BEST OF MONTENEGRO

• 1000 interesting facts about Montenegro
• 260 pages
• 200 ilustrations and photographs
• Modern design
• Author: Veseljko Koprivica, journalist and publicist
This interesting book, as a present to your friends, colleagues, business partners and all people who wish to learn about Montenegro in this popular way, can be purchased for 15€ on author’s phone number +382 69 012 343 or by e-mail vkpress@cg.yu.

INTRODUCTION
Montenegro, fi rst known as Doclea and later Zeta, has been an arena of a great number of harsh events for ten centuries. A lot of them were well known all over the World.

Montenegro was the crib of many great personalities who left deep traces of their time and became well known far outside Montenegrin borders.

Montenegro has many natural phenomena and some of them are unique in the world.

Many writers, historians, scientists, journalists and accidental passersby witnessed all this.

Still, a lot of details are unknown to wider general public and even to many Montenegrins.

Wishing to introduce some part of those interesting facts to wide range of readers, I tried to put them together in one place. That is how this lexicon of great number of many diff erent thematic attractions
was created. All these facts are dated from the earliest Montenegrin history to our days.

The main criterion in selection of the events, persons and phenomena chosen to enter this book, was to line them as the fi rst ones, the only ones, the best ones and so on.

I am sure that this guide through space and time of Montenegro would be interesting and useful to those who want to make acquaintance with one of the oldest European countries in a popular way. It is my great pleasure to introduce this book to the admirers of curiosities to read it and to try to expand it together.
The Author

MONTENEGRIN STATE

Montenegro is the oldest South-Slavic state on Balkans. It has a thousand years long tradition fi rst as Doclea, that Zeta and fi nally Montenegro.

The fi rst Montenegrin state Doclea was named after the Roman city of Doclea, former political centre of the old Illyrian tribe Docleates. Doclea was the fi rst South- Slavic country whose independence was approved by Byzantium. Being a vassal Byzantine principality, Doclea fought for its independency and won it in
the battle near Tudjemili in 1042/43.

_ Montenegro was mentioned for the fi rst time in the charter of King Milutin in 1296. At the beginning that name referred to the Mountainous part of the state of Zeta – Upper Zeta. Afterwards, when Ivan Crnojevic moved his Court and Archdiocese there and Montenegro became the centre of the state of Zeta, all regions of Zeta were included under the name of Montenegro.

_ Montenegro was mentioned for the fi rst time in the Italian sources in 1348.

_ The fi rst Montenegrin passport was issued in 1751. Until then, Montenegrins travelled to the other countries without any documents. Five passports from the Njegos’s time are preserved in the Museum of Cetinje. Those are “Montenegrin pass-through letters “ and “Montenegrin passports”.

Montenegrins got their first national anthem in 1870. It was a song “Ubavoj nam Crnoj Gori” (“To Our Beautiful Montenegro”) written by Jovan Sundecic. Sundecic was born in Livno and he was a priest and a secretary of Prince Nikola. Song was performed for the fi rst time in public in the Library of Cetinje on the 17-th of October 1870. It was composed by a Czech author Anton Schulz.

The first water supply system was constructed in Cetinje in 1891.


Montenegro signed the Berne Convention for the Protection
of Literary and Artistic Works on the 4th of May 1896.


Montenegro ratifi ed the Hague Convention Declaration on
the Use of Bullets which Expand or Flatten Easily in the Human
Body and bullets containing poisonous gases on the 16-th of
October 1900.

The first Montenegrin bank was established in Cetinje in 1906.
Its starting capital was 75 000 crowns.


Montenegro signed the International Hague Protocol on
Peaceful Resolution of Disputes between the States from
1899 on the 14-th of June 1907.


The first Montenegrin Law on gambling was passed on the 29-th of June 1909.
_ Montenegro was proclaimed Kingdom on the 28-th of August 1910.


The first power plant in Montenegro began to work in Cetinje on the 16-th of August 1910. Three-phase electricity was produced using an 110kW diesel engine (with a 2100V high voltage cable network and the transformer substations in the city). It was used for the city electrifi cation.


