Web site: www.cetinje.cg.yu

“This is a beautiful heavenly valley”, said one English princess, at the beginning of this century, who was excited by the panorama of Cetinje. The most beautiful view of this old Montenegrin town is probably at Orlov Krs (Eagle’s rock). Cetinje does not have ramparts, like many other ancient royal towns, since nature has encircled it with stone hills as powerful guardians.

The town was established in 1482 when Ivan Crnojevic, the last ruler of the powerful medieval state of Zeta, built a castle for himself under the Orlov Krs and he also built the Monastery for the residence of the metropolitan of the Zeta’s diocese. He did this primarily because he was convinced that he could easily protect his state from conquerors in this inaccessible location. As a nest of freedom, Cetinje resisted for centuries the numerous attacks of the big forces and was never conquered. It also became a treasury of Montenegrin religious life in that period. Only forty years after Gutenberg’s invention, Djuradj Crnojevic founded the famous Cetinje printing firm in 1494. The “Oktoih prvoglasnik”, published by this Cetinje printing firm, was the first book printed in Cyrillic in the Balkans and in southern Slovenian.

In Cetinje the Montenegrins created and preserved their cultural treasures “with one hand” and in the other hand they bore arms. The town-museum has the best crafted and the best-preserved collections of arms in the Balkans, and the collection represents the supreme achivement of this craft.

Although there are not any rulers, dukes, Prince’s bodyguards, ambassadors, or consuls, walking along the streets of Cetinje, they are still witnesses of the glorious Montenegrin history. To experience at least a part of it, one should come down from the Orlov Krs to the Malo Guvno, area between the two main monuments, the monastery and Njegos’s Biljarda Palace and museum. It reminds one of the famous Square of “Car zvono” , “the biggest bell”, in Moscow, and allegedly it was also built on its example. Njegos’s magnificent work titled “Gorski vijenac”, Mountain wreath, was written in Biljarda, a former office of the Senate. Museums, galleries, archives, and the art academies are what make Cetinje one of the most attractive tourist centers of modern Montenegro.

Any stay in Cetinje should include a visit to Mount Lovcen. Njegos’s remains rest there in the monumental mausoleum, which is the work of the world famous sculptor Ivan Mestrovic. Njegos was the poet, wise man, philosopher, and leader who used to say that “man is a light made for the sky” and that “life is a continuous battle”…

NJEGUSI

By driving a narrow old road with numerous serpentines cut into Kotor’s slopes, you can arrive in Njegusi, the birthplace of the great writer and ruler of Montenegro, Petar II Petrovic Njegos.

For centuries this road was the only connection between the town of Cetinje and the Montenegrin coast. From this “divine road” you enjoy the most beautiful view of Boka Kotorska. That is why the guests of Boka Kotroska and Dubrovnik Rivieras find it so attractive to visit Njegusi. The most beautiful place is certainly the house where Njegos was born in the Herakovici village. A modest stone building in the traditional Montenegrin style keeps alive the memory of the author of “Gorski vijenac”. Njegos is considered by many critics to be one of the literary “giants” like Puskin, Lermontov, Gete, or Haine.

Traditionally hospitable hosts of Njegusi do their best to make every visit to this region an unforgettable experience. After learning about the area’s history you should try a sip of the excellent and healing Njegusi’s mead. Gourmets can enjoy prime Negusi’s smoked ham, cheese, kajmak, and other meals traditionally prepared on the hearth.

Because of the favorable climate even during the hottest summer days, many people spend their entire holiday in the refreshing air in pleasant Ivanova Korita. It is no wonder then that the famous sculptor Ivan Mestrovic asked for only a “wheel of cheese and a smoked ham” as a fee for the monument he created in honor of Njegos.