Skadar Lake National Park – Skadar Lake
The Skadar Lake – the Skadarsko Jezero Lake (Skadar Lake, Scutari Lake) is the largest lake at Balkan Peninsula and the largest freshwater lake in the Balkans. It is named after the city of Skadar (Shkodra) today in northern Albania (Shkodër in Albanian, Scutari in Italian and Skadar in Serbian). The origin of the name Skadar comes from the Greek expression of “Skoutari”. Two thirds of the total surface of the Skadar Lake – 370 sq km – is positioned in Montenegro – 219 sq km- and the final third belongs to Albania. During the 90-es of the 20th century, when UN sanctions were imposed on Yugoslavia, smugglers used the Skadar lake to bring in cigarettes and petrol from the next-door state.
Skadarsko Jezero National Park covers 40.000 hectares, of which 391km2 is the Skadar Lake itself. In 1996, by Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, Skadarsko jezero – Skadar Lake was included in the Ramsar list of wetlands of international importance. Skadar Lake is situated in the karstic terrain of the southeast Dinaric Alps in Albania of Prokletije – Accursed Mountains, surrounded by the stunning Montenegrin mountains of Lovćen, Sutorman, Rumija and Tarabosh on the southern side. Rumija Mountain rises above the town of Bar, making a natural Dinaric barrier which separates the Adriatic Sea from the Skadar Lake basin.
The Rumija Mountain is a site of great historical and religious significance. The prominent Cross of the Saint Jovan Vladimir is traditionally carried every year on the Feast of Pentecost – the Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost, on the 22nd May, from the village of Velji Mikulići to the summit of Rumija Mountain with the Church of Holy Trinity. Traditionally, along with Orthodox Christians of Bar area and other parts of Montenegro, Catholics and Muslims also take part in the holy procession and ascent to the Rumija Mountain summit. The Mrkojevićs carry the important historical cross to the top of the Rumija Mountain on which the Bulgarian King Vladislav, brother in law of the Holy King John Vladimir sweared to the king that he /king/ would not receive any evil from him. Unfortunately, the wise and merciful ruler, meek, chaste, pious and courageous King John Vladimir died martyred right on this cross – beheaded on the 22nd May 1015. On the present western border between North Macedonia and Albania, on the road Struga – Elbasan /Via Ignatia/ there is the hill /and border crossing/ called Kjafasan – Ćafa San – Qafë Thanë, where there is an old semi-ruined church. Locals of Albania, Montenegro and North Macedonia strongly believe that right there, on this hill and in this church the Holy martyre-King John Vladimir got killed. The liturgical service is not ordained in this church, but there is widely spread belief that whoever enters the church to light a candle – lights it in the honor of the Holy John Vladimir. Traditional pronunciation of the Albanian words Qafë Thanë – Kjafasan means holy head. Tradition has it that after the King John Vladimir was brutally martyred, his body was immediately transferred to Durres and soon after to the Church of the Holy Virgin in Elbasan, where the incorrupt relics of the Holy King John Vladimir are kept and worshipped until today. However, the earliest written document proves that the Holy King John Vladimir has been killed in a church in Prespa area while the ancient historical cross is carefully guarded by the Androvic clan in the Velji Mikulici village. There are numerous testimonies on numerous wonders and remarkable healings of ill Christians and Muslims after the prayers by the holy relics of the Holy King John Vladimir, so the Monastery in Elbasan dedicated to the Holy King John Vladimir – Shën Jon Vlladimirit /in Albanian/ is highly respected as the large sanctity.
