Culture of Montenegro
Encyclopedia
The culture
of present-day Montenegro
is as pluralistic and diverse as its history
and geographical position
would suggest. Montenegro's culture has drawn influences mainly from ancient Greece
, ancient Rome
, Christianity
, Islam
, Byzantine Empire
, Bulgarian Empire
, Serbian Empire
, Ottoman Empire
, Republic of Venice
, Austria-Hungary
, Kingdom of italy
and Yugoslavia
ideal of Čojstvo i Junaštvo, roughly translated as "Humanity and Bravery". Another result of its centuries long warrior
history, it is the unwritten code of Chivalry
that stipulates that to deserve a true respect of its people, a person has to show virtues of integrity
, dignity
, humility
, self-sacrifice for the just cause, respect
for others, and Rectitude along with the bravery. In the old days of battle, it resulted in Montenegrins fighting to the death as being captured was considered the greatest shame
.
This code of conduct is still very much ingrained, to greater or lesser extent, in every Montenegrin's ethical beliefs system and it is essential that it be kept in mind in order to truly understand them. Coming from non-warrior backgrounds, most of other South-Slavic nations never fully grasp it, resulting in reactions from totally ignoring it, in the best case, to mocking it or ignorantly equating it with backwardness.
Most of extraordinary examples of Montenegrin conduct during its long history can be traced to the code.
Funerals often turn into social events.
region.
It is as much a communal gathering and a game as it is a dance in the strictest sense. Typically, young men and women would gather and form a circle (kolo), then start to sing, usually in form of playfully mocking someone from the other side and daring them to enter the circle to dance. One of the more daring young men would then enter the circle and start to dance in a stylistic imitation of an Eagle. The aim here is to impress. The gallery crowd will immediately respond with a "feedback" song, either praising or ridiculing him.
Soon, a girl would join, quite often his girlfriend or possibly someone attracted by his display. She would also imitate an Eagle, but in a more elegant way. The gallery also keeps up. When the couple gets tired, they kiss each other on the cheek and another couple jumps in to keep the kolo going, while the singing of the surrounding crowd never stops.
Usually the young lads finish oro by forming a two-story circle, standing on one other's shoulders, inside the greater circle and this is the scene that is the most recognisable and most often photographed part of the dance.
Musical instruments are never part of the true Oro.
This dance is done at weddings and gatherings between a man and a woman. The dance consists of intricate fast-moving steps, the man and woman moving closer and farther away from each other in ordinance with the fast-paced rhythm, while dancing it is common for the woman to shake her handkerchief up in the air while performing the steps.
While this dance is performed it is usual for drums to play and other instruments while the audience clap rhythmically to the beat. This dance is done mostly in the Sandzak
region of Montenegro
.
. Traditionally, they are delivered to the audience accompanied by the music produced by gusle
, one-string instrument played by the story-teller (guslar), who sings or recites the stories of heroes and battles in decasyllabic verse
. Historically, these songs have had an immense motivational power over the population. The guslars commanded almost as much respect as the best of warrior
s, as they were as much the authors, thus history writers, as they were interpreters.
In the best "traditions" of the modern public domain
and open-source movement, these songs had been composed and passed on by the unknown guslars since high middle ages
onwards. Other guslars adopted the songs and could amend them as they saw fit, which usually resulted in a number of slightly different versions of the same story, of varying quality. The "quality control" were the listeners themselves, who loudly objected during the performance if some parts of the story were inaccurate or embellished out of proportions. The guslars had had more "poetical freedom" when they interpreted the events further back in the past, as there could have been no witnesses present. Thus, the historical accuracy of the song declined with the widening of the time gap. Most of the songs have been collected, assessed and recorded on paper by Vuk Karadžić in the 19th century along with Serbian epic poetry
, some being of exceptional literary quality.
The most famous recorded guslar-interpreter was indisputably Petar Perunović Perun
, from Pješivci
tribe. He reached his peak during the first few decades of the 20th century when he made numerous recordings and tours in America and all across Europe.