Montenegro signed the International Convention on Automobile
Traffic on the 20-th of May 1912.
Perper

The area of today’s Montenegro is 13.812 square kilometers.
There is no more than 190 kilometers of the aerial distance between its furthest points.
_ When prince Nikola was throned in 1860 the area of Montenegro
was only 4.000 square kilometers.


Montenegrin border is 814 kilometers long. Montenegro shares a border with Serbia (203km), Albania (172km), Bosnia and Herzegovina (225km) and Croatia (14km).

FOUR MONTENEGRIN
DYNASTIES

_ The fi rst Montenegrin royal dynasty was family Vojislavljevic.
They were the rulers of Doclea/Zeta from the beginning of the 11-th century. Dynasty Vojislavljevic, whose establisher was Prince Stefan Vojislav, ruled Zeta for about 200 years.

The fourth Montenegrin dynasty Petrovic ruled Montenegro for 220 years. Family tradition of this family says that they are originally from Zenica in Bosnia. In the middle of the 15-th century their ancestors went towards Herzegovina and lived in Trebinje for a while and than they moved to live on the mountain Njegos, in a place called Cerovica. From there, at the end of the same century, they moved and settled in Njegusi.


Prince- Bishop Danilo, the establisher of the Petrovic dynasty (Njegusi, around 1670 - Monastery Podmaine, January 11-th 1735), was wounded during the battle of Carev Laz in 1712. Prince- Bishop’s life was saved thanks to the cross that stopped the sabre blade of a Turkish soldier. This dented cross has been kept in Cetinje for a long time. It disappeared during the Second World War together with many other valuable evidences of the rich Montenegrin historical and cultural past.

_ Prince- Bishop Danilo was the fi rst Montenegrin bishop with attributes of a statesman.

_ Petar II Petrovic Njegos gave his own passport in Russian and German language as a sample passport
during the print of the Montenegrin passports in Cetinje between 1834 and 1851. His passport was issued on the 7-th of September 1833 while he was on his way back from St Petersburg to Montenegro.

_ Petar II Petrovic Njegos established the bodyguards- “perjaniks” in 1837. They had to follow him everywhere and fulfi ll his every command. Njegos brought red hats for his perjaniks from Russia.

Prince/King Nikola I Petrovic (Njegusi, October 7th 1841-Cap d’Antibes), March 1st 1921) ruled Montenegro longer than any other Montenegrin ruler – fi fty eight years. He was on the Montenegrin
throne from 1860 until 1918. Nikola I wrote poems and dramas and he was also an excellent orator. He was dethroned on the 26-th of November 1918 by the resolution of the illegitimate Assembly of Podgorica.

_ Nikola I Petrovic led Montenegrins and Herzegovinians himself in the glorious battle against Turks in Vucji Do in 1876. He was the high commander of the Montenegrin Army in the Balkan Wars and the First World War.

_ European rulers highly praised King Nikola. He was known as “the European father-in-law” because most of his eight daughters were married to the representatives of the oldest European dynasties of those days. His daughter Zorka was married to Petar Karadjordjevic, the son of the dethroned Serbian ruler Prince Aleksandar.
King’s second daughter Vidosava-Milica became a wife to the Great Russian prince Petar Nikolayevich Romanov. Anastasija-Stane married a Russian prince Ore Romanovsky, Duke of Lichtenberg. Jelena
became Italian Queen by marring the King of Italy Victor Emmanuel III of Savoy. Princess Ana married Franz Joseph Battenberg of Hesse.

_ Montenegrin artist Marina Abramovic (Belgrade, March 30 1946) received the grand-prix for her piece “Balkanski barok” (“Baroque of the Balkans”) in the Venice Biennale in 1997. No other Montenegrin painter received such reward.

_ Norwegian offi cer Henrik Angel was the fi rst person who brought skiis to Montenegro. This happened on the 17-th of January 1893. He started his tour through Montenegro in Cetinje. He described his journey adventures in a book „Skiing Throughout Montenegro“. Later, at King Nikola’s request, he brought a hundred
pairs of skiis in Cetinje and started a skiing course for soldiers and wealthy Montenegrin young men.