Skadar Lake is located in Zeta Skadar Valley and is 7 km away from the Adriatic Sea. The Skadar Lake is predominantly filled with waters of the Morača River, as well as the Rijeka Crnojevića, Orahovštica and the Kiri River in Albania. Driving through the Sozina tunnel to the Adriatic Sea, the Skadar Lake is only a 20 minutes drive away. Depending on the water level, the Skadar Lake surface varies from 530 to 370 sq km, when it becomes 44 km long and 14 km wide. Average depth of the Skadar Lake is 6 meters and as some parts of bottom are under sea level, it creates depth up to 60 meters. Of its total size of 391 sq km, the Skadar Lake therefore -more or less – covers some 219 sq km in Montenegro. Coast line of the Skadar Lake is very cut, especially in the north-western side. The Skadar Lake shore features numerous peninsulas and islands. One can admire surely the most beautiful panoramas of Montenegro while standing on the Pavlova Strana point (the side of Pavle) and the Odrinska Gora, above Rijeka Crnojevica and the Skadar Lake – the Skadarsko Jezero lake. Low valley of the northern part of Skadar Lake is often flooded. Skadar Lake is one of the largest lakes in Europe, especially when the water level is high, which contains 40 different kinds of fish. The Printing House of Crnojevićs or the Cetinje Printing House is the first Serbian printing house and one of the earliest printing houses which printed books with the Cyrillic and Slavic letters. It has been established in 1493 in Obod, the fortification built in 1473 on the hill over the Rijeka Crnojevica for the seat of the Serb Dynasty of Crnojevics who ruled the Serbian area of Zeta from 1496. The Zeta ruler Djuradj Crnojevic provided the Printing House from Venice and it was operated by the hieromonk Makarios.
Skadar Lake also hides 15 Medieval Orthodox Monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox Church that are fascinating spiritual nests throughout history testifying on the rich culture heritage and turbulent history of the Medieval Zeta. In the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja – the Barski Rodoslov it is recorded that kings of the pre-Nemanide Dynasty had ruled from Skadar, King Mihajlo, his son Konstantin Bodin and Saint Jovan Vladimir, buried in the Church of Saint Sergey and Vakh. Those claims are archaeologically attested. The Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God had been built in 980, and makes the burial place of Prince John Vladimir and his wife Kosara – the Prečista Krajinska where the saint was buried in 1016. The Monastery of the Holy Virgin Precista of Krajina is regarded as one of the oldest cultural monuments of Montenegro. Remains of the Precista Krajinska Monastery with the church dedicated to Dormition of the Holy Virgin are located in the vicinity of Ostros, on the south-westernmost shores of the Skadar Lake. The Precista Krajinska Church was first mentioned at the end of the 10th century, in the Annals of the Priest of Doclea – Pop Duklanin. The Precista Krajinska Monastery has been founded by Prince Jovan Vladimir who is connected with the legend of the tragic love with beautiful Kosara, daughter of Macedonian Tzar Samuil. The Precista Krajinska Monastery was for some time seat of the Zeta Metropolis, and was completely destroyed at the end of the 16th century in the campaign of the Skadar vizier Suleyman-pasha Bushatli. In the close vicinity of the Holy Virgin of Krajina Monastery there is the well which dates from 1001 that still today supply locals of the surrounding villages with fresh potable water. In 1215 the Holy relics of Prince Jovan Vladimir were transferred to Durres where the saint became the town protector, and later in the 14th century moved to Elbasan where the cult of Jovan Vladimir is preserved until the present. The Balšić dynasty ruled Zeta from 1360 to 1421 from Skadar-Scutari (Alb. Skhoder, Serb. Skadar), and subsequently from Ulcinj in Lower Zeta. The political position of Djuradj II Stracimirović and his son and heir Balša III was marked by the effort to preserve the integrity of their realm against the Venetians, the Ottomans and the Hungarians, who all struggled for control over the coastal areas whose strategic center was the Skadar Lake – Lake Scutari.
The oldest monastic complex of the Skadar Lake and the prototype of the Balšić trefoil churches is the monastery church of the Dormition of the Holy Virgin in Starčeva Gorica, one of the three largest islands in the Skadar Lake. Some of the Medieval Monasteries located on the Skadar Lake are extremely interesting in terms of historical records and their almost inaccessible locations – Monastery of Kom, the endowment of the Crnojevic family members with fresco depicting Stefan Crnojevic and his wife Mara and where there ara several graves of the Crnojevics and where poet and philosopher Njegos entered monasic wow when he got the name Peter.
