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For a quiet Mediterranean coastal town, Ulcinj has been home to prominent historic figures, conquerors, pirates, and many, vacationers.
The scenic old walled town of Ulcinj - known as Stari Grad Ulcinj or simply Stari Grad, was founded in the 5th century BC by the Colchinians. Before the Colchinians, the Illyrians, a people of Indo-European origin, were active in the Ulcinj-Bar "South Coast" region since prehistoric times.
Several centuries after its founding by the Colchinians, Stari Ulcinj was was captured by the Romans and was afforded special priviledges and independent status under Roman law.
In addition to the Romans, other conquerors included Justilian of the Byzantine Emperor who captured and further fortified what is now Stari Grad Ulcinj, as well as conquering armies and navies of the Balsic's, Venetians and the Turks. Ulcinj's capture in 1183 by the Serbian ruler Stefan Nemanja confirmed the city's role as one of the most important settlements along the Adriatic coast.
Stari Ulcinj is known for its Cyclopean walls. Cyclopean masonry is a type of stonework found in Mycenaean architecture, built with huge limestone boulders, roughly fitted together with minimal clearance between adjacent stones and no use of mortar.
The boulders of a Cyclopean wall are typically unworked, but are sometimes roughly chiseld with a hammer, and the gaps between boulders are often filled in with smaller hunks of limestone.
The most famous examples of Cyclopean masonry are found in the walls of Mycenae and Tiryns, and the style is characteristic of Mycenaean fortifications. Similar styles of stonework are found in other cultures. The term comes from the classical Greek belief that only the mythical Cyclopes had the strength to move the enormous boulders that made up the walls of Mycenae and Tiryns.
A Pirate Capital of The Adriatic - Before the medieval period, Ulqin was known as one of the pirate capitals of the Adriatic Sea. This was also seen during the later period of Illyrian Kingdom. Inhabitants of Ulqin were known at the time of Christ, especially from 20 BC to around 300 AD, to be very confrontational to those who were foreigners to their land; they were especially meticulous about border disputes as well.
A late night walk through the narrow passages of Stari Grad, high atop the Cyclopean walls with surf pounding the ancient battlements below, it is not difficult to imagine that unresolved lives of the ancient peoples of Ulcinj still linger. Among the conquered include the Illyrians, the Colchinians, the Balsic's, the Venetians and the Turks. This of course is not to mention the myriad of marauding pirates that sailed the Adriatic so many centuries ago, when Ulcinj (then Ulqin) was considered the "pirate capital" of the Adriatic.
The best tales of eerie occurencies, can best be described and pointed out by locals, who know these stories only too well.
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