The most popular Montenegrin epic song heroes are Bajo Pivljanin, Nikac od Rovina and pop Milo Jovović. Contemporary alternative rock author Rambo Amadeus
proved with his Smrt Popa Mila Jovovica (The Death of Priest Milo Jovovic) that these songs can be very successfully adapted to the modern art format without losing any of its original appeal.
Presently, these traditions are somewhat livelier in the northern parts of the country, (and also shared with people in eastern Herzegovina
, western Serbia
and central Dalmatia
).
For an extensive list see:
coast have a distinctively Italian
flavour which shows in the bread
-making style, the way meat
is cured and dried, cheese
making, wine
and spirits
, the soup
and stew
making style, polenta
, stuffed capsicum
s, meatball
s, priganice, japraci
, Raštan
, etc..
The second large influence came from the Levant
and Turkey
, lately largely via Serbia
: sarma
, musaka
, pilav
, pita
, burek
, Ćevapi, kebab
, Turkish sweets like baklava
and tulumba
etc.
Hungarian dishes goulash
, satarash, djuvech are also very common.
Last but not least, continental Europe
made its mark mostly in the desserts department. Additionally crêpe
s, doughnut
s, jams, myriad types of biscuit
s and cake
s, all make a contribution to the average Montenegrin's waist-line. Vienna
-style bread is the most prevalent type of bread in the shops.
Montenegrin cuisine also varies geographically; the cuisine in the coastal area differs from the one in the northern highland region. The coastal area is traditionally a representative of Mediterranean cuisine, with seafood
being a common dish.
, Gothic
and Baroque
periods.
The Montenegrin coastal region is especially well known for its religious monuments, mostly related to Venetian
architecture, 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. The ancient city of Cattaro (now called Kotor
) is listed on the UNESCO
World Heritage list, even as a perfect example of the venetian architecture.
The Byzantine
influence in architecture and in religious artwork is especially apparent in the country's interior.
) was located in Cetinje
in 1494, where the first South Slavic
book was printed the same year (Oktoih
). A number of medieval manuscripts, dating from the 13th century, are kept in the Montenegrin monasteries.
The coastal Montenegro (called for centuries Venetian Albania) was heavily influenced by Renaissance
Italy, mainly in literature. Ludovico Pasquali
, Giovanni Bona de Boliris and Giovanni Polizza were the main representatives in those centuries.
On the substratum of traditional oral folk epic poetry, authors like Petar II Petrović Njegoš have created in the last two centuries their own expression. His epic Gorski Vijenac (The Mountain Wreath
), written in the Montenegrin
vernacular
, presents the central point of the Montenegrin culture, for many surpassing in importance even the Bible.
, bringing up a whole new wave of talent. Some of the most prominent artists are listed below:
and Titograd
were the pillars of the classical music education, the latter being upgraded to the rank of Academy in the last decade of 20th century. Particular attention is given to Choir
and Chamber music
. In addition, a professional orchestra is maintained by a national TV in Podgorica.
in Podgorica is the only professional theatre and along with the Faculty of Drama
, located in Cetinje
is responsible for the majority of theatre productions in the country. During Summer months, City Theatre in Budva
takes precedence as a stage for performers coming from all corners of former Yugoslavia
and the world.
Many scholars believe that the biggest contribution to Montenegrin music in theater was the one from the Italian composer who spent the most part of his life in these areas: Dionisio de Sarno San Giorgio. With his "Balkan Empress" – inspired by the work of King Nikola, got all the praises of Italian critique in the second half of the XIX century.
, the first Yugoslav Oscar winner (for the short animated film category in 1961), Veljko Bulajić
and Živko Nikolić
.
is partially set in Montenegro.
