Cetinje

Sister cities

• Kharkiv
• Rijeka
• Sinaia
• Alba Iulia
• Veliko Tarnovo
• Gaziantep

History

Cetinje was founded in 1482, when Ivan Crnojević moved his capital from Obod above the Crnojević River to deeper into the hills to a more easily defended location in a field at the foot of Mount Lovćen. He had his court built at the new location that year and also founded a monastery (dedicated to the Mother of Christ) as a personal endowment in 1484. His court and the monastery are the first recorded renaissance buildings in Montenegro. Crnojević was forced to move the seat of the Eparchy of Zeta from Vranjina to Cetinje due to the Ottoman invasions, in 1485. The town was named after the Cetina river. The bishopric of Zeta was elevated to a metropolitanate in Cetinje. Zeta was first put under Ottoman rule in 1499, then annexed by the Ottomans in 1514, organized into the Sanjak of Montenegro. In the next two centuries, the development of Cetinje stagnated. It was very often subject to attack by Venice and the Ottomans. The city therefore endured many privations in the course of the 16th and 17th centuries. During this period the court and the monastery of the Crnojevići dynasty were destroyed. It was only at the end of the 17th century, in 1697, that Cetinje began to flourish again under the rule of the Petrović dynasty, refounded by Danilo Petrović. Leading the wars of liberation and strengthening the unity in the country occupied Danilo and his successors, so they were unable to devote enough effort to the further development of Cetinje. It was only during the rule of Petar II Petrović Njegoš that far greater progress was made. In 1838 his new royal residence called Biljarda (Billiard house) was built. Cetinje was enlarged by building new houses that gradually led to genuine urbanization. Many modern buildings designed for foreign consulates were built due to…

Geography

Cetinje is situated in the karst field (Cetinje field) of about , with average height above sea level of . It is of airline far from Adriatic Sea and from Skadar Lake. Now, it is on the main road Podgorica-Cetinje-Budva, which makes it open to the interior of Montenegro and the Montenegrin coast. Cetinje has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfb), with relatively dry and warm summers, and mild and wet winters. Cetinje is well known for its plentiful precipitations, and is one of the rainiest towns in Europe with around of precipitation annually. Although abundant in precipitation, the Cetinje field and its surroundings do not have water flows on the surface and water sources are scarce. This is a consequence of the karst configuration and its geologic structure.

Most-observed species

• Pygmy cormorant

  Microcarbo pygmaeus (Pallas, 1773) · Aves
  762
• Yellow-legged Gull

  Larus michahellis J.F.Naumann, 1840 · Aves
  660
• Barn Swallow

  Hirundo rustica Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  643
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  616
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  558
• Gray/Purple Heron

  Ardea cinerea Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  556
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  534
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  498

Most recent

• M 4.3 — 2026-05-28
  12 km WSW of Bileća, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• M 4.1 — 2025-10-29
  22 km SSW of Plužine, Montenegro
• M 4 — 2025-05-22
  12 km WNW of Igalo, Montenegro
• M 4.4 — 2025-05-11
  22 km ENE of Bileća, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• M 4.3 — 2025-01-24
  14 km SE of Ulcinj, Montenegro
• M 4.4 — 2024-07-24
  25 km WNW of Mamurras, Albania