Podgorica, Montenegro

Stara Varoš Old Town

Stara Varoš is the old Ottoman quarter of Podgorica, at the meeting point of the Ribnica and Morača rivers. It is the oldest surviving part of the city, which was largely destroyed in the Second World War.

The stone Sahat Kula clock tower in Podgorica's Stara Varoš quarter, with a leafy square and a low yellow building behind
Photo: Liridon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

About Stara Varoš Old Town

Its best-known landmark is the Sahat Kula, a stone clock tower built in the 18th century by Hadži-paša Osmanagić. Nearby are two small mosques, the Osmanagić and the Starodoganjska, and quiet lanes of low stone houses.

Along the Ribnica stand the remains of the old Ribnica fortress and a small Ottoman stone bridge, the Adži-paša Bridge, which give a sense of how the town looked before it became a modern capital. The low one- and two-storey houses make the quarter feel very different from the wide boulevards of the post-war city.

The quarter is a short walk from the city centre and the Millennium Bridge, and a stroll through it takes less than an hour.

More to see in Podgorica

4 places to explore nearby

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