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
of present-day Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
is as pluralistic and diverse as its history
History of Montenegro
The History of Montenegro begins in the early Middle Ages, into the former Roman province of Dalmatia that forms present-day Montenegro.-Illyria:...
and geographical position
Geography of Montenegro
Montenegro is a small, mountainous state in south-west Balkans. Montenegro borders Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Albania and the Adriatic Sea...
would suggest. Montenegro's culture has drawn influences mainly from ancient Greece
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
, ancient Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
, Bulgarian Empire
Bulgarian Empire
Bulgarian Empire is a term used to describe two periods in the medieval history of Bulgaria, during which it acted as a key regional power in Europe in general and in Southeastern Europe in particular, rivalling Byzantium...
, Serbian Empire
Serbian Empire
The Serbian Empire was a short-lived medieval empire in the Balkans that emerged from the Serbian Kingdom. Stephen Uroš IV Dušan was crowned Emperor of Serbs and Greeks on 16 April, 1346, a title signifying a successorship to the Eastern Roman Empire...
, Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
, Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
, Kingdom of italy
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
and Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
Ethical beliefs
A very important dimension of Montenegrin culture is the ethicalEthics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
ideal of Čojstvo i Junaštvo, roughly translated as "Humanity and Bravery". Another result of its centuries long warrior
Warrior
A warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...
history, it is the unwritten code of Chivalry
Chivalry
Chivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood which has an aristocratic military origin of individual training and service to others. Chivalry was also the term used to refer to a group of mounted men-at-arms as well as to martial valour...
that stipulates that to deserve a true respect of its people, a person has to show virtues of integrity
Integrity
Integrity is a concept of consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations, and outcomes. In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions...
, dignity
Dignity
Dignity is a term used in moral, ethical, and political discussions to signify that a being has an innate right to respect and ethical treatment. It is an extension of the Enlightenment-era concepts of inherent, inalienable rights...
, humility
Humility
Humility is the quality of being modest, and respectful. Humility, in various interpretations, is widely seen as a virtue in many religious and philosophical traditions, being connected with notions of transcendent unity with the universe or the divine, and of egolessness.-Term:The term "humility"...
, self-sacrifice for the just cause, respect
Respect
Respect denotes both a positive feeling of esteem for a person or other entity , and also specific actions and conduct representative of that esteem. Respect can be a specific feeling of regard for the actual qualities of the one respected...
for others, and Rectitude along with the bravery. In the old days of battle, it resulted in Montenegrins fighting to the death as being captured was considered the greatest shame
Shame
Shame is, variously, an affect, emotion, cognition, state, or condition. The roots of the word shame are thought to derive from an older word meaning to cover; as such, covering oneself, literally or figuratively, is a natural expression of shame....
.
This code of conduct is still very much ingrained, to greater or lesser extent, in every Montenegrin's ethical beliefs system and it is essential that it be kept in mind in order to truly understand them. Coming from non-warrior backgrounds, most of other South-Slavic nations never fully grasp it, resulting in reactions from totally ignoring it, in the best case, to mocking it or ignorantly equating it with backwardness.
Most of extraordinary examples of Montenegrin conduct during its long history can be traced to the code.
Montenegrin funeral
An absolute institution in the Montenegrin Culture. You are 'allowed' to miss someone's wedding, but not coming to their funeral will be remembered.Funerals often turn into social events.
Laws
- A Montenegrin tradition made into law in Montenegro by King Nikola during his reign, consisting of newly-weds planting an olive tree on their wedding day as a symbol of marriage.
- An ancient Montenegrin code of honor, called simply "Zakletva", an oath of revenge for vendetta, similar to the Albanian "Besa".
- The Montenegrin law of vendetta, "Krvna Osveta", where one Montenegrin must take revenge on whoever killed his relative by killing the murderer or one of the murderer's close relatives.
Oro
The traditional dance of Montenegrins is called the Oro - also known as the Crmnički Oro - due to it's origin in the CrmnicaCrmnica
Crmnica is a geographical region in southern Montenegro. It is within the municipality of Bar and is considered a division of that municipality. The capital of the region is Virpazar...
region.
