Herceg Novi (, ) is a coastal town in Montenegro located at the Western entrance to the Bay of Kotor and at the foot of Mount Orjen. It is the administrative center of the Herceg Novi Municipality with around 33,000 inhabitants. The town was founded as a fortress in 1382 by the King of Bosnia, Tvrtko I Kotromanić, and named after Saint Stephen but the name did not stick, instead it became known as Novi (), also Castelnuovo in Italian (). Between 1482 and 1687 it was part of the Ottoman Empire and then from 1687 to 1797 the Albania Veneta of the Republic of Venice. It was a Catholic bishopric and remains a Latin titular see as Novi. Herceg Novi has had a turbulent past, despite being one of the youngest settlements on the Adriatic. A history of varied occupations has created a blend of diverse and picturesque architectural style in the city.
Names and etymology
Tvrtko I of Bosnia founded the town and named it after Saint Stephen, the name that from the beginning gave way to a name Novi, which literally translates to "New", as in Newtown; also known as Castelnuovo in Italian, New Castle in English. Later town came to Kosača possession and become their winter seat. During this era, the town was renamed again by adding Stjepan's title herceg (Serbo-Croatian pronunciation of German herzog) to the name Novi, which gave it the current name of Herceg Novi.
In Montenegrin, the town is known as Herceg Novi or Херцег Нови; in Italian as Castelnuovo; and in Greek as Neòkastron (Νεοκαστρον), Turkish as Kala-i Novi, all meaning 'new castle'. The name Herceg Novi, in its modern form, was first mentioned in a Turkish document in 1726.
History
Archeological findings from the Luštica peninsula and the Vranjaj cavern imply that the area was populated during the Neolithic and early Bronze Age. In the 3rd century BC, after their victory over the Illyrians, the area was ruled by the Roman Republic. After the split of the Roman Empire, the area fell under the rule of the Western Roman Empire. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the area was dominated by the Byzantine Empire. Slavic tribes began inhabiting these lands during the 7th century AD. During these times the small settlement was part of Byzantine-held Dračevica district, which in turn later belonged to the Principality of Travunija. During the 10th century, Dračevica came under the control of various Dioclean/Zetan dukes, who were in turn incorporated into Kingdom of Serbia ruled by the Nemanjić dynasty. After the death of Emperor Stefan Dušan, the Serbian Empire began to fracture into smaller principalities and districts, with Dračevica being administered by duke Vojislav Vojinović. After the rulership of Vojinović, the area, along with most of modern Montenegro, came under the rule of the Balšić noble family.
Foundation under Bosnia
Bosnia could not make economical use of Bosansko Primorje, as its share of the Adriatic coast from the river Neretva to the Bay of Kotor lacked any major settlements. In the second half of the 14th century area in Bay of Kotor also became part of the Kingdom of Bosnia. The Bosnian king, Tvrtko, embroiled in the War of Chioggia, which erupted between the old-time rival Republics of Venice and Genoa in 1378 will, as a result, find himself pressured by the circumstances of failure to seize Kotor, the damage to the Bosnian economy from the Ragusan embargo, and the need for easy access to maritime trade. This and the fact that Bosansko Primorje had no significant port led Tvrtko to found the youngest medieval town on the eastern Adriatic coast. In early 1382, Tvrtko constructed a new fortress in the Bay of Kotor on the place of a small fishing village and decided that it should form the basis of a new salt trading center. Initially named after Saint Stephen, the city immediately came to be known as Novi (meaning "new").
After the death of Tvrtko, Duke Sandalj Hranić of the Hum lords, Kosačas, acquired Novi. During his reign, the town picked up trading salt. When Hranić died, his nephew, Duke Stjepan Vukčić Kosača inherited it. During his reign, the town grew in importance and became Stjepan's winter seat, getting a new name in the process: Herceg Novi.