About Petrovac

The hills around Petrovac descend almost to the sea, and the town sits in a valley between them. Houses extend from behind the town beach towards the slopes. Lucice, with pines and cypresses behind the beach, is a separate bay south of the town.

The coast between Budva and Bar has a Mediterranean climate with warm, dry summers and mild, rainy winters.

The town's earlier name was Lastva. The Venetians built a fort above the present-day pier, and the town became known as Kastel Lastva. The fort itself retained the local name Kastio.

After the First World War, residents chose the name Petrovac at a town meeting in honour of Petar I Karadjordjevic. The words "na Moru", meaning "by the sea", were added later to distinguish it from other places with the same name.

A late antique Roman mosaic was discovered at Mirista in 1902. The mosaic and a second one, discovered later, decorated the floors of a Roman building. The settlement is thought to have been a stopping point on the road along the Adriatic coast during the Roman period.

Kastio and the remains of Lazaret stand above the present-day pier and frame Petrovac's bay. The Venetian fort housed a garrison, while its warehouses stored wine and other goods for export by sea. Lazaret was used for quarantine during epidemics. The walls of these buildings have survived.

A waterfront promenade runs alongside the town beach. Directly beside it are houses with guest rooms and apartments, hotels, cafes and restaurants. The pier and rocky headland form one end of this stretch of coast, while the houses behind the beach rise up the hillside.

The islands of Katic and Sveta Nedjelja lie off Petrovac. A small church of the same name stands on the rocky islet of Sveta Nedjelja. The islands are uninhabited and visible from the town's waterfront.

The town beach and the islands are within Katic Nature Park, which covers both marine and coastal areas. Meadows of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica grow in the waters off Petrovac and around the islands. Their habitats are among the natural features for which this stretch of coast and sea is protected.

In 1920, the communists won Petrovac's municipal elections, took power and established the Red Commune. The name of today's Memorial House commemorates this episode in the town's political history.

The memorial room at the Memorial House displays copies of documents, photographs, correspondence and newspapers from the period when the commune was established. The display also includes photographs of old Petrovac and its residents.

The Crvena Komuna Memorial House is part of the public institution Museums and Galleries of Budva. Its Marko Krstov Gregovic Gallery is named after a painter from Petrovac who graduated from the fine arts academy in Vienna. Works by artists from Montenegro and abroad are presented in its exhibition spaces.

The cinema hall is used for film screenings, theatre performances, meetings and public discussions. The open-air amphitheatre in front of the building is used for musical performances, from classical music and jazz to coastal vocal groups and folk ensembles.

Kastio, the Roman mosaics and the islands off the coast are covered in the guide to Petrovac's attractions.

For places to eat, the guide to dining in Petrovac covers specific venues. The Petrovac accommodation guide compares hotel rooms and apartments.