Montenegro ( or ), (
Montenegrin: Црна Гора/Crna Gora, )
(meaning "Black Mountain" in Montenegrin) is a country located in
Southeastern Europe.
It has a coast on the
Adriatic
Sea
to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia
to the west,
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
to the northwest, Serbia
to the
northeast, Kosovo
to the east
and Albania
to the
southeast. Its capital and largest city is Podgorica
, while Cetinje
is
designated as the Prijestonica (Пријестоница), meaning the
former Royal Capital City.
The history of Montenegro dates back from 9th century with the
emergence of
Duklja, a vassal state of
Byzantium. In those formative years,
Duklja was ruled by the
Vojislavljevic dynasty.
In 1042, at the end of
his 25-year rule, King Vojislav won a decisive battle near Bar
against
Byzantium, and Duklja became independent. Duklja's power and
prosperity reached their zenith under King Vojislav's son, King
Mihailo (1046–81), and his son King Bodin (1081–1101). From the
11th century, it started to be referred to as
Zeta. It ended with its incorporation
into
Raska, and beginning with
the Crnojevic dynasty, Zeta was more often referred to as Crna Gora
or by the
Venetian term . A
sovereign principality since the
Late Middle Ages, Montenegro saw its
independence from the
Ottoman Empire
formally recognized in 1878. From 1918, it was a part of various
incarnations of
Yugoslavia. On the basis
of a
referendum held on
21 May 2006, Montenegro declared independence on 3 June.
Montenegro is a member of the
United
Nations, the
Organization
for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the
Council of Europe and
CEFTA.
Montenegro is also a potential
candidate for membership of the European Union and NATO
.
Montenegro presented its official application to the European
Union, with the hopes of gaining EU candidate status by 2009, and
applied for a
Membership Action
Plan on 5 November 2008, with the hopes it would be accepted in
2009. Additionally, Montenegro is a founding member of the
Union for the Mediterranean upon
its establishment in 2008.
Name
Crna Gora, sometimes
transliterated as Tsrna Gora ("Black Mountain"),
is mentioned for the first time in 1296 by Serbian King Stefan Uroš II Milutin
in his edict to the Serbian
Orthodox Zeta
Episcopate seat at the Vranjina island
in Lake
Skadar
from 1296. The origin of the term lies in
the Slavic reference to excessively mountainous regions, often
emerging in the
medieval
Serbian realm.
Mentioned afterwards in most House of Nemanjić's edicts and in
subsequent Venetian
sources in the 13th and 14th centuries, signifying
the area of the Upper Zeta, the name
stabilized itself for a Principality in the second half of the 15th
century under Lord Ivan
Crnojević, mostly confounding erroneously the term with the
dynasty's name, which both have similar roots. The region
itself became remembered as
Old
Montenegro (Стара Црна Гора/Stara Crna Gora) as by the 19th
century the
The Highlands were added to the
state, and Montenegro further increased its size several times by
the 20th century during wars against the Ottomans, expanding its
name to and annexing
Old Herzegovina
and parts of
Old Serbia, most notably
Metohija and southern
Rashka.
The state changed little to modern day
reference, losing Metohija and gaining the Bay of Kotor
. The name of the region gave the name to its
people, the
Montenegrins
(Црногорци/Crnogorci).
The
country's name in most Western European languages, including
English, reflects an adoption of the Italian-Venetian term , meaning "black mount",
which probably dates back to the era of Venetian hegemony over the area in
the Middle Ages. Other languages,
particularly nearby ones, use their own direct translation of the
term "black mountain" (e.g.
Albanian: ,
Bulgarian: Черна гора, Cherna gora,
Czech: , Greek: / Mavrovoúnio, ,
Romanian: ,
Slovene: , ,
Turkish: )). Names from further afield
include , and (
pinyin: "hēishān".).
The
ISO Alpha-2 code for
Montenegro is ME and the
Alpha-3
Code is MNE.
History
1080 AD.
The zenith of Dukljan power
Ancient times
The first recorded settlers of present-day Montenegro were
Illyrians, the Docleata. In 9 AD the
Romans conquered the region of present-day
Montenegro.
Slavs massively
colonized the area in the 5th and 6th centuries, forming a
semi-independent principality, Duklja, that
was involved in Balkan medieval politics with ties to Rascia and Byzantium and to
a lesser extent Bulgaria
.