_ Aleksandar Arsenijevic (Andrijevica, 1920) translated from French, English, German and Russian. He also translated economic literature into those four languages. He wrote stories, poetry, critics and movie scenarios.

_ The king Frederick Augustus II of Saxony (1797-1854) visited Njegos in Cetinje on the 31st of May 1838. He was the fi rst foreign sovereign to come and visit Montenegro. The King gave Njegos the ring with his monogram and brilliants. Frederick Augustus II left valuable data about Njegos and Montenegrins.

_ Sculptor Janko Brajovic (Cetinje, 1889 - Panama, 1948) was very famous in South America, Paris and London. Great number of his sculpture is kept in many states in South America. In spite of this great success his name is not mentioned in any monograph or encyclopaedia published in Montenegro. He is also highly acclaimed as the Master of the woman torso. His bust of the Indian chief of the tribe Yowlacha was exhibited in the Royal Art Academy in London in 1933. He was a got portray painter as well.

_ American writer Francis Scott Fitzgerald gave Montenegrin medal to the main character of his novel “The Great Gatsby” Jay Gatsby. It was the fi rst Montenegrin medal “Danilo’s cross”. This medal was established in 1853.

_ Austrian King Ferdinand I gave a cross with brilliants to Njegos in 1842. Njegos wrote him an ode that was specially printed in Cetinje in 1835.

_ Saira Gomez from Puerto Ordaz is the only Montenegrin bride from Venezuela. She married former sailor Zdravko Pilastro from Kotor in 1998.

_ Spiridon Gopcevic, author of 15 novels, dramas and poems that were published in Europe, is one of the fi rst Montenegrin astronomers. One of the craters on the Moon has his poetic pseudonym - Leo Brenner.

_ Ante Gvozdenovic was a Montenegrin Senator in Washington during the Second World War and Russian Sanitary General.
He had worked in the Army Medicine Headquarters of the army area of Kavkaz and than in Moscow and Warsaw. He was also one of the fi rst Montenegrin doctors (he received diploma in Moscow in 1872) and President of the Emigrant Government of King Nikola.
Gvozdenovic spent one holiday in Monte Carlo and got a large sum of money. One night it happened that he was late for the train to Warsaw where he was working. In order to get there on time, he spent all of his gambling money on a single train composition just for himself. He arrived to work in Warsaw on time.

_ Mila Jovovic, one of the world’s most popular actresses, has Montenegrin origins. Her father was from Montenegro.

_ One of the most acclaimed novelists and essay writers in former Yugoslavia - Danilo Kis fi nished High School and passed the application exam for the Painting School in Cetinje. His mother was from Cetinje.

_ The greatest Montenegrin artist Petar Lubarda (Cetinje, 1907 - Belgrade, 1974) received the fi rst prize on the Biennale in Sao Paolo. Henry Moore and Herbert Reed said: “There is nothing going on in the world of art except Lubarda”. He had his fi rst exhibition in Rome in 1929.

_ Avdo Medjedovic (1874-1955), poet and recite from the village Obrov near Bijelo Polje, memorized the whole epic poem “Zenidba Smailagic Meha” (“The marriage of the Smailagic Meho”).
Poem had 12.311 verses. He met famous American Homeric studies specialists Milman Parry and Albert Lord and they wrote the poem. That was the longest of all 8 versions of the poem.

_ Hollywood star Brad Pitt played his fi rst role in a movie “Dark side of the Sun” which was recorded in Montenegrin Coast in 1987. Montenegrin director Bozidar- Bota Nikolic chose Pit for this role. Nikolic was also director of photography for this movie. Bred was especially amazed by the beauty of Perast.

_ Kick boxer Ivan Strugar from Podgorica (discipline low kick) won the Medal of the Amateur Champion of Europe for the forth time in 2000. He became the most successful kick boxer in the history of that sport.

_ Nikola Tesla (1856-1943), world famous scientist and inventor in Electro-Engineering fi eld, translated many Montenegrin poems on English. The poem about famous Montenegrin hero Luka Filipov who captured Osman-Pasha in the Battle of Vucji Do was published thanks to him. King Nikola gave him Medal of Danilo
I in 1895. According to some sources Tesla family roots are from village Draganici near Niksic.

