Luštica ( Montenegrin: Луштица, ) is a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on al ...

on the south

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

, located at the entrance of the

Bay of Kotor The Bay of Kotor ( Montenegrin and Serbian: , Italian: ), also known as the Boka, is a winding bay of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Montenegro and the region of Montenegro concentrated around the bay. It is also the southernmost part of the ...

( sh, Boka kotorska or ''Boka'') in southwestern

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

. It effectively separates

Tivat Tivat (, ) is a coastal town in southwest Montenegro, located in the Bay of Kotor. , its population was 9,367. Tivat is the centre of Tivat Municipality, which is the smallest municipality by area in Montenegro. Name In Serbian and Montenegrin ...

Bay from the Adriatic. The peninsula has an area of 47 km² and is 13 km long. The highest point of the peninsula is Obosnik peak, at 582 m. It has 35 km of coast, which accounts for 12% of Montenegrin coastline. Lustica is divided between

Herceg Novi Herceg Novi ( cyrl, Херцег Нови, ) 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 in ...

and

Montenegrin municipalities.

Cultural heritage

The area has twenty churches, out of which eighteen Orthodox and two

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

ones. Once an isolated community, there are farms and smallholders producing their own olive oil, cheese, prosciutto, wine and rakija from local ingredients.

Natural history

Luštica is largely undeveloped with populations of

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

mongoose A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family is currently split into two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to ...

jackal Jackals are medium-sized canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word "jackal" has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-backe ...

and edible dormice.

Nightingale The common nightingale, rufous nightingale or simply nightingale (''Luscinia megarhynchos''), is a small passerine bird best known for its powerful and beautiful song. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now ...

s and Scops-owls can also be heard in abundance. Olive groves are also plentiful although many are uncultivated and overgrown.

Military heritage

The peninsula also has a significant military history with its location guarding the entrance into the

Boka Kotorska The Bay of Kotor ( Montenegrin and Serbian: , Italian: ), also known as the Boka, is a winding bay of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Montenegro and the region of Montenegro concentrated around the bay. It is also the southernmost part of the hi ...

, which housed military ports at

during the

interbellum In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

and the Cold War period (

Yugoslav Navy The Yugoslav Navy ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска ратна морнарица, Jugoslavenska ratna mornarica, Yugoslav War Navy), was the navy of Yugoslavia from 1945 to 1992. It was essentially a coastal defense force with the mis ...

) as well as in

Kotor Kotor ( Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrativ ...

earlier during the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

period (

Austro-Hungarian Navy The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (german: kaiserliche und königliche Kriegsmarine, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', hu, Császári és Királyi Haditengerészet) was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the A ...

). There are disused Austrian-built fortifications at Rose, Mamula,

Arza Arza (; ) is a small populated town and township, east of Lhasa in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It belongs to Lhari County (Jiali Xian) of the Nagqu Prefecture Nagqu (also Naqu, Nakchu, or Nagchu; ; ) is a prefecture-level city in th ...

, and Montenegrin military installations at Rose (disused),

Krašići Krašići ( Montenegrin and Serbian: Крашићи) is a settlement in the Tivat Municipality in Montenegro, located on the Luštica peninsula in the Bay of Kotor. Geography Krašići is located on the Luštica peninsula, on the southern shore o ...

and Obosnik. Two disused submarine hides are cut into the rock of the

steep coast A steep coastBird, Eric (2008). ''Coastal Geomorphology: An Introduction'', 2nd ed., Wiley, Chichester, 2008. is a stretch of coastline where the mainland descends abruptly into the sea. There is a sharp transition from the land to sea as opposed ...

bay, and the Kumbor Strait. Since the closure of Tivat Naval Base a Kotor Class Frigate, previously of the Yugoslav Navy, has been moored at a facility directly below the village of Zabrđe in the Kumbor strait.

Tourism

On the northeast side there are fine views over

and

bays of the

and on the southwest side; fine views over the entrance of the Boka to the Adriatic Sea and of the Prevlaka Peninsula. The Luštica peninsula is main excursion destination for tourists in Herceg Novi. It has the finest beaches and resorts in

municipality, including ''Žanjice'', ''Mirište'', ''Arza'' and ''Dobreč''. A small population is resident all year round with a large number of people resident for the summer months only. Historically these summer visitors have come from parts of the former

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

, particularly

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...

. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, and with

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

gaining independence, Western Europeans and Russians have moved in, some permanently. Close to

Tivat Airport Tivat Airport ( cnr, Аеродром Тиват, Aerodrom Tivat) is an international airport serving the Montenegrin coastal town of Tivat and the surrounding region. The airport is situated south of the centre of Tivat, with the runway ali ...

, a number of development projects have been proposed for the area, including golf courses. However, to date there is still very little tourism development with the main building activity limited to that close to Zanjice beach. However the scale is still very small. The biggest tourist centre is

with many houses and apartments for rent. The scenery, clean seas, views, warm summers and relative isolation make Luštica a tourist destination.Luštica i Grbalj
waytomonte.com

Villages

*Babunci *Begovići *Bjelila *Brguli *Đuraševići *Eraci * klinci village resort *Klinci *Krtoli *

*Milovići *Mitrovići *Miževići *Mrkovi *Radovići *Rose *Tići *Zabrđe *Zambelići

References

{{reflist, 2 Herceg Novi Municipality Tivat Municipality Peninsulas of Montenegro Bay of Kotor