The Beška Monastery has two churches dedicated to Saint George and the Holy Virgin that are endowments erected by Jelena Balšić, the third daughter of the Serbian Prince Lazar, who was spouse of much older Đurađ II Stratimirović, lord of Zeta and Upper Albania. Having returned to Zeta after the death of her second husband, Duke Sandalj Hranić in 1435, Jelena Balšić set out to build her funerary church in the immediate vicinity of the foundation of her first husband, Djuradj II Stracimirović. Jelena Balsic did not take monastic vows, but she spent her last years on the islet in Dračevica near Bar while looking after the Serbian Orthodox monasteries in her realm. Jelena Balsic was steadily defending the Orthodox church in Primorje, reading books, organizing handwriting book-copying and icon paining, and was erecting and restoring churches. The Medieval monks used to copy and write the books on those islands, until 1494 when the first publishing house of South Slavs was established in Obod.
On the shores of the Skadar Lake there are numerous sites and Orthodox Christian Monasteries and churches worth visiting. Those sites were part of the medieval Duclea, i.e. the historical area of Zeta and belonged to the Littoral Lower Zeta. Those are the court of Prince Jovan Vladimir with the former monastery dedicated to the Holy Virgin and the Ostros Monastery known also as the Bogorodica Prečista Krajinska – the endowment of Prince-Duke Jovan Vladimir, considered the oldest Monastery in Montenegro, Starčeva Gorica, Moračnik, Vranjina, dedicated to Saint Nicholas on the confluence of Moraca River with the Skadar Lake, Orahovo Monastery – 2 km away from Virpazar… ‘The Moračnik Monastery on the Skadar Lake is endowment of Balsha III Balshich named after the tiny islet it is positioned on. This shrine was erected between 1404 and 1417 and first time mentioned in the charter of Balsha III who presented this monastery with a surface of salt. The Moračnik Monastery was deseted in its early history which does not provide data on its further destiny. The monastic church of Moracnik is dedicated to the Holy Virgin and was constructed in the trefoil form, and features small dimensions – 7,5 meters long and 4 meters wide. Soon after the church construction, the narthex was added whose remains are today conservated. The space in front of the narthex is tiled which in the past used to have a wooden porch. A tiny paraklesis with an apse was erected next to the southern wall of the Moracnik church. The refectory has been built east of the church, while in the south are remains of the monastic dining room. Between the refectory and the dining room there is the four-storey tower with the chapel on the top level. Out of three monasteries on the islets of the Skadar Lake, only the Moracnik Monastery possessed the tower which along with the steeple on the nearby islet of Topaoni were used for observation and guarding of the shrines. The Moracnik Monastery was partially reconstructed in the sixties and the eighties of the 20th century while in 1997 the monastic life was restored. The first abbot of the rebuilt Moracnik Monastery was hieromonk Jovan Ćulibrk, the present Bishop of Slavonia and Pakrac Dioceze. The Moračnik Monastery belongs to the Mitropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral of the Serbian Orthodox Church’. Source: m.drone.montenegro
Montenegrins fought valiantly with Turks in the region of Zeta and Montenegro for which they have used numerous fortifications in Skadar Lake dating from the 14th til the 19th century – Tophala, Besac, Lesendro, Grmozur, Virska Kuca…
The Skadar Lake is a crypt-depression /some parts of its bottom are lower than the sea level/ and is fed by the Moraca River and drained into the Adriatic by the long Bojana River, which makes the international border with Albania on the lower half of its course. Mountainous massif of Rumija Mountain, with the highest peak of 1594 meters, features Dinaric course, making the natural border between the Adriatic Sea and the Skadar Lake. Rumija Mountain dramatically steeply descend towards the Adriatic coast, while it gradually descend towards the southern part of Skadar Lake. Rumija Mountain forms the highest parts of the mountainous range that is 10 to 15 km wide. Rumija can be seen from far away – from the mountains around Tirana, from Velecikut, and of course Skodra, across the Lake. Free flowing water makes up about 91% of the Skadar Lake, while shallow waters under vegetation make up 9% of the lake, and in the north these shallow waters create a belt of swamps covering a territory of 22 sq km.