_ Austrian scientist Emil Tice wrote the fi rst thematically wide book about the geology of Montenegro.

_ German writer Ernest Toller managed to escape from Hitler’s Germany and attend the congress of the P.E.N. club in Dubrovnik in 1933. He visited Cetinje and Podgorica. He started a speech on demand of the citizens in front of the hotel “Imperial” in Podgorica. Police didn’t allow him to fi nish.
_
_ Captain Petar Zambelic (Lustice, Boka Kotorska, - Argentina, 1907) was guiding the fi rst ships through the “Tierra del Fuego”. He worked with his ship for the Government of Chile. He is still a legend in that southernmost part of the world. His deeds are still well known and told from generation to generation in Punto Arenas (city in Chile in Terra del Fuego). The mayor of this city was Montenegrin Carlos Gonzales Jaksic. Zambezic discovered new islands in the Strain of Magellan. Journalist in Chile used to compare him to Columbus and Magellan. He was also the major inspector of the Chilean Navy. He died in a shipwreck near the coast of Argentina in 1907.

MONASTERIES,
CATHEDRALS AND
MOSQUES

One of the oldest and most important sanctuaries in Europe is Monastery Zlatica situated in a place called Crkvine near Podgorica.
This monastery is one of the fi rst Episcopal centres in the church of Byzantine. It was built in the fi fth century. In 325 there used to be a central church of the bishopric of Doclea. Marble sarcophagus was discovered in the cavern in the ground near the Monastery Zlatica. Heavy cover is mainly broken. The same sarcophagus, but without cover, is kept in Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.

Benedictines established more than 20 monasteries in today’s Montenegro in diff erent periods. The oldest one is Santa Maria in Budva from 840.

_ Cathedral of Saint Tripun in Kotor is one of the oldest churches in Europe. It was built in 1166. It is 69 years older than the famous Notre Dame in Paris and 460 year older than the Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome. It was build 17 years before the Monastery Studenica and 169 years before the Higher Decani. Cathedral of Saint Tripun is the oldest South- Slavic cathedral.

_ Icon of the Virgin Philermosa, one of the most famous icons in the world, is kept in Cetinje. Icon ended up n Cetinje after the eight years of wandering. It is very precious and it is one of the most curious icons in the world. Five kilograms of gold and 280 pieces of precious stones were used for its making. It was exhibited in many iconostases all over the world for eight centuries. The news that this icon is in Montenegro was given to public on the 7-th of May 2000.

_ Madrasa of the Husein- Pasha Boljanic in Pljevlja is the oldest madrasa in the area of today’s Montenegro. The most famous madrasa is the madrasa of Osman- Pasha in Pljevlja. It was built similar to the Madrasa of the Osman- Pasha Sokolovic in Istanbul.

HORIZONS OF
THE CRVENA STIJENA

_ Crvena Stijena by the village Petrovici near Niksic is one of the oldest cultural and historical monuments and also one of the most important archeological sites in Europe. The cave is unique in the world because of numerous cultural horizons it contains.
There are 31 cultural layers from diff erent periods in continuity.
It is thought that humans lived in those areas from an early Paleolithic until the Bronze Age. Scientist Djuro Bazler believes that the humans here were miners even 30,000 years BC.

_ At the end of 19-th and beginning 20-th century famous archeologists came to visit Montenegro. Some of them were:
Arthur Evans, H. Richy, J.A. Munro, P.A. Rovinski, C. Praschniker, A. Schober, J. Hann. They did archeological excavation in many parts of Montenegro, but the opportunity to keep the fi ndings of those
excavations as the museums values was left out.

FRENCH OBLIGATORY,
PIANO OPTIONAL

_ Illyrians, the oldest natives in the area of today’s Montenegro, didn’t have their own alphabet. They were using Celtic and Roman alphabet.

_ The first schools in Montenegro existed in the Benedictine monasteries and abbeys in the period when Doclea was its capital.
The art of good and beauty of writing and so-called “seven free skills” were thought there.

_ Latin characters letter was used in Doclea, or later Zeta, until the end of the 12-th century. Since the end of the 15-th century Cyrillic letter was spreading more and more in the area of Montenegro.