Middle Ages
Duklja gained its independence from the Byzantine Empire in 1042.
In the next few decades
Duklja expanded its
territory to the neighbouring Rascia and Bosnia and also became
recognised as a kingdom. Its power started declining at the ending
of the 11th century and by 1186, it was conquered by
Stefan Nemanja and incorporated into
Serbian realm. The newly acquired land,
then called Zeta, was governed by the Serbian
Nemanjic dynasty. After the
Serbian Empire collapsed in the second half
of the 14th century, another family came to prominence by expanding
their power in the region, the
Balšićs. In 1421 it was annexed to the
Serbian Despotate, but after 1455
another noble family from Zeta, the
Crnojevićs, ruled Montenegro.
They were to rule
Montenegro until 1499, making it the last free monarchy of the
Balkans before it fell to the Ottomans, who
annexed it to the sanjak of Skadar
. For
a short time Montenegro existed as a separate autonomous
sanjak in 1514–1528, another version of which existed
again some time between 1597 and 1614.
Ottoman rule and Metropolitanate
In the 16th century Montenegro developed a form of special and
unique autonomy within the
Ottoman
Empire: the local Montenegrin clans were also free of many
bonds due to Montenegro's autonomy. Nevertheless the Montenegrins
refused to accept Ottoman reign and in the 17th century raised
numerous rebellions, culminating with the Ottoman defeat in the
Great Turkish War at the end of
that century. Montenegro became a
theocracy led by the
Montenegrin Orthodox Metropolitans,
flourishing since the
Petrović-Njegoš became the
traditional Prince-Bishops (whose title was "Vladika of
Montenegro").
The Venetian Republic
introduced governors that meddled in Montenegrin
politics; when the republic was succeeded by the Austrian
Empire
in 1797, the governors were abolished by
Prince-Bishop Petar
II in 1832. His predecessor
Petar I contributed to the
unification of Montenegro with the Highlands.
20th century
Under
Nicholas I, the
Principality of
Montenegro vastly advanced and enlarged several times in the
Montenegro-Turkish Wars and achieved recognition of independence in
1878. Modernization of the state followed, culminating with the
draft of a Constitution in 1905. Political rifts for the first time
emerged between the reigning
People's Party that supported
democratization of the ruler's autocratic regime and unconditional
union with Serbia and the minor pro-monarch
True People's Party. In 1910 Montenegro
became
a Kingdom.
It initiated the
Balkan wars in 1912 and 1913 in which
the Ottomans lost all lands in the Balkans, achieving a common
border with Serbia, but the Skadar was awarded
to a newly created Albania. In
World War I in 1914 Montenegro sided
with Serbia against the
Central
Powers, suffering a full scale defeat to
Austria-Hungary in early 1916. In 1918 the
Allies liberated Montenegro, which was subsequently merged with
Serbia.In 1904 Montenegro declared war on Japan in support of
Russia. However, Montenegro inexplicably failed to adhere to the
Treaty of Portsmouth in 1905
and so remained at war with Japan until 1918, although no
hostilities occurred.
In 1922
Montenegro formally became the Zeta Area of the Kingdom of
Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
, and in 1929 it became a part of a larger Zeta Banate of the Kingdom of
Yugoslavia
. In World War II
Yugoslavia was invaded by the Axis
forces in 1941, who established a puppet Independent
State of Montenegro
, liberated by the Yugoslav Partisans in 1944.
Montenegro became a constituent republic of
the communist Socialist
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
(SFRY), its capital renamed to Titograd
in honor of Partisan leader and SFRY president
Josip "Tito" Broz. More and more
autonomy was established, until the
Socialist Republic of
Montenegro ratified a new constitution 1974 (however, this RFM
remained a constituent republic of the SFRY).
After the
dissolution of the SFRY in 1992, Montenegro remained part of a
smaller Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia
along with Serbia.
In the
referendum on
remaining in Yugoslavia in 1992, 95.96% of the votes were cast
for remaining in the federation with Serbia, although the turnout
was at 66% because of a
boycott by the
Muslim, Albanian and Catholic minorities as well as the
pro-independence Montenegrins. The opposition claimed that the poll
was organized under anti-
democratic
conditions, during wartime in the former Yugoslavia, with
widespread propaganda from the state-controlled media in favor of a
pro-federation vote. There is no impartial report on the fairness
of the referendum, as the 1992 referendum was totally unmonitored,
unlike the 2006 vote, which was closely monitored by the
European Union.