It is as much a communal gathering and a game as it is a dance in the strictest sense. Typically, young men and women would gather and form a circle (kolo), then start to sing, usually in form of playfully mocking someone from the other side and daring them to enter the circle to dance. One of the more daring young men would then enter the circle and start to dance in a stylistic imitation of an Eagle. The aim here is to impress. The gallery crowd will immediately respond with a "feedback" song, either praising or ridiculing him.
Soon, a girl would join, quite often his girlfriend or possibly someone attracted by his display. She would also imitate an Eagle, but in a more elegant way. The gallery also keeps up. When the couple gets tired, they kiss each other on the cheek and another couple jumps in to keep the kolo going, while the singing of the surrounding crowd never stops.
Usually the young lads finish oro by forming a two-story circle, standing on one other's shoulders, inside the greater circle and this is the scene that is the most recognisable and most often photographed part of the dance.
Musical instruments are never part of the true Oro.
Šota
A dance of Muslim Montenegrins of Montenegro is the Šota.This dance is done at weddings and gatherings between a man and a woman. The dance consists of intricate fast-moving steps, the man and woman moving closer and farther away from each other in ordinance with the fast-paced rhythm, while dancing it is common for the woman to shake her handkerchief up in the air while performing the steps.
While this dance is performed it is usual for drums to play and other instruments while the audience clap rhythmically to the beat. This dance is done mostly in the Sandzak
Sandžak
Sandžak also known as Raška is a historical region lying along the border between Serbia and Montenegro...
region of Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
.
Awesome songs
Montenegrins' long-standing history of struggle for freedom and independence is invariably linked with strong traditions of oral epic poetryEpic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
. Traditionally, they are delivered to the audience accompanied by the music produced by gusle
Gusle
The Gusle is a single-stringed musical instrument traditionally used in the Dinarides region of the Balkans ....
, one-string instrument played by the story-teller (guslar), who sings or recites the stories of heroes and battles in decasyllabic verse
Decasyllable
Decasyllable is a poetic meter of ten syllables used in poetic traditions of syllabic verse...
. Historically, these songs have had an immense motivational power over the population. The guslars commanded almost as much respect as the best of warrior
Warrior
A warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...
s, as they were as much the authors, thus history writers, as they were interpreters.
In the best "traditions" of the modern public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
and open-source movement, these songs had been composed and passed on by the unknown guslars since high middle ages
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages was the period of European history around the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries . The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500....
onwards. Other guslars adopted the songs and could amend them as they saw fit, which usually resulted in a number of slightly different versions of the same story, of varying quality. The "quality control" were the listeners themselves, who loudly objected during the performance if some parts of the story were inaccurate or embellished out of proportions. The guslars had had more "poetical freedom" when they interpreted the events further back in the past, as there could have been no witnesses present. Thus, the historical accuracy of the song declined with the widening of the time gap. Most of the songs have been collected, assessed and recorded on paper by Vuk Karadžić in the 19th century along with Serbian epic poetry
Serbian epic poetry
Serb epic poetry is a form of epic poetry written by Serbs originating in today's Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Montenegro. The main cycles were composed by unknown Serb authors between the 14th and 19th centuries...
, some being of exceptional literary quality.
The most famous recorded guslar-interpreter was indisputably Petar Perunović Perun
Petar Perunovic
Petar Perunović , nicknamed Perun, was a famous Montenegrin and Serbian gusle player....
, from Pješivci
Pješivci
Pješivci are a Montenegrin tribe from Montenegro consisting of numerous fraternities of mutual origin.Pjesivci are firstly mentioned in 1455 in the contract between Stefan Crnojevic and the people from Gornja Zeta with the Venetians...
tribe. He reached his peak during the first few decades of the 20th century when he made numerous recordings and tours in America and all across Europe.