Skadar Lake is decorated by Goricas, small islands covered with wild pomegranate laurel and ivy. The Montenegrin part of the Skadar lake and its surrounding area were declared the National Park in 1983. Skadar Lake is one of the largest bird reserves in Europe, having 270 bird species, among which are some of the last pelicans in Europe, and thus popular with birders. The rare specimen of Dalmatian Pelican has become the trademark of the Skadar Lake National Park. The Skadar Lake also contains habitats of seagulls and herons and is abundant in fish, especially in carp, bleak and eel. The Skadar Lake contains a number of towers and platforms build specifically for bird watching and they have been placed in the areas of the 5 largest ornithological reserves: Manastirska tapija, Grmozur, Omerova gorica, Crni zar and Pancevo oko. Grmozur island, besides being called the Alcatraz of Montenegro, since was built by King Nikola to serve as dungeon for political opponents, is also known as the island of birds.
The Murići beach is one of the most beautiful and best beaches of the Skadar Lake, ideal for day excursions from Bar. The Murici beach is sandy and 600 meters long, with shallow waters. By the Murici beach there are several springs of fresh cold water, while in its hinterland there is the lush oak and chestnut forest, providing pleasant shade.
If you choose to start your boat ride along the Skadar Lake from Virpazar, which is the most often case, visitors are excited with the railway track which divides the Skadar Lark into two parts. While enjoying the boat ride along this intact nature, still not well discovered and researched, the train which passes by makes memorable picture and noise through the air, which are simply enchanting and unique….
On the Skadar Lake shore there are two small towns – old urban centers-fishermen villages featuring characteristic picturesque architecture – Virpazar and Rijeka Crnojevica. Both places are today recognized by their tiny restaurants serving delicious traditional specialties, especially the famous Skadar Lake smoked carp. Virpazar belongs to Bar municipality and it is located in the heart of Crmnica region, only 15 kilometers from the sea. The old part of Virpazar is interconnected via bridges on the Oraovstica and Virstica rivers, after which this settlement used to be called “a town on three bridges”. Once part of the ancient Slav province of Zeta, Virpazar was invaded by the Turks in the 13th century and occupied for five centuries to experience many battles witnessed by now crumbling fortresses such as recently fully reconstructed Besac fort in Virpazar and Lessendro in Vranjina. The Besac fortress is located on the hill above small town of Virpazar and dominates the vast Crmnica Field. The Besac fort was constructed by the Ottomans in 1478 when a plateau of 1200 sq meters was covered, and protective walls were constructed, utterly following the terrain configuration. The Besac fort consists of fortifications with towers, barracks, defense wall and the entrance gate, the observation point and accessory buildings. Construction of the Besac fort was performed of ashlar stone, richly and tightly positioned into mortar and set in relatively regular horizontal rows with rough connectors. The Besac fort features rectangular basis and two circular towers set on two opposite angles. It contains vaulted ground floor and a floor with canon holes. The construction used for the garrison barrack is of rectangular base and set close to the entrance, with gable roof. Defensive walls are of different height, depending on the terrain configuration. On two of each fort protrusions there is a single observation point of which the one turned towards the lake used to have floor and vaulted underground part. Montenegrins have taken the Besac fortress at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century when it was heavily damaged in fierce fights. Since then it lost its importance and was used only occasionally. Between two world wars the Besac fortress housed the gendarme station, while during the Second WW it was used by Italians as a prison. After that the Besac fortress was permanently abandoned and in 2013 fully reconstructed. When the Turks were expelled from Montenegro in the late 19th century, Skadar town itself (once the capital of Zeta) was incorporated into Albania and is also called Shkoder. Meanwhile several Albanian villages on the southern shores of the Skadar Lake, such as Ostros and Donji-Murići became part of Montenegro. During the fighting days against the Ottomans, Montenegro’s rulers established their ruling seat and bastion in the north-west wetlands, at Žabljak Crnojevići, until in 1482 they were forced to move their capital to Cetinje.
Many cultural and entertainment events are organized during summer season such are “Days of Skadar Lake”, “Crmnica sports games”, literary evenings, artists colony, performances at the festival “Bar Chronicle” while in the winter visitors enjoy the festival “Days of wine and bleak “. The southern hinterland of the Skadar Lake – Crmnica is known for the best wine in Montenegro. There are also several villages around the Skadar Lake shore with a variety of authentic and nicely-appointed places to stay. In the rainy season Skadar Lake is full and blue and in the summer it appears silver, shimmering in the sun.
Balkan Tour Serbia – Montenegro – Bosnia and Herzegovina