During
the 1991–1995 Bosnian War and Croatian War, Montenegrin members of police and military forces
participated in the attacks on Dubrovnik
, Croatia and Bosnian
towns along with Serbian troops, aggressive acts aimed at acquiring
more territories by force,characterized by a consistent
pattern of gross and systematic violations ofhuman rights.
Montenegrin General Pavle Strugar has since been convicted for his
part in the bombing of Dubrovnik.Bosnian refugees were arrested by
Montenegrin police and transported to Serb camps in Foča, where
they were subjected to systematic torture and executed.
In 1996,
Milo Đukanović's
government severed ties between Montenegro and the Serbian regime,
which was then under
Milošević. Montenegro formed
its own
economic policy and adopted
the German
Deutsche Mark as its
currency. It has since adopted the
Euro, though
it is not formally part of the
Eurozone
currency union.
Subsequent
governments of Montenegro carried out pro-independence policies,
originally restored by the Liberal Alliance of
Montenegro, and political tensions with Serbia simmered despite
the political changes in Belgrade
. Targets in Montenegro were bombed by NATO
forces during
Operation Allied
Force in 1999, although the extent of these attacks was very
limited in both time and the area affected.
In 2002,
Serbia and Montenegro came to a new agreement regarding continued
cooperation and entered into negotiations regarding the future
status of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia. In 2003, the Yugoslav federation was
replaced in favor of a looser state union named
Serbia and Montenegro.
21st-century independence
The status of the union between Montenegro and Serbia was decided
by the
referendum on
Montenegrin independence on 21 May 2006. A total of 419,240
votes were cast, representing 86.5% of the total electorate.
230,661 votes or 55.5% were for independence and 185,002 votes or
44.5% were against. The 45,659 difference narrowly surpassed the
55% threshold needed to validate the referendum under the rules set
by the European Union. According to the electoral commission, the
55% threshold was passed by only 2,300 votes. Serbia, the
member-states of the European Union, and the permanent members of
the
United Nations
Security Council have all recognised Montenegro's
independence.
The 2006 referendum was monitored by five international observer
missions, headed by an
OSCE/
ODIHR monitoring team, and around 3,000 observers in
total (including domestic observers from
CEMI,
CEDEM and other organizations). The OSCE/ODIHR
joined efforts with the observers of the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly (OSCE PA), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe (PACE), the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of
the Council of Europe (CLRAE) and the European Parliament (EP) to
form an International Referendum Observation Mission (IROM). The
IROM—in its preliminary report—"assessed compliance of the
referendum process with OSCE commitments, Council of Europe
commitments, other international standards for democratic electoral
processes, and domestic legislation." Furthermore, the report
assessed that the competitive pre-referendum environment was marked
by an active and generally peaceful campaign and that "there were
no reports of restrictions on fundamental civil and political
rights."
On 3 June 2006, the Parliament of Montenegro declared the
independence of Montenegro, formally confirming the result of the
referendum on independence. Serbia did not obstruct the ruling,
confirming its own independence and declaring the union of Serbia
and Montenegro ended shortly thereafter.
Relations between Serbia and Montenegro were strained on 6
September 2007 after Montenegro banned Serbian Orthodox Church
leader Bishop Filaret from entering the country.The tension
escalated when an adviser to the Serbian prime minister called
Montenegro a quasi-state, prompting Podgorica to seek an apology
and lodge a protest with Serbia's government. The Deputy Prime
Minister of Serbia,
Božidar
Đelić, sent a note of apology to Montenegro following the
statement made by Serbian Premier's Aide
Aleksandar Simic.
Geography
Map of Montenegro
Internationally, Montenegro borders Croatia, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Serbia, and
Albania.
Historically, its territory was divided into "nahije".
Montenegro ranges from high peaks along its
borders with Serbia and Albania, a segment
of the Karst of the western Balkan Peninsula,
to a narrow coastal plain that is only one to
four miles (6 km) wide. The plain stops abruptly in the north,
where Mount
Lovćen
and Mount
Orjen
plunge into the inlet of the Bay of Kotor.