_ In 3-rd decade of the 15-th century, the High Grammar School was opened in Kotor. It was the fi rst school in Zeta, today’s Montenegro. In the 16-th century it became a Senior High School.
Educated rectors of the High School in Kotor were fi rst mentioned in 1429 and then again, during the 16-th century, when the Poetics, Philosophy, a Astronomy and Forensics were thought.

_ In the 16-th and 17-th century, Perast and other places in Boka Kotorska had couple of private Maritime schools. Some world famous sailors were educated there.

_ The first private school in Montenegro was opened in Podgorica in the 1704 in the house of the priest Panto. School had pupils from the wealthy families in Podgorica.

_ The first women middle school in Montenegro- “the Girls’ Institute of the Russian Queen Marija Aleksandrovna” was established in Cetinje in 1869. Institute gave fi rst educated Montenegrin woman teachers. Four hundred and fi fty girls, 205 from Montenegro, 203 from Austro-Hungarian girls and 25 girls from the neighbor countries where the students of one of the most acclaimed schools on Balkans called “ little Sorbonne”. Institute was closed in 1913. On the suggestion of the Russian czarina, educated noblewoman Sofia Mertvago became the Principal of the Institute in 1888.

THE FIRST NATIONAL
PRINTING HOUSE

Montenegro was the fi rst county in the world to have the national printing house. Ruler of Zeta Djuradj Crnojevic got the printing equipment from Venetia in 1493, only four years after Gutenberg invented modern printing skills. It was set up to work in Cetinje.

_ Fresco “Gavran hrani proroka Iliju” or “the Raven Feeds Prophet Ilija” being kept in the Monastery Moraca, Pablo Picasso enlisted in the masterpieces of the world art. Fresco is from the 16-th century and it had the epiphanic topics. It also represents the victory of the so-called “plastic” style that began in the early 13th century.

THE FIRST MOVIE
FROM ROME

_ The first traveling cinema came in Montenegro near the end of 1901 or beginning of 1902. This fact was discovered in the Vienna’s cinema “Uranija” where is said that movie “U crnim brdima” (“In the black hills”) was played in the Royal Castle in Montenegro.
Cinematographer of that historical movie about Montenegro was the fi rst movie presenter in Cetinje.

_ “Voskresenja nema bez smrti” (“Non e resurrezione senza morte” or “There’s no resurrection without death”) is the first Montenegrin movie. Vladimir Popovic recorded it in Rome in 1922 and it lasted about two hours. Its premiere was in famous, still existing Rome cinema “Cinema Volturno” on the 14-th of April 1922.

THE FIRST
BROADCASTING
STATION ON BALKANS

_ The fi rst Montenegrin magazine was “Crnogorac” (“Montenegrin”). The fi rst issue appeared in Cetinje on the 23rd of January 1871. It was published weekly on four pages and the editor was Simo Popovic.

_ Eight almanacs and seven literary magazines were issued in the 19-th and 20-th century: “Crnogorka” (“Montenegrin woman”) in two diff erent periods, “Zeta”, “Nova Zeta” (“New Zeta”), “Luca” (“The Light”), “Knjizevni list” (“Literary Paper”) and “ Dan” (“Day”).

_ The first radio-telegraphic station on Balkans began to work in Volujica, near Bar on the 3-rd of August 1904. It worked on the 500 meters wave length and had 200 km range. Famous inventor Marconi installed it and he was present on the day of its opening.
It was used in postal purposes, maritime traffi c and diplomacy in Cetinje. Volujica was connected with the San Cataldo Station in Bari and thanks to it with the whole Western Europe.

TELEGRAPH CONNECTION
KOTOR-WORLD

_ The fi rst data about organized transfer of the postal shipments on the territory of today’s Montenegro are from the Roman period. In those times Balkans was the bridge between east and west Roman provinces and Roman Empire. The cursus publicus, well organized institution for transporting passengers, cargo and
postal shipments, was formed in those times.

_ For three centuries Montenegrin postmen played signifi - cant role in transporting European correspondences to East, especially in transporting diplomatic post between Venetia and Constantinople.

