King Nikola's Palace (Bar)

Bar Royal Palace or Villa Topolica is a (former) royal summer residence in Bar, Montenegro, owned by the Petrović-Njegoš dynasty.

The palace was constructed by king Nikola I Petrović-Njegoš in 1885, and was a gift to his daughter Princess Zorka and his son-in-law, Prince Petar Karađorđević. The complex includes the large and the small palace, a chapel, houses for the guards and a winter garden. A spacious ballroom was added in 1910.

At the front of the palace, there was a wooden pier. Between 1866 and 1916, King Nikola owned ten yachts. One of them, Sibil, was bought from Jules Verne, the novelist. The last yacht bought was the Rumija. In 1915, it was sunk in the Bar harbour by the Austro-Hungarian navy. The palace was used as summer residence of Danilo, Crown Prince of Montenegro and his wife, Duchess Jutta of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Currently, the palace houses the city museum of Bar. Also, it is used as a venue for festivals, concerts, exhibitions and literary events.

Text adapted from “Bar Royal Palace” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

King Nikola's Palace (Bar) ranks #4,372 of 8,133 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #6 of the 10 mapped in Montenegro. Founded 1885, it is older than 5% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 607 atlas entries founded in the 19th century. 4 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Shkodër, 35 km away. See how Montenegro compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