Montenegro's large Karst region lies
generally at elevations of 1,000 metres (3,281 ft) above sea
level; some parts, however, rise to 2,000 metres (6,560 ft),
such as Mount
Orjen (1,894 m/6,214 ft), the highest massif among
the coastal limestone ranges. The Zeta River
valley, at an elevation of 500 meters
(1,640 ft), is the lowest segment.
The mountains of Montenegro include some of the most rugged terrain
in Europe. They average more than 2,000 metres (6,560 ft)
in elevation.
One of the country's notable peaks is
Bobotov
Kuk
in the Durmitor
mountains, which reaches a height of 2,522 metres
(8,274 ft). The Montenegrin mountain ranges were among
the most ice-eroded parts of the Balkan Peninsula during the last
glacial period.
- Longest beach: Velika Plaža, Ulcinj
— 13,000 m
(8 miles)
- Highest peak: Zla Kolata, Prokletije at 2,534 m
- Largest lake: Skadar Lake
— 391 km² (151 sq
mi) of surface area
- Deepest canyon: Tara
River
Canyon — 1,300 m
(4,265 ft)
- Biggest bay: Bay of Kotor
- National parks: Durmitor — 390 km² (150 sq mi), Lovćen
—
64 km² (25 sq mi), Biogradska Gora
— 54 km² (21 sq mi), Skadar Lake — 400 km² (154 sq mi)
- UNESCO World
Heritage sites: Durmitor and Tara River
Canyon, old city of Kotor
.
Government and politics
- See also: Foreign relations of
Montenegro, Military of
Montenegro
Montenegro is defined as a "
Civic,
democratic,
ecological state of
social justice, based on the reign of Law".
It is an independent and sovereign
Republic. It proclaimed its
new Constitution on 22 October
2007.
The
President of Montenegro
(
Montenegrin:
Predsjednik
Crne Gore) is the
head of state,
elected for a period of five years through direct elections. The
President represents the republic in the country and abroad,
promulgates laws by ordinance, calls elections for the
Parliament, proposes candidates for
the
Prime Minister,
president and justices of the Constitutional Court to the
Parliament, proposes to the Parliament calling of a
referendum, grants amnesty for criminal offences
prescribed by the national law, confers decoration and awards, and
performs all other duties in accordance with the Constitution. The
President is also a member of the Supreme Defence Council.
Official
Residence of President of Montenegro is at Cetinje.
Current President of Montenegro is
Filip Vujanović, vice-president of the
ruling
Democratic Party of
Socialists of Montenegro.
The
Government of
Montenegro (
Montenegrin:
Vlada Crne Gore) is the
executive branch of government
authority of Montenegro. The Government is headed by the
Prime Minister, and consists of
the deputy prime ministers as well as ministers.
Milo Đukanović is the Prime
Minister of Montenegro and head of the Government. Government is
formed by members of
Coalition for a European
Montenegro, which was victorious at
2009 parliamentary
election.
The
Parliament of
Montenegro (
Montenegrin:
Skupština Crne Gore) is the
unicameral legislative
body. It passes all laws in Montenegro, ratifies international
treaties, appoints the Prime Minister, ministers, and justices of
all courts, adopts the budget and performs other duties as
established by the Constitution. The Parliament can pass a vote of
no-confidence on the Government by a majority of the members. One
representative is elected per 6,000 voters, which in turn results
in a reduction of total number of representatives in the Parliament
of Montenegro.
The current president of the Parliament is
Ranko Krivokapić. The present
parliament contains 81 seats. According to
2009 parliamentary
election,
Coalition for a European
Montenegro has the majority in Parliament of Montenegro, with
47 out of 81 seats.
Symbols
A new official
flag of Montenegro
was adopted on 13 July 2004, by the Montenegrin legislature. The
new flag is based on the royal standard of
King Nikola I of Montenegro. This flag was all
red with a silver border, a silver coat of arms, and the initials
НІ in Cyrillic script (corresponding to NI in Latin script)
representing
King Nikola I. The border
and arms were changed from silver to gold in the modern flag and
the royal cypher in the centre of the arms are omitted from the
modern arms and replaced with a golden lion.