_ The first International contract about post transporting was signed in Montenegro between Kotor and Constantinople in 1578.

_ The first telegraphic connection with world was made in Kotor on the 14-th on March 1870. Telegraphic connection with Serbia was established on the 16-th of November 1912.

_ The first telegram tax was determined in the Law of Telegraphy in 1870. The fi rst printed telegraph rates were announced by Main Post and Telegraph Administration in 1902.

_ Montenegro signed first postal convention with Austria on the 25-th of May 1871.

_ Montenegro was the first country in the world to use automobile postal transport. Since the 5-th of July 1903 post was transported with an automobile instead of diligence. The automobile was called “karoca bez konja” meaning the coach without horses. Parisian driver drove the automobile that was produced in
French fi rm “Delahaye”. It took 5 hours and 45 minutes to get from Cetinje to Niksic. That was the first car ever in Montenegro at the same time. Soon after, a bus with ten seats and space for post had regularly scheduled route between Kotor and Niksic, going through Podgorica and Cetinje.
_
_ The first automobile came in Montenegro in the beginning of July 1902, two years after the first automobile was produced in the world. Bourbon prince, the son of Don Carlos, Spanish pretender and his wife were driven in it from Kotor to Cetinje.
The first railway in Montenegro was connecting Bar and Virpazar.
On the 13-th of September 1908 the fi rst train was on those tracks and two months later there was a regular train running schedule.
This fi rst railway was built thanks to the investment of Italian capital through the Society of Bar (Compagnia di Antivari).

_ The first hospital on the territory of today’s Montenegro was established in Kotor in 1067. It had special wards for contagious patients and lepers.

_ The first educated doctors in Montenegro were mentioned in Kotor in 1326. According to some writing from the 1326 Kotor had two doctors, internist and surgeon, barber-dentist and pharmacist.

_ The first pharmacy in Montenegro was opened in Kotor in 1326. It was one of the oldest pharmacies in the whole area of former Yugoslavia.


THE EMBASSY
OF DUBROVNIK IN TUZI

_ Italy, Russia, France, Austro-Hungarian, Great Britain, Germany, Bulgaria, Belgium, Greece, Serbia, USA and Turkey had their diplomatic missions in Montenegro during the reign of Nikola I Petrovic in the 19-th century.

_ Greek ambassador was the last diplomat to leave Cetinje after King Nikola was dethroned. He gave the keys of his residence to Austrian authorities in January 1916.

_ France was the first state to end diplomatic relations with King Nikola and his refugee government on the 20-th of December 1920. USA followed on the 21st of January 1921 and soon after England on the 17-th of March 1921. That is how the forces of Allies gave approval to liquidation of Montenegro as a state and its joining to Serbia and The Kingdom of SCS.

_ Germany was the first state to name the ambassador in the independent Montenegro. Thomas Schmitt was named a first ambassador in Podgorica in the beginning of 2007.

MONTENEGRIN
DIASPORA

The fi rst emigrations were registered in 1478. Montenegrins went to Zadar, Senjsko primorje, Zumberak, Pakrac, Drnis, Benkovac and other places. Since 1614, every year about 2000 Montenegrins were going to work in the salines on the Coast, which was the territory of the Venetian Republic in those times.

_ The fi rst Montenegrin emigrant in the USA was from the county of Katuni. He went to United States in 1879.

_ 2.500 Montenegrins lived in Hazelton, Pennsylvania at the end of the last century. They were mostly working as miners.
Because of their tendency to solve problems as they did at home, Hazelton counted 12 fights of Montenegrins between themselves and other emigrants and 12 people was dead in one day.


MASONIC LODGE OF THE
NAPOLEON’S SOLDIERS

_ The first Masonic lodge in the area of the former Yugoslavia was established in Montenegro. “The lodge of Saint Jean”, whose members were Napoleon’s soldiers and offi cers, was established in Kotor in 1807. The lodge was closed when the Frenchmen left Kotor.

_ Sima Milutinovic Sarajlija, the teacher of Petar II Petrovic Njegos to whom he dedicated “The Light of Microcosm”, was mason.
As it is often said and still not known for sure, Njegos was initiated in Italy.

