History of Sveti Stefan

and help Kotorans in defense of their town. After the victory, on their way back, they attacked Turkish galleys at the beach Jaz. With God's help they managed to kill the rest of Turkish crew and took the conquered galleys to Drobni Pijesak - the beach and the valley where they used to anchored their fisherman's boats and ships - to unload the war trophies there.

Pastrovics have decided not only to divide the rich war trophies but to build a fortress on the rocky island near the coast as well as houses for each of Pastrovic's 12 tribes, and the church decided to St. Stefan the protector of Pastrovics. The fort was made to serve defense against Turks, pirates and other enemies as well as an asylum and shelter: asylum for women, children and old people during the time of enemy's attacts and shelter for food and groceries: corn, oil, vine, meat, honey and others. They drowned the conquered Turkish galleys leaving no trace of them.

This folktale finds confirmation in written documents where St. Stefan was mentioned for the first time(1442)as an advanced guard house. It is also written that the fort was built earlier and called St. Stefan after the church with the same name constructed at the same time when the settlement in the fort was built.

In ancient documents Sveti Stefan is mentioned by the name of “place of justice” - the pivotal place of Pastrovics township and tribe. This name originated from the fact that the court “Bankada” had been sessioning in it for 400 years. It was usually done at Pjaca, a space in front of the entering gate. Tribal disputes and misunderstandings were solved at that spot until 1929.

Fortress Sveti Stefan achieved a grand rise in the first half of XIX century when it counted 100 houses, three churches, and 400 inhabitants on its small space limited by the sea and the walls. There was no space for more.

At the beginning of XX century it suddenly lost its