The national day of 13 July marks the date in 1878 when the
Congress of Berlin recognised
Montenegro as the 27th independent state in the world and the start
of one of the first popular uprisings in Europe against the
Axis Powers on 13 July 1941 in
Montenegro.
In 2004, the Montenegrin legislature selected a popular Montenegrin
traditional song,
Oh,
Bright Dawn of May, as the
national anthem. Montenegro's official
anthem during the reign of King Nikola was (
To our beautiful
Montenegro). The Montenegrin popular anthem has unofficially
been
Onamo, 'namo! since King Nikola I
wrote it in the 1860s.
Administrative subdivisions
Montenegro is divided into twenty-one
municipalities (opština), and two urban municipalities,
subdivisions of Podgorica municipality
:
Municipalities of Montenegro
Military
The
Military of Montenegro is
composed of Land Forces, Navy and Air force, with a Special forces
component. As of 2009 it is organized as a fully professional
standing army. It works under the
Ministry of Defense with the aim of protecting and defending
Montenegro and its sovereignty.
Montenegro's goal is to eventually join
NATO after modernization and reorganization of its
military.. Future plans for the army are to participate
more in peacekeeping missions through various United Nations and NATO peacekeeping
missions like ISAF.
Montenegro's only mission for now is
UNMIL in
Liberia, as military observers.
Economy
The economy of Montenegro is mostly service-based market economy in
late transition.
According to IMF
, nominal GDP of Montenegro was $4.822 billion in
2008. The
GDP PPP for
2008 was $6.944 billion, or $11,111 per capita.
Although GDP grew at impressive 10,7% in 2007, a slowdown is
expected due to
late-2000s
recession.
In 2007,
service sector made up for
72,4% of
GDP,
industry
was second largest contributor with 17,6%, trailed by
agriculture at 10% .
According to
Eurostat data, Montenegrin PPS
GDP per capita stood at 46 per cent of the EU average in
2008.
Aluminum and
steel production and
agricultural processing make up for most of
Montenegrin industry.
Tourism is an important contributor to
Montenegrin economy. Approximately one million tourists visited
Montenegro in 2007, resulting in €480 million of tourism revenue.
Tourism is the backbone of future economic development strategy for
Montenegro.
The growth of the Montenegrin economy may be hampered by
significant dependence on
foreign direct investment, and
thus susceptibility to external shocks and high export/import trade
deficit .
Infrastructure
Montenegrin road infrastructure is not on par with European
standards. Despite an extensive road network no roads are built to
full
motorway standards, though two current
roadway projects projects, the
Bar - Boljare motorway and the
Montenegrin section of
Adriatic
Ionian motorway, should change this. Building of those
motorways is considered as national priority, as both are important
for uniform regional economic development of Montenegro, and
development of Montenegro as an elite tourist destination.
Current
European routes that pass
through Montenegro are
E65 and
E80.
The backbone of the Montenegrin rail network is the
Belgrade - Bar railway.
This railway
intersects with Nikšić
- Tirana
(Albania)
at Podgorica, however, this railway is not used for passenger
service.
Montenegro has two international airports,
at Podgorica
and Tivat
.
The two airports served 1,1 million passengers in 2008.
Montenegro Airlines is the flag carrier
of Montenegro.
The
Port of Bar is Montenegro's main
seaport.
Tourism
Montenegro is well suited for development of all kinds of tourism,
as it has both a picturesque coast and a mountainous northern
region. The country was a well-known tourist spot in the 1980s,
yet, the
Yugoslav wars that were
fought in neighboring countries during the 1990s crippled the
tourist industry and destroyed the image of Montenegro as a tourist
destination.
It was not until
2000s that the
tourism industry began to recover, and the country has since
experienced a high rate of growth in the number of tourist visits
and overnight stays.The
Government of Montenegro has set
the development of Montenegro as an elite tourist destination a top
priority. It is a national strategy to make tourism a major, if not
the single largest, contributor to the Montenegrin economy. A
number of steps were taken to attract foreign investors into
Montenegro's tourism industry.
Some large projects are already under way,
such as Porto Montenegro, while
other locations, like Jaz
Beach
, Buljarica, Velika Plaža and Ada Bojana
, have perhaps the greatest potential to attract
future investments and become premium tourist spots on the Adriatic
.Some of the problems that currently hamper
the development of Montenegrin tourism are inadequate
infrastructure, notably the road infrastructure in the north, and
electricity and water supply in the south of the country. The
informal construction is also a problem.
