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Ulcinj enjoys a status as one of the oldest settlements on the Adriatic coast. From ancient times through the 19th century, Ulcinj's geographic position made it a place for conquest. Some conquerers stayed for awhile, some stayed only a short time, but all left an influence of one kind or another.
One of the most interesting aspects of Ulcinj's history occured just after the Mediterranean Sea naval battle at Lapant in 1571. The famous Spanish writer Miguel de Servantes Savedra was imprisoned at Stari Grad Ulcinj - the writer who later wrote the world-famous novel "Don Quixote". It is supposed that the famous Servantes to his protagonist Don Quixote, in the novel, gave a lover named Dilcinea del Toboso, a girl whose origin is from Ulcinj and who carried the name of the former name of Ulcinj - Cita de Dolcino, with whom Servantes was in love. Servantes spent almost five years in Ulcinj as his captors awaited a ransom payment, and it is thought that he along with other slaves was sold on in Old Town Ulcinj at slave square.
The Ulcinj-Bar South Coast region of Montenegro traces its history to the prehistoric times of the Illyrians, a people of Indo-European origin. The region's beauty, location, and climate, has long been coveted by Adriatic region conquerors, and beyond. Justilian the Byzantine Emperor captured and fortified it, as did the Nemanjic's, the Balsic's, the 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 on the coast.
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.
Ulcinj has a long seafaring tradition,which peaked in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. According to chroniclers from the time, in the 17th century Ulqin's fleet included more than 500 two-master ships that sailed throughout the Mediterranean. Ulqini's own merchant marine traded between the large ports and trading centers of the Adriatic, Levant and Mediterranean. The inhabitants of the town were not only skilled sailors but fine shipbuilders as well. The French consul in Shkodra, Hecquard, wrote that Ulqini maintained a shipyard that could construct and outfit ships of as much as 200 tons. Local builders were often joined by shipbuilders from Dubrovnic and Korcula.
Ulcinj Under Roman and Turk Rule
The Romans took over Ulcinj from the Illyrian tribe of Olciniates (163 B.C.) at which time ancient Colchinium became Olcinium in the 2nd century B.C. Under that name it is encountered in written sources for the first time in the writings of Pliny the Elder, in "Naturalis Historia," and is also mentioned by Titus Livius. Under Romans Olcinium (Ulcinj) became a fortified oppdium-civium romanorum, and later a municipium - a city with self government.
Under the reign of the Turks (from 1570's to the late 1870's) the merchant marine of Ulcinj was one of the main strengths of the Ottoman Empire in the Adriatic. During times of war, Ulcinj's port and ships were sought for use by the Turks, but Ulcinj's semi-independence limited participation.
Ulcinj Part of the Republic of Venice
An interesting period of Ulcinj's history occured when the Republic of Venice controlled Dulcigno (Ulcinj, as it was called in the Venetian language) until 1573 and incorporated the city in the Albania Veneta. In those Venetian years many Christian Albanians took refuge in Ulcinj from Muslim Turks.
Ancient Ulcinj
Traces of oldest life in the Ulcinj South Coast region of Montenegro were discovered on the shore of the lake "Liqeni Zogajsh", on the locality of Ceret.
When the ground was prepared for the construction of the salt flats, earth floors of bronze-age Illyrian settlements were found. From this period also date two earth burial mounds (tumuli), Illyrian tombs dating from their life in the lowlands. They were found on the village of Zogaj, on the Bregu i kuq locality. When the Illyrians left the lowlands because of danger of enemies and moved into the mountains, they used stone mounds for interment.
It is believed that ancient Ulcinj was founded in the 5th century B.C. by Greeks from Colchis, during colonization of the region. The Colchian colonization is mentioned in the 3rd century B.C. poem by Apollonius of Rhodos. Illyrians lived in the region at that time.
Under Greek influence they built immense Cyclopean Walls. These walls are the remains of the oldest habitation in today's Old Town and Ulcinj's Cyclopean walls are the oldest of the kind along the Adriatic coast.
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 are typically unworked, but are sometimes roughly worked 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 Greeks' belief that only the mythical Cyclopes had the strength to move the enormous boulders that made up the walls of Mycenae and Tiryns.
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