The most popular Montenegrin epic song heroes are Bajo Pivljanin, Nikac od Rovina and pop Milo Jovović. Contemporary alternative rock author Rambo Amadeus
Rambo Amadeus
Rambo Amadeus is the stage name of the Belgrade-based Montenegrin singer-songwriter Antonije Pušić, popular all over the former Yugoslavia...
proved with his Smrt Popa Mila Jovovica (The Death of Priest Milo Jovovic) that these songs can be very successfully adapted to the modern art format without losing any of its original appeal.
Presently, these traditions are somewhat livelier in the northern parts of the country, (and also shared with people in eastern Herzegovina
Herzegovina
Herzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the west, Montenegro to the south, the canton boundaries of the Herzegovina-Neretva...
, western Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
and central Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
).
Montenegrin names
There are many Montenegrin names unique to the Montenegrin people which display the distinct culture of the Montenegrins.For an extensive list see:
Cuisine
The traditional dishes of Montenegro's heartland and its AdriaticAdriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
coast have a distinctively Italian
Italian cuisine
Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BCE. Italian cuisine in itself takes heavy influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and Arab cuisines...
flavour which shows in the bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
-making style, the way meat
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
is cured and dried, cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
making, wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
and spirits
Distilled beverage
A distilled beverage, liquor, or spirit is an alcoholic beverage containing ethanol that is produced by distilling ethanol produced by means of fermenting grain, fruit, or vegetables...
, the soup
Soup
Soup is a generally warm food that is made by combining ingredients such as meat and vegetables with stock, juice, water, or another liquid. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ingredients in liquids in a pot until the flavors are extracted, forming a broth.Traditionally,...
and stew
Stew
A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables , meat, especially tougher meats suitable for slow-cooking, such as beef. Poultry, sausages, and seafood are also used...
making style, polenta
Polenta
Polenta is a dish made from boiled cornmeal. The word "polenta" is borrowed from Italian.-Description:Polenta is made with ground yellow or white cornmeal , which can be ground coarsely or finely depending on the region and the texture desired.As it is known today, polenta derives from earlier...
, stuffed capsicum
Capsicum
Capsicum is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its species are native to the Americas where they have been cultivated for thousands of years, but they are now also cultivated worldwide, used as spices, vegetables, and medicines - and have become are a key element in...
s, meatball
Meatball
A meatball is made from an amount of ground meat rolled into a small ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as breadcrumbs, minced onion, spices, and possibly eggs...
s, priganice, japraci
Dolma
Dolma is a family of stuffed vegetable dishes in the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire and surrounding regions such as Russia, Middle East and the Caucasus and Central and South Asia. Perhaps the best-known is the grape-leaf dolma. Common vegetables to stuff include onion, zucchini, eggplant,...
, Raštan
Collard greens
Collard greens are various loose-leafed cultivars of Brassica oleracea , the same species as cabbage and broccoli. The plant is grown for its large, dark-colored, edible leaves and as a garden ornamental, mainly in Brazil, Portugal, the southern United States, many parts of Africa, Montenegro,...
, etc..
The second large influence came from the Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
and Turkey
Turkish cuisine
Turkish cuisine is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, which can be described as a fusion and refinement of Central Asian, Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines. Turkish cuisine has in turn influenced those and other neighbouring cuisines, including that of western Europe...
, lately largely via Serbia
Serbian cuisine
Serbian cuisine is a heterogeneous cuisine, sharing characteristics of the Balkans , the Mediterranean , Turkish, and Central European cuisines....
: sarma
Sarma (food)
Sarma is a dish of grape, cabbage or chard leaves rolled around a filling usually based on minced meat. It is found in the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire from the Middle East to the Balkans and Central Europe.-Etymology and names:...
, musaka
Moussaka
Moussaka is an eggplant based dish of the Balkans, Eastern Mediterranean, and the Middle East. The best known variation outside the region is the Greek one.-Names and etymology:...
, pilav
Pilaf
Pilaf is a dish in which rice is cooked in a seasoned broth . In some cases, the rice may also attain its brown color by being stirred with bits of cooked onion, as well as a large mix of spices...