File:Miriste.jpg|Miriste Beach, Herceg Novi
File:King Nikola's Palace.jpg|King Nikola's
Palace, BarFile:BiogradskaGora.jpg|Lake Biograd
, Kolašin
File:Budva.jpg|View of Budva
File:Kalaja.jpg|The Castle of UlcinjFile:Svetistefan1756.JPG|A view of Sveti Stefan
island in the Budva
municipality.File:Biogradska suma.jpg|Biogradska
Gora, a forest and a national park in Kolašin.File:Tara_River_Canyon.jpg|Tara River Canyon, longest canyon in
Europe and the second-longest in the world.
Demographics
[[File:montenegroetno03.png|thumb|Ethnic map of the Republic of
Montenegro according to the 2003 census.
]]
Ethnicity
According to 2003 census, Montenegro has 620,145 citizens. If the
methodology used up to 1991 had been adopted in the 2003 census,
Montenegro would officially have recorded 673,094 citizens. Most
recent estimates stake somewhere below 700,000 inhabitants.
When the census was taken Montenegro was a non-national civic
state. In the meantime, the Constitution was changed, hence it now
recognizes the major ethnic groups living in it:
Montenegrins,
Serbs,
Bosniaks,
Muslims,
Albanians and
Croats. Thus,
the number of "Montenegrins" and "Serbs" fluctuates wildly from
census to census, not due to real changes in the populace, but due
to changes in how people experience their identity.
Ethnic composition according to the 2004 official data:
|
Number |
% |
| TOTAL |
620,145 |
100 |
| Montenegrins |
267,669 |
43.16 |
| Serbs |
198,414 |
31.99 |
| Bosniaks |
48,184 |
7.77 |
| Ethnic Muslims |
36,479 |
5.07 |
| Albanians |
24,163 |
3.01 |
| Croats |
6,811 |
1.1 |
| Roma |
2,601 |
0.42 |
| Yugoslavs |
1,860 |
0.3 |
| Italians |
500 |
0.08 |
| others |
38,818 |
6.18 |
According the newest report, there are 24,610 total refugees from
the
Yugoslav wars in Montenegro,
forming 4.2% of the total population.
16,136 are refugees
from Kosovo after 1999
and 8,474 expelled from Croatia and Bosnia.
Language
[[File:Mnemunlangss9.png|thumb|Linguistic map of the Republic of
Montenegro according to the 2003 census.
]]
Most citizens speak the
Serbian
language of the
Iyekavian dialect.
However, as of 2004 the moves for an independent
Montenegrin language were promoted and
with the new 2007 Constitution it became Montenegro's prime
official language. Next to it,
Serbian,
Bosnian,
Albanian and
Croatian are recognized in usage. All of
these languages except for Albanian are virtually identical in
common usage.
Religion
Most Montenegrin inhabitants are
Orthodox Christians, followers of the
Serbian Orthodox Church's
Metropolitanate
of Montenegro and the Littoral and
Montenegrin Orthodox Church. The
religious institutions all have guaranteed rights and are separate
from the state. There is a sizeable number of
Sunni Muslims in Montenegro that maintain
their own
Islamic Community of
Montenegro. There is also a small
Roman Catholic population, divided
between the
Archdiocese of Antivari
headed by Primate of Serbia and the
Diocese of Kotor that is a
part of the
Church of Croatia.
Religious determination according to the census:
Culture
The culture of Montenegro has been shaped by a variety of
influences throughout history.
The influence of Orthodox, Slavonic, Central
European, Islamic, and seafaring Adriatic cultures (notably parts
of Italy, like the Republic of Venice) have been the most important in recent
centuries.
Montenegro has many significant cultural and historical sites,
including heritage sites from the pre-
Romanesque,
Gothic and
Baroque
periods.
The Montenegrin coastal region is especially
well known for its religious monuments, including the Cathedral of Saint Tryphon in
Kotor (Cattaro under the Venetians), the basilica of St.
Luke (over 800 years), Our Lady of the Rocks
(Škrpjela), the Savina
Monastery and others. Montenegro's medieval monasteries
contain thousands of square metres of frescos on their walls.
