Cetinje                                                     Pictures of Montenegro

The city Cetinje...

Cetinje is a town in the Republic of Montenegro, located at 42°23'11N, 18°55'30E). It is also a historical capital of Montenegro. It has a population of 15,137.

iIt is located in the southern Montenegro municipality of the same name (population 18,482 in 2003 ). The city nestles on a small Karst plain surrounded by limestone mountains, including Mt. Lovcen, the Black Mountain from which Montenegro gets its name.

Tourism in Cetinje...

Cetinje was neglected as a tourist destination for a long time after the end of World War II . Instead, it was developed as an industrial center, with footwear and white goods factories (which eventually closed down with the collapse of the socialist economy).

This proved to be a mistake, as Cetinje has favourable conditions for the development of tourism. Its attractions are unlike those of the coastal resorts of Budva or Kotor - Cetinje is mainly attractive as the cultural and spiritual centre of Montenegro, vital for understanding Montenegro's history.

Cetinje has numerous points of interest, among which are Cetinje Monastery , Vlaška church (built in 1450, with its fence made out of barrels of captured enemy rifles), Biljarda, numerous museums, Zetski dom royal theatre and historic foreign embassies. Many of the old embassies and other administrative buildings are now schools of various kinds, and the town has many young people.

With the privatization of the "Grand Hotel" and relocation of some administrative offices from Podgorica to Cetinje, it is expected that Cetinje will recover from neglect to become a significant point of interest on Montenegro's tourism map.

For the tourist with a car, Cetinje is easily accessible from Budva on the coast, and for the more venturesome, up the steep road from Kotor. There is a natural two or three-day tourist driving route from Dubrovnik, Croatia, to: Cavtat, Kotor, and Budva, Cetinje in the mountains, Ostrog Monastery in the high cliff, and back down the mountains through Bosnia/Serbia to Dubrovnik.

History of Cetinje...

The founding of Cetinje was conditioned by the historical, political, and economic background in the 15th century . Wars of conquest led by the Turks forced Ivan Crnojevic , the ruler of Zeta at that time, to move the capital of his country from the fortified town of Žabljak to the inaccessible parts, to Obod in 1475 , and soon after it at the foot of Mt. Lovcen . In the field of Cetinje in 1482 his court was built and two years later the monastery was built as well. By building the court and the monastery a new capital was founded. Its name was Cetinje. It was named after the River Cetina that runs through it. The new monastery became the domicile of the Zeta metropolitan. So, Cetinje turned out to be not only the center of secular life but also the spiritual center where Ðurad Crnojevic , the son to Ivan Crnojevic, founded the first printing house in the Slavic South .

Rapid progress of Cetinje under the rule of the Crnojevic dynasty was interrupted at the very end of the 15th century. Actually, Zeta lost its independence in 1499 so the only free part of the country, which was called Montenegro since then, was reduced to a mountainous territory between Crnojevic River and the Boka Kotorska Bay.

In the next two centuries Cetinje stagnated in its development. It was very often under the attack of Venice and the Turks. So, in the 16th and 17th century Cetinje was exposed to tough temptations. In this period the court and the monastery of the Crnojevici dynasty were destroyed. It was only by the end of the 17th century, in 1697 , that Cetinje began to flourish again under the rule of the Petrovic dynasty and Danilo Petrovic as its founder.

Leading the liberation wars and strengthening the unity in the country preoccupied Danilo and his successors. They didn't have enough time to dedicate to the building of Cetinje. It was only during the rule of Petar I Petrovic Njegoš that the remarkable progress has been made. In 1838 his new royal residence called Biljarda (Billiard house) was built. Cetinje was enlarged by building new houses that gradually led to urbanization.

Montenegrin independence was recognized by the decision of the Berlin Congress (1878) and so Cetinje became the capital of a European country.

Many modern buildings designed for the international consulates were built due to newly established relations with a range of European countries. The buildings of the Frenc, Russian ,English,Italian and Austro-Hungarian consulates are regarded as the most beautiful among these.

Cetinje made great progress under the rule of Prince Nikola I Petrovic when numerous public edifices were built. Those include the first hotel, called ‘Lokanda', then the new Prince's palace, the Girls' Institute, the hospital, etc.

Montenegro was proclaimed a kingdom in 1910 . This had a great effect on its further development. At this time the Government House, the symbol of state power, was built.