, pita
Pita
Pita or pitta is a round pocket bread widely consumed in many Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and Balkan cuisines. It is prevalent in Greece, the Balkans the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula and Turkey. The "pocket" in pita bread is created by steam, which puffs up the dough...
, burek
Burek
Börek is a family of baked or fried filled pastries made of a thin flaky dough known as yufka . It can be filled with cheese, often feta, sirene or kaşar; minced meat, or vegetables...
, Ćevapi, kebab
Kebab
Kebab is a wide variety of meat dishes originating in Middle East and later on adopted by the Middle East, and Asia Minor, and now found worldwide. In English, kebab with no qualification generally refers more specifically to shish kebab served on the skewer...
, Turkish sweets like baklava
Baklava
Baklava is a rich, sweet pastry made of layers of filo pastry filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey. It is characteristic of the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire and much of central and southwest Asia....
and tulumba
Tulumba
Tulumba , meaning pump) is a dessert in the Turkish, the Greek and the Bulgarian cuisine consisting of fried batter soaked in syrup.It is made from unleavened dough lump given a small ovoid shape with ridges along it using an 'icing' bag with a special nozzle. It is first deep-fried to golden...
etc.
Hungarian dishes goulash
Goulash
Goulash is a soup or stew of meat, noodles and vegetables , seasoned with paprika and other spices. Originating in Hungary, goulash is also a popular meal in Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Romania, Scandinavia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and the north-eastern Italian region of Friuli Venezia...
, satarash, djuvech are also very common.
Last but not least, continental Europe
Croatian cuisine
Croatian cuisine is heterogeneous and is known as the cuisine of regions, since every region has its own distinct culinary traditions. Its modern roots date back to ancient periods and the differences in the selection of foodstuffs and forms of cooking are most notable between those on the mainland...
made its mark mostly in the desserts department. Additionally crêpe
Crêpe
A crêpe or crepe , is a type of very thin pancake, usually made from wheat flour or buckwheat flour . The word is of French origin, deriving from the Latin crispa, meaning "curled". While crêpes originate from Brittany, a region in the northwest of France, their consumption is widespread in France...
s, doughnut
Doughnut
A doughnut or donut is a fried dough food and is popular in many countries and prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franchised specialty outlets...
s, jams, myriad types of biscuit
Biscuit
A biscuit is a baked, edible, and commonly flour-based product. The term is used to apply to two distinctly different products in North America and the Commonwealth Nations....
s and cake
Cake
Cake is a form of bread or bread-like food. In its modern forms, it is typically a sweet and enriched baked dessert. In its oldest forms, cakes were normally fried breads or cheesecakes, and normally had a disk shape...
s, all make a contribution to the average Montenegrin's waist-line. Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
-style bread is the most prevalent type of bread in the shops.
Montenegrin cuisine also varies geographically; the cuisine in the coastal area differs from the one in the northern highland region. The coastal area is traditionally a representative of Mediterranean cuisine, with seafood
Seafood
Seafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...
being a common dish.
Architecture
Montenegro has a number of significant cultural and historical sites, including heritage sites from the pre-RomanesqueRomanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
, Gothic
Gothic art
Gothic art was a Medieval art movement that developed in France out of Romanesque art in the mid-12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, but took over art more completely north of the Alps, never quite effacing more classical...
and Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
periods.
The Montenegrin coastal region is especially well known for its religious monuments, mostly related to Venetian
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
architecture, including the Cathedral of Saint Tryphon
Cathedral of Saint Tryphon
The Cathedral of Saint Tryphon in Kotor is one of two Roman Catholic cathedrals in Montenegro. It is the seat of the Croatian Catholic Bishopric of Kotor which covers the entire gulf, currently led by Bishop Mons...
