An overview by Ulcinj chronicler and renowned tourism professional Ismet Karamanaga.
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| Ulcinj chronicler and tourism professional Ismet Karamanaga reflecting on the centuries-old hospitality and development of tourism in Ulcinj. |
Since ancient times, there have been houses providing accommodation for travelers and merchant caravans. During the Middle Ages, pilgrims from Western Europe often passed through Ulcinj on their way to the Holy Land. The German writer Arnold von Harff (1471–1505), for example, stayed in Ulcinj in 1497. During his journey, Harff recorded, using German orthography, 26 Albanian words, eight phrases, and the names of the numbers from 1 to 10, as well as 100 and 1,000.
During the Ottoman Empire, Ulcinj saw the construction of inns, caravanserais, guesthouses, public kitchens known as imarets, and public baths known as hammams. These facilities were located within the Pasha’s Mosque complex, beneath the walls of the Castle.
After Ulcinj became part of the Principality and later the Kingdom of Montenegro, taverns, inns, and accommodation facilities for guests, visitors, and travelers were established in the Old Bazaar.
Ulcinj also had the “Trumo” café, which was also known as the Arab café because members of Ulcinj’s Arab community gathered there.
The real development of tourism and the food-service industry began in the mid-1930s. At that time, three major hotels were built: “Republika” in 1935, “Jadran” in 1938, and “Co-op” in 1939, later renamed “Galeb.” At the time, Galeb was considered the most modern hotel on the entire Adriatic coast.
“This unique and magnificent six-story building has all the characteristics of the latest developments in hotel architecture and has no equal on the Adriatic coast. Unique comfort, a magnificent restaurant and an entirely glass reading room, 66 guest rooms, rooms for officials, eight bathrooms and all the other facilities, with elevators and refrigerators equipped according to the most modern standards,” the media reported at the time.
Together with the Saltworks, which began operating in 1934, these developments contributed to Ulcinj’s rapid growth in all areas. The new facilities became iconic destinations not only for local residents but also for tourists, who came mainly from Central Europe and the wider region.
World War II abruptly brought this economic momentum to an end.
However, only a few years later, the surviving buildings and skilled workforce helped revive tourism in Ulcinj. The city had to wait two decades after the end of the war before tourism reached a much larger scale. In 1964, for example, 65,000 visitors were recorded, generating more than 600,000 overnight stays.
That same year marked the beginning of cooperation with foreign travel agencies such as TUI, Neckermann, Paneuropa, Scharnow and others. In the years that followed, more than one million overnight stays were recorded.
The construction of the “Mediteran” and “Albatros” hotels in the city, as well as the “Belvi,” “Olimpik,” “Lido,” “Lido Bungalows” and “Otrant” hotels at Velika Plaža, together with the naturist resort on Ada Bojana, undoubtedly contributed to this growth. The “Ekspres” restaurant in Rana, as well as “Milena,” “Kalimera” and “Sunce,” were built at Velika Plaža, along with a number of private taverns.
Young hospitality workers pursued further education in renowned tourist destinations, particularly in Opatija. Tourism and hospitality departments were opened at secondary schools. Young people from Ulcinj were eager to study tourism because it offered them the prospect of secure, permanent employment and very good incomes.
With their natural kindness, love of learning foreign languages, and desire to advance professionally, the people of Ulcinj became some of the finest hospitality workers in Montenegro.
By the late 1980s, Ulcinj accounted for almost 40 percent of Montenegro’s tourist traffic, while two-thirds of its visitors were foreigners, mainly Germans. The hotel and tourism company “Ulcinj Riviera,” which operated all the hotels except “Albatros,” represented an economic giant within the former Yugoslavia.
The outbreak of war and conflict in the country in the early 1990s had severe consequences for tourism in Ulcinj. The number of foreign visitors declined dramatically, as did the length of the tourist season. Many skilled workers left the country, while most of the hotels suffered from poorly managed privatizations and were effectively ruined.
Nevertheless, Ulcinj’s enormous potential and economic needs have ensured that tourism and hospitality—and gastronomy in particular—have once again become the city’s leading economic sectors, driving development and prosperity for Ulcinj and its residents.
This text was produced as part of the project “Culinary Culture: All the Flavors of Ulcinj,” financed by the Ministry of Culture and Media through the Fund for Encouraging Media Pluralism and Diversity. The content of this text is the sole responsibility of the NGO “Ul Info” and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Ministry.