[edit]
"Zetski Dom" Theatre
Cetinje has been the cultural and educational centre of Montenegro for five centuries. There are five republic institutions: Đurđe Crnojević 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. The oldest – and for a long time the most important – cultural institution in the town is the monastery of Cetinje. Cetinje is recognized as a "Design City" by UNESCO's Creative Cities Network.
Architecture and urban heritage[edit]
Biljarda – Museum of Petar II Petrović-Njegoš
The onset and development of Cetinje, as a relatively young city, with its old historical core draws a lot of attention to urban and architectural heritage, on its construction and development influenced stormy historical, social and economic events in the country.
Cetinje as a settlement has existed for 500 years, which is a relatively short period of time compared to the development of the coastal agglomeration of the ancient period in the immediate surroundings. However, these five centuries comprise the whole history of a people, who, through the development of city recorded moments of their origin, ascent, stagnation and downs.
Cetinje as an urban agglomeration can be said to have formed suddenly, which makes it very specific. In fact, since the 1870s, for almost fifty years, there was, in the urban context, designed and typological characteristic areas formed with urban-type residential home ground floors and multi-storey houses with developed attics, created and developed in closed urban blocks, in a street – house – garden layout.
Former Russian embassy in Cetinje
Along with the development of this type of urban city blocks and residential buildings, the city has developed substantial public architecture, which was built under the influence of foreign builders with the application of various architectural styles, and which then and now is a representative architectural backbone of the city.
Between the two world wars, characterized by the loss of Montenegrin statehood and noticeable stagnation of the architectural development of the city, Cetinje continues the tradition of formed, then already traditional type of urban residential houses and closed urban blocks, but they built the first modern multi-storey residential buildings for collective housing, and modern public institutions necessary for the then social life.
In the fastest and most important period of the development of Cetinje, since the 1870s until the First World War, which was then the smallest European old capital, was created and developed city on the principles the European metropolises of that time in whose architectural activity of the city was engaged many foreign architects, engineers, builders and craftsmen.
The Blue Palace, where the president of Montenegro resides.
The development of Cetinje in this period was followed by many important historical and social events. So the second half of the nineteenth century in the development of Cetinje marked a period of state power and its pursuit of European culture and international recognition. The recognition of Montenegro as an independent state, at the Berlin Congress in 1878, on the basis of which it greatly expanded, began a period of rapid creation of a national, economic, social, cultural, societal and spatial superstructure which caused an increase of economic power and the reorganization and improvement of the state apparatus and the authorities. During this period, Cetinje, as the old royal capital, gained even greater national and international significance and experienced rapid socio–economic, institutional, and urban development.
Without taking into consideration the possibilities and efforts which Cetinje was realized as a relatively small and young city, it occupies an important place in terms of conceptual, social and urban transformation of other cities in Montenegro, particularly since the second half of the nineteenth century until the First World War. Based on that and the facts about today's relatively well-preserved urban heritage, Cetinje has been recognised for its significant architectural heritage.
Printing houses in Cetinje[edit]
Montenegro Ministry of culture
Cetinje has a rich publishing and printing tradition. The Printing House of Crnojevići (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[edit]
National Library of Montenegro
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 Crnojevići 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 Cetinje Gymnasium to 1880.
Museums[edit]
Art Museum and Historical Museum.
Museums in Cetinje include:
Museum of the Cetinje Monastery
State Museum
"Petar Petrovic Njegoš" Museum
Ethnographic Museum
Electric Industry Museum
History Museum
Art Museum
Money Museum
All these except the Museum of the Cetinje Monastery, the Money Museum 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. Its founder is Prince Nikola Petrović, great-grandson to King Nikola I.
Main sights[edit]
Cetinje has a number of attractions, including Cetinje Monastery, Vlaška church (built in 1450, with its fence made out of barrels of captured enemy rifles), Biljarda, several 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.
Vlaška Church
Close to Cetinje (about 5 km (3.1 mi)) the Lipa cave (Lipska pecina) is situated, one of the biggest caves in the former Yugoslavia. Its entrance is located in the village of Lipa and it ends in the mountains directly over the Adriatic Sea. After project of Municipality of Cetinje and company 'Lipa Cave', the cave is restored and opened for public in July 2015. Today the cave is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Cetinje and Montenegro,[citation needed] similar to Postojna Cave in Slovenia.
One of the most visited destinations of Cetinje is the mausoleum of Petar II Petrović-Njegoš on the mountain Lovćen. The mausoleum is accessible by car from Cetinje, which is 13 km (8.1 mi) away. Apart from the surrounding natural environment of beech, oak and linden tree forests, there is a unique freshness of Lovćen national park.[citation needed] The mausoleum is situated at the Jezerski vrh (Jezerski peak), in the height of 1,660 m (5,450 ft), and it officially represents the highest mausoleum in the world.
In the past few years there has been a plan of enlisting the old historic core of the city of Cetinje as a UNESCO world heritage site. With this, Cetinje hopes to rebuild and restore the old historic core and the façades of its buildings. Cetinje is becoming more and more popular with tourists so the locals started painting their houses in vivid colors, the local government started quite a number of projects to restore the buildings, the markets and façades of the city of Cetinje.[citation needed]
Religion[edit]
Cetinje Monastery.
Cetinje is also the seat of the Eparchy of Montenegro and the Littoral of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and Montenegrin Orthodox Church.
Seat of the Eparchy of Montenegro and the Littoral is situated in Cetinje Monastery. Seat of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church is situated in the Chapel in Gruda quarter.
Festivals[edit]
Today, Cetinje is home of one of the most popular cultural events in Montenegro – 'Summer at the Old Royal Capital'. It is the artist festival with almost 100 events, which held yearly, from June to September. During that period, visitors can attend the gigs of regional artist stars at the most significant city locations, but in the villages too. During the 'Summer at the Old Royal Capital', there are festivals like 'Royal Fest' (hard rock, alternative), 'Cetinje Jazz Fest', 'Espressivo' (classical music), 'Cucka jeka' (Kobilji Do), 'Riječka noć' (Rijeka Crnojevića), 'Njeguško ljeto' (Lovćen and Njeguši), 'Folklor' etc. Events during the 'Summer at the Old Royal Capital' attend about 50,000 visitors.
There are more festivals and events during the whole year, like 'Christmas Concerts' (7/8 January), Independence Day event (21 May), 'MIT Fest' (alternative theatre festival) etc.