Between 1878 and 1914 Cetinje flourished in every sense. Many renowned intellectuals from other South-Slavic parts came to stay there and made a contribution to the cultural, educational and every other aspect of life.

At the time between the two World Wars , Cetinje expanded its territory, as it was now a center of the Zeta region. But when it was decided by the Parliament of Montenegro that the administrative organs should be located in Titograd (previously and presently Podgorica ), Cetinje went through a tough crisis. By building certain industrial sections and at the same time neglecting the development of the city's traditional and potential cultural and tourist capacities, the chance to create a strong basis for more solid prosperity was undoubtedly lost.

Culture in Cetinje...

Cetinje has been the cultural and educational centre of Montenegro for five centuries. There are five republic institutions: Ðurde Crnojevic Central National Library, the National Museum of Montenegro, the Archives of Montenegro, the Republic Institute for Preserving Cultural Heritage and the Zetski Dom Montenegrin Royal National Theatre. All these institutions keep, process, and provide public access to enormous literary treasure, and protect both mobile and immobile cultural monuments throughout Montenegro.

Printing houses

Cetinje has a rich publishing and printing tradition. The Printing House of Crnojevici ( 1492 - 1496 ) and the books published there are of great importance for Montenegrin culture and history as well as for the culture of other Orthodox Balkan peoples. Its greatest contribution refers to spreading Cyrillic type. Thus, it represents an important link in a chain of world culture. There were a number of printing houses that continued this great printing tradition. These are: Njegoš Printing House, which operated between 1833 and 1839 and the State Printing House which was founded in 1858. It was renamed in 1952. Since then it has been known as Obod.

Since their foundation to the present day, Cetinje printing houses have published over 3,000 books, a major contribution to the Montenegrin cultural heritage. The first Montenegrin literary and scientific annual, Grlica (Turtledove), was published in 1835, while the first Montenegrin newspaper, ‘The Montenegrin', was established in 1871. Since then, sixty different newspapers and over thirty magazines have been published. In 1914 , as a town of fewer than 6,000 inhabitants, Cetinje supported six different daily newspapers.

Libraries

The oldest libraries of Montenegro, where the oldest books and documentation of great value are preserved, are located at Cetinje. This makes Cetinje internationally recognized as well. The oldest library among these is the Library of Cetinje Monastery, which was founded by the end of the 15th century at the time when the Printing House of Crnojevici started operating. Today, seventy-five old manuscripts written in Cyrillic, then four incunabula, and many old liturgical books are kept there.

The first public reading room in Montenegro known as The Reading Room of Cetinje was founded in 1896 . Since its founding it has been the cultural centre of Montenegro. The fruitful activity of this reading room was continued by the Town Library and the Njegoš reading room, which offers over 63,000 books and volumes of periodicals.

The school libraries of Cetinje also have a long tradition. The library of the oldest school at Cetinje today known as Njegoš elementary school dates back to 1834 , the library of the clerical college and the Carica Marija Girls' Institute dates back to 1869 , and the library of the Gymnasium to 1880 .

Museums

Cetinje is also famous for its museums. Museums in Cetinje are:

• Museum of the Cetinje Monastery
• State Museum
• "Petar Petrovic Njegoš" Museum
• Ethnographic Museum
• Electric Industry Museum
• History Museum
• Art Museum

All these except the Museum of the Cetinje Monastery and Electric Industry Museum are integrated in one institution called the National Museum of Montenegro . Numerous museums and the huge fund of museum items that are kept there established Cetinje's reputation as a museum town.

Cetinje has always been a cultural centre. Every second year the international art exhibition called Cetinje Biennial is held there. It's founder is Prince Nikola Petrovic , great-grandson to King Nikola I .

Cetinje is also the seat of the Eparchy of Montenegro and the Littoral of the Serb Orthodox Church.

Transport to Cetinje...

Cetinje is connected to Podgorica and Budva through two-lane motorways. Both towns are about 30 km away from Cetinje. There is also a historic road to Kotor, which is not of premium quality, but offers stunning views of the Bay of Kotor .

Tivat Airport is 50 km away, and there are regular flights to Belgrade and Zurich , and dozens of charter planes land daily at Tivat airport during the summer season.

Podgorica Airport is 55 km away, and it has regular flights to major European destinations throughout the year.

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