| Official Name: | Bijela |
| Native Name: | Бијела |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Pushpin Map: | Montenegro |
| Pushpin Label Position: | top |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name1: | Herceg Novi |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Total: | 3691 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Coordinates: | 42.4533°N 18.6556°W |
| Postal Code: | 85343 |
| Area Code: | +382 31 |
| Registration Plate: | HN |
Bijela (Serbian Cyrillic: Бијела, pronounced as /bîjɛlaː/) is a coastal town in the municipality of Herceg Novi, Montenegro. It is also located north of Herceg Novi, by the Verige strait in the Bay of Kotor.
The chronicler Andrija Zmajević claimed that the 16th-century Pope Sixtus V descended from a family originating in the area of Bijela. He also stated that the future Pope's father, Piergentile di Giacomo, was born in the village Bjelske Kruševice near Bijela and moved to Italy to escape the Ottoman conquest.
The 2003 census recorded a population of 3,748.
According to the 2011 census, its population was 3,691.[1]
| Number | Percentage | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,645 | 44.6% | ||
| 1,441 | 39.0% | ||
| 54 | 1.5% | ||
| 20 | 0.5% | ||
| 10 | 0.3% | ||
| 9 | 0.2% | ||
| 8 | 0.2% | ||
| 8 | 0.2% | ||
| other/undeclared | 496 | 13.4% | |
| Total | 3,691 | 100% |
Bijela was the home of the Jadransko brodogradilište Bijela, (Montenegrin: Јадранско бродоградилиште Бијела) ("Bijela Adriatic Shipyard"), the largest maintenance and repair shipyard dock in Montenegro. The remains of the bankrupt enterprise were sold off in 2020.[2]
In December 2001 the turbo-electric car ferry Alexander the Great was towed to the shipyard in December 2001 to be converted into a cruise ship,[3] but the project came to a halt and it was not until January 2005 that the ship was towed away.[3] [4]
The local football club is FK Bijela, who played in Montenegro's third tier but currently only play in youth football. The club played their home games at Stadion Bijela.There is also a basketball Team Kk Bijela which competes is youth categoeries.