Bar Municipality

Bar Municipality is one of the municipalities of Montenegro. The center is the town of Bar. The municipality is located at the Adriatic coast in southeastern Montenegro. According to the 2011 census, the town proper had 17,649 inhabitants, while the total population of the Bar Municipality was 42,068. The preliminary 2023 census data counted a population of 46,171 inhabitants.

Geography and tourism
The Bar Municipality is located on the coastal western border of Montenegro on the shore of the Adriatic Sea. It is approximately 53 km from Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro. To the east is the largest lake in the Balkans, Lake Skadar. To the west, across the sea, is Italy.

The natural area around Bar is mostly untouched and is rich in vegetation. The municipality stretches to the southern shore of Skadar Lake and encompasses the Krajina region. This area is visited for its leisure activities and hiking. Smaller settlements near Bar, such as Dobra Voda, Sutomore and Čanj, are destinations for sunbathing, as they incorporate long sandy beaches.

Beaches
The municipality has over 44 km of coastline. There are twenty beaches stretching over 9 km. In the north is Čanj, which has a 1,100 m sandy beach. A boat takes tourists from Čanj to the Kraljičina Plaža (the Queen's beach). It lies below a natural wall of sedimentary rocks. Further south is the 300 m Maljevik Beach. The beach at Sutomore, 1,200 m long, has entertainment, activities and restaurants. Near the medieval monastery complex of Ratac is the Crvena Plaža (the Red beach), named after the colour of its fine sand. The beach is surrounded by a pine forest and located about a hundred metres from the main road to Bar. The Bar city beach is located in front of King Nikola I's palace. It is 750 m long, partly gravel and partly sand.

There are also beaches on the shores of Lake Skadar.

Flora and fauna
The coastal part of Bar supports maquis shrubland with oak, holm oak, laurel, myrtle, Spanish broom, oleander, hawthorn, sloe, thorn, butcher's broom, and asparagus. To the north and the mountains, there are oak and beech forests. Citrus fruits including tangerines, oranges, and lemons grow in the Bar area as do pomegranates, olives, grapevines, and figs. Ginkgo biloba grows in the park of King Nikola's palace. The Skadar Lake is rich in birdlife, including the pelican. Game animals are found in Ostros, Rumija, Lisinj, Sutorman, and Sozina and include rabbits, badgers, foxes, wolves, and boars. One can find various kinds of shells, snails, echinoderms, cephalopods and crayfish on the shores of Bar.

Divisions and settlements
The municipality consists of 77 settlements, four of which, Bar, Stari Bar, Sutomore and Virpazar are urban, while the rest are rural or suburban. The municipality is divided into 12 local communities (mjesna zajednica): Topolica (part of Bar), Polje, Bjeliši, Burtaiši, Sutorman, Stari Bar, Šušanj, Sutomore, Mrkojevići, Krajina, Šestani and Crmnica. A census in 2011 recorded 42,048 people in the Bar Municipality.

Historical population:

Ethnicity
Ethnic composition of the municipality in 2011:

Religion
The main religion in Bar is Orthodox Christianity. However, there are churches from both the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic traditions, as well as mosques built by the Ottomans in the Islamic tradition. Bar is the birthplace of Saint Jovan Vladimir. In 1089, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bar was founded and included most of Montenegro and Serbia.