left of the boat is an impregnable shore and a sailboat

We sail on the sea and see how Boka leaves towards Dzhenovichi, Zelenika, Biela, Kotor, Tivat ...

We are all moving away from Herceg Novi, watching how gray clouds want to swallow the mountains.

Our goal is near! The sailboat there is also tormented off the coast :)

And now I'll show you old photographs. Several shots of Mamula taken in March 1919.

And a top view. There was less vegetation then ...

There is a fortress similar to Mamula in the USA, Alcatraz, there was also a prison for a long time, even Al Capone was in it, and over time it became a museum. . And history has been preserved by the Americans, and tourists, culturologists, the same historians are attracted in large numbers. And in Montenegro, the authorities do not think about preserving cultural and historical values - they want to rent the island for a hotel ...

And now about the movie! The first film "Campo Mamula" was filmed here in 1959 by Velimir Stojanovic. He tells about the events on the island during the 2nd World War, about how the fort was converted into a concentration camp. Here is a short excerpt.

In the fall of 2013, a horror movie was filmed on the island-fortress!!! Filming lasted only 15 days :) Director from Serbia - Milan Todorovic. Here is a promotional poster for the thriller

The plot is banal, but the ending is amazing: Two American tourists come to Montenegro on vacation at the invitation of a friend. After resting for a few days, they decide on a trip to the Mamula fortress, which is notorious. In the fortress they find a mysterious fisherman who keeps a beautiful girl imprisoned. The tourists free her, but soon they see that this is by no means a beautiful girl, but a siren who is not averse to tasting the blood of her liberators.
The premiere of "Mamula" is very soon - on March 8 in Belgrade. The best gift for a girl on international day is to take her to a Serbian thriller :)

Balkan ethnostop, held under the leadership of A. Lebedev, also did not bypass Mamula. Its participants visited there inside. Watch from 1:15. But do not pay attention to the subjective opinion of Artemy about Montenegro (in which there is nothing to do)

And this is my video, taken on that November day from a boat.

There are a lot of interesting places in Montenegro, and there are simply no counting of ancient fortresses! I used to look at the island-fortress of Mamula only from afar. I happened to be close only in November 2013, when my friend celebrated her birthday in Herceg Novi. We got into a rented boat for 30 euros on the pier and set off to conquer the fortress. Well, we thought so at that moment ... but while we were sailing for half an hour against the current along the waves, we were a little sick, the smell of diesel fuel began to annoy, and the alluring fortress turned out to be almost impregnable.

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

In the fall of 2013, a horror film was filmed on Mamula!!! Filming lasted only 15 days :) Director from Serbia - 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 a few days, they decide on a trip to the Mamula fortress, which is notorious. In the fortress they find a mysterious fisherman who keeps a beautiful girl imprisoned. The tourists free her, but soon they see that this is by no means a beautiful girl, but a siren who is not averse to tasting the blood of her liberators.

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

What's in custody? Yes, nothing new - come to Montenegro, lie less on the beaches, ride more unexplored paths and see the country, then it will not seem like a dull village to you :))

My past articles about fortresses.