About Montenegro

Name

Montenegro's native name, Crna Gora, first mentioned in 11th century in Vatican documents and translates literally to "black mountain," a reference to the dark forests that once covered the slopes of the Dinaric Alps as seen from the coast. The country's name in most Western European languages, including English, reflects an adoption of the Venetian-language term monte negro, also meaning "black mountain," which probably dates back to the era of Venetian hegemony over the area in the Middle Ages.

Culture

The culture of Montenegro has been shaped by a variety of influences throughout history. The influence of Orthodox South Slavic, Central European, and seafaring Adriatic cultures (notably parts of Italy) 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, the basilica of St. Luke (over 800 years), Our Lady of the Rock (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 was printed the same year (Oktoih). 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.