I went to Montenegro last weekend, maybe for the tenth time in my life; I was attending a conference of the European Movement, and indeed moderated the last panel of the day. On Friday evening I was settling into the pre-drinks for the conference dinner when a discreet cough alerted me to the arrival of President Milatović, less formally dressed than I was.
I realise that unfortunately it looks like there is a straw flask coming out of my head, but that’s life.
The first time I went to Montenegro was in January 2002, where I got invited to the Economics Faculty‘s Christmas party (Christmas is in January in Montenegro). The entire international diplomatic community of Podgorica was there, I think all three or four of them. I also attended the first independence day celebration for about ninety years at the presidential palace in July 2006. At last week’s conference, the opening dinner on Thursday was attended by at least a dozen full ambassadors. Times change.
On the Saturday, I had a late-ish departure and decided that it was about time that I visited the ancient capital of Cetinje (pronounced TSET-in-yeh, [t͡sětiɲe]), where the Prince-Bishops ruled during Montenegro’s independence. Unfortunately it turns out that all the museums except one are closed at weekends, so I mostly took pictures of the outsides of buildings and other public art. Next time I’ll try and come on a weekday.
Court Church in Ćipur, founded 1480, rebuilt 1890Cetinje Monastery, founded 1482, rebuilt 1704, also formerly the centre of governmentThe government building built by Prince-Bishop Petar II Petrović-Njegoš in 1838 and named ‘Biljarda’ after his favourite game. Unfortunately not all that photogenic as it is wide and low.The Blue Palace, built in 1884 as a residence for the heir to the throne, now one of the President’s official residences.The 1910 Government House, now the National MuseumThe former French embassy, built 1909-10, now part of the Central National Library. There is a vicious rumour that the architect Paul Guadet actually intended the plan for the French embassy in Cairo and there was a postal confusion, Research indicates that this is not actually true.The old British Embassy, built 1912, now the town music academy. When Montenegro eventually became independent again in 2005, the UK’s initial representative in Podgorica was a local hire, a friend of mine who is now the Governor of the Central Bank.Coincidentally, the only museum that was open on a Saturday was the one run by the Central Bank, the Museum of Currency which records the many denominations that have been used in Montenegro over the millennia. Montenegro now uses the euro.Statues of a woman and a man in traditional costume outside the Ministry of Culture headquarters. I was not able to find the date or artist.1983 monument to Ivan Crnojević, founder of the city (sculptor Anto Gržetić) 2013 monument by Dimitrije Popović, “To the Glory of Njegoš’ Thought”, commemorating Petar II Petrović-Njegoš2022 statue of Princess Xenia Petrović-Njegoš, also by Dimitrije Popović
As you can tell, it was also a rather grey day, and I think Cetinje will reward a longer visit on a weekday when the sun is shining. But as I wove back down the mountains in my taxi back to Podgorica, the views were pretty stunning.