The traditional folk dance of the Montenegrins is the Oro, a circle
dance that involves dancers standing on each other's shoulders in a
circle while one or two dancers are dancing in the middle.
The first literary works written in the region are ten centuries
old, and the first Montenegrin book was printed five hundred years
ago. The first state-owned printing press was located in Cetinje in
1494, where the first
South Slavic book,
Oktoih, was printed the same year. Ancient
manuscripts, dating from the thirteenth century, are kept in the
Montenegrin monasteries.
Montenegro's capital Podgorica and the former royal capital of
Cetinje are the two most important centers of culture and the arts
in the country.
Ethical beliefs
A very important dimension of Montenegrin culture is the ethical
ideal of
Čojstvo i Junaštvo, "Humanity and Gallantry"
Another result of its centuries-long warrior history, it is the
unwritten code of
chivalry that stipulates
that to deserve a true respect by those around him, a person has to
show virtues of integrity, dignity, humility, self-sacrifice for
the just cause, respect for others, and rectitude along with
bravery. In the old days of battle, it resulted in Montenegrins
fighting to the death, as being captured was considered the
greatest shame.
This code of conduct is still very much ingrained, to a greater or
lesser extent, in every Montenegrin's ethical beliefs system and it
is essential that it be kept in mind in order to truly understand
them. Coming from non-warrior backgrounds, most of other
South-Slavic nations never fully grasp it, resulting in reactions
from totally ignoring it, in the best case, to mocking it or
ignorantly equating it with backwardness.
Most extraordinary examples of Montenegrin conduct during its long
history can be traced to the code.
Education
Education in Montenegro is regulated by the
Montenegrin Ministry of Education and
Science.
Education starts in either pre-schools or elementary schools.
Children enroll in elementary schools (
Montenegrin:
Osnovna škola) at
the age of 6; it lasts 9 years. The students may continue their
secondary education (
Montenegrin:
Srednja škola),
which lasts 4 years (3 years for trade schools) and ends with
graduation (
Matura).
Higher education lasts with a certain first
degree after 3 to 6 years.
Sport
The Sport in Montenegro revolves mostly around team sports:
football,
basketball,
water polo,
volleyball and
handball. Also involved are
boxing,
judo,
karate,
athletics,
table tennis, and
chess.
The main
football club in Montenegro is FK
Buducnost from capital Podgorica. Montenegro hosted together with Serbia
EuroBasket 2005.
Previously, all
National Teams were known as Yugoslavian national teams, as
Montenegro was part of Yugoslavia
. On 24 March 2007, the Montenegrin national team
came from behind to win its first ever fixture, 2-1, in a friendly game against Hungary at the Podgorica
Stadium
. On their 119th Session in Guatemala
City
in July 2007, the International Olympic
Committee
granted recognition and membership to the newly
formed Montenegrin National Olympic Committee. Montenegro
made its debut at the
2008 Summer
Olympics in Beijing.
Water Polo is one of the most popular
sports in the country. Montenegro won the European Championships in
Malaga, Spain on 13 July 2008 over Serbia 6-5 in a game that was
tied 5-5 after four quarters. This was Montenegro's first major
international competition for which they had to qualify through two
LEN tournaments.
Montenegro won the gold medal at the
2009 FINA Men's
Water Polo World League which was held in Podgorica, capital city. Montenegrin team
PVK Primorac from Kotor became a
champion of Europe at the LEN Euroleague
2009 in Rijeka
, Croatia.
Montenegro’s first division in water polo consists of six clubs,
four of them with an annual budget of one million Euros and more -
VK Primorac Kotor (2007 and 2008 Montenegro champions), VK Jadran
Herceg Novi (2006 champions of Serbia-Montenegro), VK Budvanska
Rivijera Budva, VK Cattaro. Montenegro's water polo Olympic team
finished fourth overall at the
2008 Olympic Games in
Beijing.
Cuisine
Montenegrin cuisine is a result of Montenegro's long history. It's
variation of Mediterranean and Oriental.
The most influence is
from Italy, Turkey
, Byzantine Empire/Greece, and as well from
Hungary. Montenegrin cuisine also varies geographically; the
cuisine in the coastal area differs from the one in the northern
highland region. The coastal area is traditionally a representative
of
Mediterranean cuisine, with
seafood being a common dish, while the
northern represents more the Oriental.