_ In 1918 The Grand Masonic Lodge in Paris made a decision that Montenegro should join Serbia. That is how international
Masonry signed death sentence to Montenegro, because after that wherever Montenegro asked for help it was refused. Interesting opinion about that is given in the letter that Jovan Plamenac wrote to King Aleksandar on the 31st of January 1925.

THE FIFTH TYPE OF THE
BEER IN THE WORLD

_ Montenegrins learned to drink coff ee from Turks and afterwards they started to drink alcohol that was smuggled from Skadar.

_ According to some written documents, the first tavern in Montenegro was opened in Cetinje in 1832.

_ “Rakija” (a strong alcoholic drink) was not drunk in huge amounts until the second half of the 19-th century. Then and years after, wine and rakija were rarely drunk in huge amounts and it was unusual to see Montenegrins drunk.

_ Niksicko pivo is special, fifth type of the beer in the world. The brewery “Trebjesa” was built in 1896. Its first name was “Onogost”. Establishment of this brewery is the beginning of industry not just in Niksic but in whole Montenegro.

TENNIS UNDER LOVCEN

_ The building of the first tennis court in Montenegro started in 1891 and it was finished in 1910. Cetinje used to have ten tennis courts. The first tennis clubs in Sarajevo and Bitolj were not established until the third decade of the last century. In Slovenia tennis was played ten years later then in Montenegro.

_ King Nikola I Petrovic played the first game of tennis ever in Montenegro in Cetinje in 1894. King played the game dressed up in the entire national costume.

_ British revue “Arena” published a text “Montenegrin King plays tennis in Cetinje” and a photograph of Princes Mirko and Danilo and princesses Ksenija and Vjera playing tennis.

_ The first tennis and golf club in Montenegro were established in Cetinje in 1906. Bicyclists club was established a year earlier. Foreign diplomats brought tennis and golf in Cetinje in 19-th century. At the beginning of 20-th century a lot of familiar and unfamiliar sports were brought in by Montenegrin students abroad.
Tennis was played in the circles of diplomatic branches in Cetinje and in the Court of King Nikola. King played tennis as well.

_ Valley-ball playing started mostly in the coastal area of Montenegro in the third decade of the 20-th century. There were ten registered clubs.

_ The family with most sportsmen in Montenegro is family Mahmutovic from Podgorica. Six brothers and sisters Mahmutovic were practicing diff erent sports. The oldest Geno born in 1940 was the champion of Yugoslavia in parachuting, Uso was the boxing champion and representative of Yugoslavia, Bahro was practicing gymnastics, Ramo was a car racer, Dzavid and Mirsad were boxers and Muniba was a handball player. All of them have many sport trophies.

_ Champions and gold medal carriers on many European contests were from Montenegro. Some of them are: boxers Miodrag Perunovic (1979), member of the karate club “Buducnost” (Future) from Podgorica Samir Usenagic (1986) and member of judo club “Akademac” (Academic) from Niksic Dragomir Becanovic (1987).

_ Chess was played in Montenegro before the 1888.

_ Chess was the favorite game in the Court of Kind Nikola.
Montenegrin King was very good chess player.

_ “Game on the chess” is mentioned in the Law on Possessions of Valtazar Bogisic from 1888. That was the only case of chess legalization in the world.

_ According to the uncertain sources, Mihailo Vukovic brought a first soccer ball to Cetinje at the beginning of the 20-th century. His name is also connected with the beginning of soccer playing in Berane. He was the son of the famous Montenegrin diplomat Duke Gavro Vukovic. According to other sources brothers Luka and Milo Milunovic (later famous painter) brought the first soccer ball from Italy in 1914.

_ An Englishman Alexin Miller brought the first soccer ball in Podgorica in 1909. He was a member of one trading company in England. First ball was used for playing on the open parking lot near today’s Square of Republic. The cars on the lot had iron wheels and security chains.

_ Muslim priest Safet Hazandarevic was chosen for a member of the soccer club “Lovcen” in 1926. He was an imam in the 38-th foot unit in Cetinje.

