Today our ship is in port in Montenegro and I thought I would share some doors from Budva, on the Adriatic Riviera, one of our first stops in Montenegro.  Budva is about 28 miles south of Kotor and is a big tourist attraction because of the beautiful beaches, night life, restaurants and the preserved Old Town. My previous  post shows a map so you can see exactly where Montenegro is and a little about getting to Budva.  Budva is 2,500 years old, which makes it one of the oldest settlements on the Adriatic coast, and currently is inhabited by 14,000 people. But, I want you to know some of Budva’s history, so here goes. There will be a quiz at the end…………ha ha! Budva was first inhabited by Bouthoe, a Greek, who found shelter with his wife here. Greek colonization started here in the 4th century BC. By the 2nd century BC, the Romans had arrived. By the 6th century the Byzantines and Slavs were mixing with the Roman population. In 841, the city was sacked by the Muslims. In the Middle Ages, Budva was reigned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Budva. The Venetians ruled from 1420 to 1797.  Venetians built the fortified walls around Budua, as it was known then, to defend against the Ottomans. Until the 19th century most of the population here spoke Venetian. The Republic of Venice fell in 1797 and rule came under the Habsburg Monarchy. During the Napoleonic Wars, Montenegro allied with the Russians, only to relinquish the city to France. In 1813, Budva was ceded to the Austrian Empire and remained so for the next 100 years. At the end of WWI, Budva remained under Austria-Hungary. Then the Serbian army entered Budva and it came under the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. During WW2, Budva was annexed by the Kingdom of Italy, but was liberated in 1944 and incorporated into the Socialist Republic of Montenegro, which was part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. AND finally, ta da, Montenegro became an independent country in 2006! I bet they were so glad!

Here are the remaining outer protection walls of Budva today.

There are also remnants of the past, scattered outside the fortifications and they have been preserved.

Here is the first door!

The next door is a way. This archway leads into the Old Town within the fortifications……………..

There are very narrow streets here………

with lovely doors. One must look up and all around to take it all in………..

Here is one of the entryways to the Citadel.

Budva is chock full of restaurants……this was one of my favorites.

Our last few doors are here and there and taken at different angles……

I hope you enjoyed our short stroll through Budva! Next. we are headed back to Kotar to explore there, before getting back on the ship. I am glad we came to this beautiful country and I wish them well! They have been through a lot!

For Your Info, the language spoken here now is Montenegrin, a version of Serbo-Croatian!

Have a great door week! Look here to see what others are doing for Norm’s Doors!

It’s easy to do Norm’s Doors. Photograph some doors and post them to Thursday Doors on Thursday!

PS All photos were taken on our IPhones this year……..we are traveling lighter!