, the basilica of St. Luke (over 800 years), Our Lady of the Rock (Škrpjela), the Savina Monastery
Savina monastery
Savina Monastery is a Serb Orthodox monastery near the city Herceg Novi in Boka Kotorska, and is made of thick Mediterranean vegetation in one of the most beautiful parts of the northern Montenegrin coast. It was built by the Duke of Saint Sava, Stjepan Vukčić Kosača of Herzegovina...
and others. The ancient city of Cattaro (now called Kotor
Kotor
Kotor is a coastal city in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Gulf of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative center of the municipality....
) is listed on the UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage list, even as a perfect example of the venetian architecture.
The Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
influence in architecture and in religious artwork is especially apparent in the country's interior.
Literature
The first literary works written in the region are ten centuries old, and the first Montenegrin book was printed five hundreds years ago. The first state-owned printing press (Printing House of CrnojevićiPrinting House of Crnojevici
Printing House of Crnojevići is the first Balkan printing house; the facility operated between 1493 and 1496 in Cetinje, Montenegro.It was founded by Đurađ IV Crnojević, the ruler of the Principality of Zeta between 1490 and 1496. The printing press was operated by orthodox monks led by hieromonk...
) was located in Cetinje
Cetinje
Cetinje , Цетиње / Cetinje , Italian: Cettigne, Greek: Κετίγνη, Ketígni) is a town and Old Royal Capital of Montenegro. It is also a historical and the secondary capital of Montenegro , with the official residence of the President of Montenegro...
in 1494, where the first South Slavic
South Slavs
The South Slavs are the southern branch of the Slavic peoples and speak South Slavic languages. Geographically, the South Slavs are native to the Balkan peninsula, the southern Pannonian Plain and the eastern Alps...
book was printed the same year (Oktoih
Oktoih
Oktoih , in English the Book of Psalms or Psalter, is an incunabula printed in Cetinje, Montenegro in 1494. Oktoih is a book of liturgical hymns for singing in eight parts. It was printed in the Printing House of Crnojevići by Đurađ IV Crnojević, an educated ruler of Montenegro from 1490-1496...
). A number of medieval manuscripts, dating from the 13th century, are kept in the Montenegrin monasteries.
The coastal Montenegro (called for centuries Venetian Albania) was heavily influenced by Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
Italy, mainly in literature. Ludovico Pasquali
Ludovico Pasquali
Ludovico Pasquali was an Italian author, from Cattaro in the Albania Veneta .-Life:...
, Giovanni Bona de Boliris and Giovanni Polizza were the main representatives in those centuries.
On the substratum of traditional oral folk epic poetry, authors like Petar II Petrović Njegoš have created in the last two centuries their own expression. His epic Gorski Vijenac (The Mountain Wreath
The Mountain Wreath
The Mountain Wreath is a poem and a play, a masterpiece of Montenegrin and Serbian literature, written by Montenegrin Prince-Bishop and poet Petar II Petrović-Njegoš.Njegoš wrote The Mountain Wreath during 1846 in Cetinje and published it the following year after the...
), written in the Montenegrin
Montenegrin language
Montenegrin is a name used for the Serbo-Croatian language as spoken by Montenegrins; it also refers to an incipient standardized form of the Shtokavian dialect of Serbo-Croatian used as the official language of Montenegro...
vernacular
Vernacular
A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...
, presents the central point of the Montenegrin culture, for many surpassing in importance even the Bible.
Painting
The painters from Montenegro gave a great contribution to the affirmation of the Montenegrin culture in the world. Leaving to the other parts of the world (Paris, Belgrade, Zagreb ...), they took their Montenegrin soul and heritage with them and passed it down to others through their artworks. Last 15 years saw the opening of the Faculty of the Fine Arts in CetinjeCetinje
Cetinje , Цетиње / Cetinje , Italian: Cettigne, Greek: Κετίγνη, Ketígni) is a town and Old Royal Capital of Montenegro. It is also a historical and the secondary capital of Montenegro , with the official residence of the President of Montenegro...
, bringing up a whole new wave of talent. Some of the most prominent artists are listed below:
- Milo MilunovićMilo MilunovicMilo Milunović was a distinguished Montenegrin painter. He dabbled in both Impressionism and Cubism.-Biography:...