In popular culture
The first
official international representation of Montenegro as an
independent state was in the Miss World
2006 celebrated on 30 September 2006 in Warsaw
,
Poland. Ivana
Knežević from the city of Bar was the
first Miss Montenegro at any international beauty pageant.
Both Montenegro and Serbia competed separately in this pageant for
the first time after the state union came to an end.
Part of the 2006
James Bond film
Casino Royale is
set in Montenegro, although most the filming was done in Czech
Republic.
Nero Wolfe, the eccentric fictional
detective created by American writer
Rex
Stout, is Montenegrin by birth. One Nero Wolfe novel,
The Black Mountain,
takes place in
Tito-era
Montenegro.
Jay Gatsby, the main character of the
F. Scott
Fitzgerald novel
The Great
Gatsby, had been given a medal of honour by the
Montenegrin
King Nicholas I.
The setting for
Franz Lehár 1905
operetta The
Merry Widow is the Paris embassy of the Grand Duchy of
Pontevedro. Pontevedro is a fictionalized version of Montenegro and
several of the characters were loosely based on actual Montenegrin
nobility.
Montenegrin holidays
See also
References
^ Montenegrin Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006 census - [3290]
- http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&tab=wl&q=goo
- Basic data of Montenegro
- http://www.montenegro.org/duklja.html
- http://www.montenegro.org/balsic.html
- Montenegro files EU membership application
- Geography
- this literal translation is used in Mainland China and Hong
Kong; Taiwanese Mandarin uses "méngtènèigēluó",
a phonetic transcription of "Montenegro"
- ISO 3166-1 Newsletter No. V-12, Date:
2006-09-26
-
http://www.croatiatraveller.com/southern_dalmatia/Dubrovnik/bombing.html
- http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/47/a47r121.htm
- http://www.yihr.org/uploads/newsletters/eng/28.pdf
-
http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/comexpert/ANX/VIII-03.htm#III.A.25
- "Porodica Nedžiba Loje o Njegovom Hapšenju i Deportaciji 1992".
Godine [1]
- BBC News: Montenegro vote result confirmed
- BBC News: Montenegro declares independence
- http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/6257839.html
- http://www.mfa.gov.yu/Policy/Minister/100907_e.html
- Vijesti: Crna Gora tražila javno izvinjenje zbog
afere "kvazidržava"
- President Vujanovic’s Closing Speech at the Crans Montana
Forum
- Cilj Crne Gore članstvo u NATO
- Spremaju se za Avganistan
- Montenegrin Census' from 1909 to 2003
- Official results of the 2003 Montenegrin census
- Kotor
- Montenet - History of Montenegro: Crnojevic Rule
- Чојство и јунаштво старих Црногораца, Цетиње 1968.
3-11.
- OBLIKOVANJE CRNOGORSKE NACIJE U DOBA PETROVICA
NJEGOSA, "Cojstvo je osobeno svojstvo Crnogoraca, koje su uzdigli u
najvecu vrlinu i uzor."
- Montenegro take a bow at victory
- Crna Gora šampion Evrope
- Montenegro Wins World League
-
http://www.sfmission.com/cgi-bin/gallery/imageFolio.cgi?action=view&link=Poland/Warsaw&image=MissWorld-2006-Warsaw.jpg&img=&tt=
Warsaw (MissWorld-2006-Warsaw
- http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/casinoroyale/ James Bond
Casino Royal official web site, "About"
Further reading
- Realm of the Black Mountain: A History of Montenegro
by Elizabeth Roberts (Hurst & Co, 2007) ISBN
978-1-85065-868-9
- Montenegro: The Divided Land by Thomas Fleming (2002)
ISBN 0-9619364-9-5
- The Rough Guide to Montenegro by Norm Longley (2009)
ISBN 978-1-85828-771-3
- The National Question in Yugoslavia: Origins, History,
Politics Cornell University Press, by Ivo Banac (1984) ISBN
0-8014949-3-1
- A History of Montenegro by Francis Seymour Stevenson
(2002) ISBN 978-1-42125-089-2
- Montenegro: A Modern History by Kenneth Morrison
(2009) ISBN 978-1-84511-710-8
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