 Mamula Island | |
 | |
  Mamula | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Adriatic Sea |
| Coordinates | 42°23′43″N18°33′30″E / 42.39528°N 18.55833°E /42.39528; 18.55833 |
| Administration | |
Montenegro | |
| Municipality | Herceg Novi |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 |
Mamula (Montenegrin:Мамула), also known colloquially as Lastavica, is an uninhabitedislet in theAdriatic Sea, within the southwesternMontenegrinmunicipality ofHerceg Novi.
Mamula is located betweenPrevlaka andLuštica peninsulas at the entrance to theBay of Kotor. This small islet is of circular shape, and is 200m in diameter. It is 3.4 nautical miles (6.3 km) away fromHerceg Novi.
During the period of theVenetian Republic rule, the island was known asRondina.
The island has a fort, built in 1853 byAustro-Hungarian generalLazar Mamula. The fort takes up about 90% of the island's surface area. Along with the fortification on Prevlaka's Cape Oštro as well as Arza fortification on Luštica's Cape Arza, both of which were erected at the same time also on suggestion by general Lazar Mamula, fort Mamula was part of the Austro-Hungarian Army's contingency plans of preventing the enemy entrance into theBay of Kotor.
DuringWorld War II, from 30 May 1942 onwards, thefascist forces ofBenito Mussolini'sKingdom of Italy converted the Mamula fort into aconcentration camp. The concentration camp was known for torture and cruelty to prisoners. Most of the camp's prisoners came from the neighboring area.[1]
In early January 2016 the government of Montenegro, over the objections of those who were once imprisoned on the island, approved a plan to convert the site of this former concentration camp into a luxury beach resort by Switzerland-based Orascom Development Holding AG under a 49-year lease deal.[2] FormerUnited Nations Secretary GeneralBoutros Boutros-Ghali had previously written theMontenegrin Parliament expressing surprise that the "only solution for preserving and using the fort is a mere business arrangement and privatisation agreement."[3] now is a completed resort
The 1959 Yugoslav movieCampo Mamula starringLjuba Tadić,Pavle Vuisić, andDragan Laković, produced byAvala Film and directed byVelimir Stojanović, depicts and dramatizes the World War II events on the island that was converted into a concentration camp during this period.
In autumn 2013, the Serbian fantasy drama-thrillerMamula was announced.[4] Later retitledKiller Mermaid for overseas release, it was shot on the island and incorporates its history, featuring an ex-German soldier living on the island and killing people to feed to a mermaid.[5]
Serbianthrash metal band Quasarborn has a song titled "Mamula" that appears on their second full-length "A Pill Hard to Swallow".[6]