As Herceg Novi expanded, not only did Meljine become a suburban settlement, but so did virtually all the localities along the HN Riviera, all the way to Kamenara. However, Meljine is physically adjacent to Herceg Novi, so nowadays they can already be spoken of as an organic part of the City beneath Orjen.
The settlement is first mentioned in a Dubrovnik document from 1371, that is, nine years before the founding of Herceg Novi (1382), as one of the ports of the Dračevica district.
The five-kilometer-long promenade 'Pet Danica' – the longest and most beautiful in the Bay and Montenegro – begins in Igal and ends in Meljine. The promenade is coastal for every meter of its length, never deviating, following the shoreline, or the line of the final kilometers of the former narrow-gauge railway route between Sarajevo and Zelenika. Constantly between sea and greenery, walkers can observe abundant wild vegetation or a park collection of exotic trees, ornamental shrubs, southern and rare fruit trees, and some lesser-known flowering plants. To what extent sailors throughout the centuries brought various seeds becomes clear at any time of year, to every walker gazing at the magnificent varieties of Herceg Novi's greenery.
Approaching Meljine, the promenade passes beneath the Savina Monastery, a Military Hospital complex (situated in a Mediterranean park full of palms, pines, cypresses, eucalyptus, and oleander), so that, at the very end, already in Meljine, one can observe the building of the former Lazaretto. From that spot, and all the way to one of the most beautiful bay beaches, Lalovina beach, over a distance of about a kilometer, sandy beaches stretch out.
The story of the Lazaretto deserves a word or two more... After the Turkish Herceg Novi of that time fell into Venetian hands (1687-1797), the new administration carried out various reforms in the areas of economics, culture..., and also in the field of healthcare. The Venetians built a Lazaretto – a quarantine for sick sailors and those travelers arrived from infected areas, in the year 1700, at Topla, a suburban settlement of that time with autonomous administration (Topla komunitad), and today a constituent part of Herceg Novi. However, due to the small capacity of that Lazaretto, the Venetians built a new one, on the shore in Meljine, in 1732. The building of the Lazaretto, at the very end (or beginning!) of the 'Pet Danica' promenade, continues to attract attention, because it is one of the largest structures in the Bay of Kotor (Montenegro) in the 18th century. Drinking water was brought to the Lazaretto in 1741 from the nearby Savina Monastery. Within the confines of this imposing structure, the Church of St. Rocco was built in 1730. That Venetian authority gave exceptional importance to this Lazaretto is evident from the fact that it was forbidden to quarantine anywhere outside of Split and Meljine. After the change of power, the Lazaretto continued to operate under Austrian administration, then closed (1830) and reopened (1837), until 1934 when its existence became unnecessary.
From almost every position in Meljine, one can see the Savina Monastery, situated in the Savina forest, a part of the city with the status of a protected park. Swimmers seeking solitude spread their towels on the stone boulders along the Promenade, while on the central sandy beaches there prevails understandably greater seasonal variety, stemming from sun umbrellas, loungers and bathers. On the border between Meljine and Zelenika, behind the last sandy beach, via a narrow concrete path one reaches one of the most beautiful and in the true sense of the word – the most idyllic beaches of the Herceg Novi riviera. Lalovina beach is nestled and framed by layered stone cliffs, and hence completely separate, special, uniquely clean, desirable and inviting. In the past it was also known as Ljubavna.
From the Lazaretto to Lalovina, the walker observes typical coastal architecture, numerous villas and sometimes lush Mediterranean parks.
To the very center of Meljine today leads a modern road that connects Herceg Novi with Trebinje and Republika Srpska (BiH). It is precisely by this road that one reaches mountain settlements and rural excursion destinations in the Herceg Novi hinterland (see text: Herceg Novi Hinterland), to Kameni, Žlijeb, Ubal, Mokrin, Bajkov Kruševica, of which under the concept of excursion destinations only the ascent to the Mountain Hut on Subra could be mentioned – and further (to the elevation peaks Kabao, Dobroštica, Subra) accompanied by an experienced mountaineer. Information about this type of excursion activity is best sought at the nearest Tourist Association.