- Petar LubardaPetar LubardaPetar Lubarda was a Serbian painter, considered to be an influential figure on post-war painting in former Yugoslavia....
- Dado ĐurićDado (painter)Dado , was a Yugoslavian-born artist who spent most of his life and creative career in France. He is particularly known as a painter but was also active as an engraver, drawer, book illustrator and sculptor....
- Vojo StanićVojo StanicVojo Stanić is a Montenegrin painter and sculptor.Vojo Stanić was born in 1924 in Podgorica. He completed Academy of Sculpture in Belgrade, after that he moved Herceg Novi....
- Dimitrije PopovićDimitrije PopovicDimitrije Popović is an eminent Montenegrin and Croatian painter, sculptor, art critic and philosopher born in Cetinje, Montenegro, on March 4, 1951...
- Boris DragojevićBoris DragojevićBoris Dragojević graduated at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade...
Music
The music of Montenegro has been relatively underlooked, especially in comparison with its literature and visual arts. Nevertheless, the 20th century produced several outstanding composers and interpreters. Specialised Musical High Schools in KotorKotor
Kotor is a coastal city in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Gulf of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative center of the municipality....
and Titograd
Podgorica
Podgorica , is the capital and largest city of Montenegro.Podgorica's favourable position at the confluence of the Ribnica and Morača rivers and the meeting point of the fertile Zeta Plain and Bjelopavlići Valley has encouraged settlement...
were the pillars of the classical music education, the latter being upgraded to the rank of Academy in the last decade of 20th century. Particular attention is given to Choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
and Chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
. In addition, a professional orchestra is maintained by a national TV in Podgorica.
Theatre
Montenegrin National TheatreMontenegrin National Theatre
The Montenegrin National Theatre is located in Montenegrin capital of Podgorica. It was founded in 1953, in the beginning as a city theatre, under the name Titograd National Theatre...
in Podgorica is the only professional theatre and along with the Faculty of Drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, located in Cetinje
Cetinje
Cetinje , Цетиње / Cetinje , Italian: Cettigne, Greek: Κετίγνη, Ketígni) is a town and Old Royal Capital of Montenegro. It is also a historical and the secondary capital of Montenegro , with the official residence of the President of Montenegro...
is responsible for the majority of theatre productions in the country. During Summer months, City Theatre in Budva
Budva
Budva is a coastal town in Montenegro. It has around 15,000 inhabitants, and it is the centre of municipality...
takes precedence as a stage for performers coming from all corners of former Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
and the world.
Many scholars believe that the biggest contribution to Montenegrin music in theater was the one from the Italian composer who spent the most part of his life in these areas: Dionisio de Sarno San Giorgio. With his "Balkan Empress" – inspired by the work of King Nikola, got all the praises of Italian critique in the second half of the XIX century.
Film
Considering its population of about 600 000 people, Montenegro has produced a number of outstanding film Directors and actors including Dušan VukotićDušan Vukotic
Dušan Vukotić was an award-winning cartoonist, author and director of animated films from Yugoslavia. He is the best known member of the Zagreb school of animated films....
, the first Yugoslav Oscar winner (for the short animated film category in 1961), Veljko Bulajić
Veljko Bulajic
Veljko Bulajić , today is a Croatian film director and actor of Montenegrin descent, most of his life working in Croatia...
and Živko Nikolić
Živko Nikolic
Živko Nikolić was a famous Montenegrin film director.-Biography:Živko Nikolić was born in Ozrinići, Nikšić municipality, Montenegro, Yugoslavia, in 1941. He graduated the Art School in Herceg Novi where he was trained as a painter of ceramics which contributed to his specific perception of the film...
.
Films with Montenegrin themes
The 2006 James Bond film Casino RoyaleCasino Royale (2006 film)
Casino Royale is the twenty-first film in the James Bond film series and the first to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond...
is partially set in Montenegro.