_ The first international soccer game between representations of Montenegro and Albania was played in Cetinje on the 1st of May 1945. Montenegro won the game- 2:1.

THE NATURAL
LABORATORY

_ Montenegro has as much as vegetal units as the whole area of Europe. In the area of Montenegro there are 2.833 plant breeds and sub breeds. 220 plants among them are characteristic only for the area of Balkans and 22 are the plants that exist only in Montenegro.

_ 52 plant breeds in Montenegro are protected as well as the whole order of the plants Ophrys from the family of Orchidaceae.

_ 180 plant breeds and about 450 sub breeds, forms and varieties, grows in Montenegro. Montenegro has about 20 new hybrids as well.

_ “Zanovet” (Laburnum) which grows on couple of locations in Montenegro is one of the most interesting plants in the flora of Balkan. In 1822, German botanic Ziber described it under the name Cytisus ramentaceus as the new plant for science.

_ Some endemic breeds in Montenegro are: Edraianthus Glisicii, Verbascum Durmitoreum Rohl, Daphne Malyana Blecic. In the flora of Lovcen there are 1200 breeds. There are a lot of Balkans endemics and three Lovcen’s endemic breeds.

_ The oldest tree in Europe grows near the road that leads from Bar to Ulcinj. It is an Olive tree that is over 2000 years old. The circumference of its trunk is about ten m. It is under the protection of the state and it is a huge tourist attraction. Italians were off ering millions and millions of liras to dig it with a root and take it to Rome.

_ Kasoronj (Trupa Longicurpa) grows only in the Skadar Lake and nowhere else in the world. Although its root is always in water it can’t carry the fruit if there is no rain in the summer. The kasoronj’s fruit is very tasty.

_ There are two eucharis trees growing in the park in Tivat. Those are real rareness because there are no more eucharis trees on Balkans.

_ The first article about flora in Montenegro was published in 1886. Italian botanic Antonio Baldacci described the plants that are growing in the Cetinjsko polje in the magazine “Glas Crnogorca” (The voice of Montenegrin). Next article about flora was published in 1965. Four hundreds of authors wrote 1.800 articles about exploration of Montenegrin flora and vegetation.

_ Two types of fish that can’t be found anywhere else in the world live in Skadar Lake. Those are “ukljeva” and “krap”.

_ The eels from Skadar Lake travel for months toward Sargask Sea, towards Cuba and Bahamas, for spawning. Transparent little eels travel back from there for three years without any “guides” because eels that were spawning died in the Gulf of Mexico.

_ In the last 20 years, ten new fish species are discovered in the Skadar Lake.

_ The richest European river with “lipljen” (Thymallus thymallus) is river Ljuca near Gusinje.

_ Zimnicko Lake in the bottom of Durmitor is the only home for “serdarski triniton” which is the endemic amphibian specie.

_ Skadar Lake is one of the biggest bird reserves in Europe. Permanently or seasonally, 267 birds live there. It is also the habitat for 40 types of fish. In Europe “kudravi pelikan” (Pelecanus crispus) can be found only in the Skadar Lake.

_ The island Galebovo Ostrvo in Skadar Lake is the biggest nestling place of the silver gull in Montenegro. It is very interesting that sea birds are nestling in the fresh-waters.

_ The only European colony of the grey herons that are nestling in the branches of laurel is on the island Beska in the Skadar Lake.

_ Law for protection the nature in Montenegro gives special protection to 56 plants and 314 animals. Animals that are protected are: one specie of fish, 8 amphibians, 24 reptiles, 270 birds, 4 mammals and complete order of bats.

_ A lot of shells, crabs and 116 species of fish live in the South Adriatic.

MOUNTAIN AS
A MONUMENT

_ The only mosaic fi gure in the world dedicated to the God of dreams Hipnos is in Risan. The mosaics in Risan were discovered on the ground floor of the palace from the 2nd century and they are one of the most beautiful and most rare mosaics in Europe. They are often compared with the famous mosaics that are
ornamenting the palace of the tsar Hadrian in Tivoli near Rome. The mosaics in Risan are multi-colored, there are fi ve of them and all were done on-site. The most beautiful one is the elegant fi gure of the God of Dreams Hipnos.