Montenegro's history & traditions

Take a tour through our history and traditions by watching parades of individually decorated boats compete in the waters of the Bay of Kotor, or by sampling local wine and common bleak fish at the Virpazar festival. Or maybe you would enjoy attending the royal court in Cetinje or witnessing the traditional kolo dance unique to Montenegro, the Crnogorsko oro!

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Montenegro's history & traditions

Facts:

Montenegro is a multi-religious and multi-ethnic country.

The Illyrian tribes were the first known ethnic groups (between the 5th and 2nd centuries BC)

Following the Illyrians, this area became a part of imperial Rome and its Prevalis province.

Following the fall of the great Roman Empire, the province of Prevalis became a part of Byzantium (6th century occupied by the Slavs)

The first state organization was conceived in the 9th century, and from the end of the 10th century, during the reign of Prince Vladimir, it became known as the Slavic Duklja, which was renamed Zeta in the 11th century.

It became a kingdom during the Vojislavljević dynasty (11th – 12th century).

It was the world's 27th independent state when it gained international recognition as an independent state on July 13, 1878.

From 1910 to 1918, Montenegro was its own kingdom.

Montenegro regained its independence and became an internationally recognized state on May 21, 2006.

Quick tip

Folk costume with gold stitching!

Imagine a small, modest country with unusually luxurious folk costumes! The Montenegrin folk costume is embroidered with gold and silver threads and is modeled after the robes of royalty. It was seen as the most valuable item in a household, and used to be worth a small estate!

Discover unique Montenegro

So small you could drive across it in an afternoon. Don’t just skim through it but try to truly absorb it’s essence.

Explore destination year-round

Although small country it is incredibly diverse. See how much it can offer you:

Travel responsibly

Did you know? In 1991, the Montenegrin authorities adopted a declaration by which the country became the first ecological state in the world.

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