Haj Nehaj Fortress
by Predrag Đikanović
As fine weather comes and winter slowly leaves our landscape, we are inspired to explore and travel, to see something new and thus nourish our passionate blood with moments that will linger in us, like a spring of rosemary, crushed in hand, which long releases its fragrance on the fingertips.
Journey does not need to be expensive, distant, and unattainable. Why not choose a place that is easily accessible and not far away? That is exactly why it comes to me my mind to visit the Haj Nehaj Fortress this weekend, located not far away from Bar.
Haj Nehaj, a fortress with an interesting name, is located about 10 km from Bar, just below the turnoff to the Sozina tunnel that leads to Podgorica. This old medieval town is an ideal opportunity to organize a walking tour that is not overly demanding, and for this adventure, you will need no more than 3 hours, both ways. The starting point of the walking tour is the road extension before the Haj Nehaj tunnel (from Petrovac), which is located on the right side of the Adriatic highway. Continue a little further along the macadam road towards the stone quarry, park your car, and follow the markings. The trail is well marked and leads through the stone quarry, then enters a thick forest and continues uphill to the entrance of the fortress, which is located on the western side. There is another route to Haj Nehaj at the electric lighting pole located at the intersection of the road leading to Zagrađe and the entrance to Sutomore (the macadam road immediately up on the right).
Speaking on the fortress itself, it is located at 231m height above the sea level and is first mentioned in historical records in the 15 th century, when it was also constructed by the Venetians. The official year of its first mention in historical documents is 1542. The church dedicated to Sveti Dimitrije ( Saint Demetrius) had been at the place where the fortress is now, and this church was built at the highest point of the hill that was within the city limits, hundreds of years prior to the fortress, during the time of the Nemanjić Dynasty, in the 13 th or 14 th century. The outlines of the church have been preserved to this day, and an interesting fact is that it had two altars, one Orthodox and one Catholic. The only possible access to the city is from the western side, while access from all other sides is practically impossible. The only preserved entrance to the fortress is located exactly on this western side. and afterwards, it has been liberated by the Montenegrins. Since then, it has been destroyed and abandoned. Within the fortifications, there are also the ruins of many buildings and staircases. It belongs to the tourist monuments of the second category of the Municipality of Bar.
Haj Nehaj is essentially a medieval city in miniature and possessed all the necessary facilities for life and defense: a water cistern, a gunpowder store, military and economic structures. It has been recorded that in case of danger, the city-fortress could accommodate 900 people. Basically, the city is designed for combat with firearms. It features round towers and numerous gun-ports from a later period. Above the nearly vertical cliffs at the far eastern part lies the gunpowder store. The entire southern, higher part of the city and the area towards the entrance are filled with residential buildings. These parts may be somewhat older than the northern section. From the 16th century until November 1877, the fortress was under the Ottoman rule,
Looking towards the sea, the hill Velji grad rises to the right, which is 497m high; below it is the village of Zagrađe, and beneath us is the Spičansko field and Golo brdo, where also the fortress Tabija is located.
The view from the fortress is stunning and when the weather is beautiful, it will leave you speechless. It will simply compel you to remain silent, enjoy, and surrender to the moment. On one side, your gaze will be directed towards the sea and the endless blue of the sky, while on the other side, the mountains surround you. This is the winning combination needed to heal your soul and inject the necessary amount of beauty that everyday life and cyber reality can never provide by no way.