Montenegro — map and facts

About Montenegro

Montenegro is a small Adriatic nation of approximately 620,000 people in the western Balkans, bordered by Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Albania, and Croatia. Its capital is Podgorica, while the historic coastal town of Cetinje was the former royal capital. Montenegro became a NATO member in 2017 and is an EU accession candidate. It declared independence from the State of Serbia and Montenegro in June 2006, following a referendum. The official language is Montenegrin, closely related to Serbian, Croatian, and Bosnian. The country's economy relies heavily on tourism — the Adriatic coast and Bay of Kotor attract significant numbers of visitors — as well as remittances and small-scale industry. Montenegro's name means "Black Mountain" in Italian, referring to the Lov?en massif that dominates its landscape.

Geography and Landscape

Montenegro is one of the most geographically diverse countries in Europe for its size. The Adriatic coast, though just 293 kilometres long, includes the spectacular Bay of Kotor (Boka Kotorska), a drowned river canyon often described as the southernmost fjord in Europe, and a string of resort beaches. The Dinaric Alps rise steeply from the coast to mountain ranges that include Durmitor (2,523 m), one of Europe's most impressive karst landscapes with glacial lakes, canyons, and the Tara River Canyon — Europe's deepest river canyon. The interior holds the historic Lake Skadar (Shkodër), the largest lake in the Balkans, shared with Albania. The climate ranges from Mediterranean on the coast to harsh alpine in the mountains, with some of the highest rainfall totals in Europe recorded in the northern highlands.

History

The region was part of Illyrian and Roman territories before Slavic tribes settled in the seventh century. The medieval principality of Zeta emerged in the area and resisted Ottoman conquest longer than most Balkan territories, with Cetinje remaining a mountain stronghold. Montenegro was recognised as an independent principality under the 1878 Treaty of Berlin and became a kingdom in 1910. It was occupied by Austria-Hungary during the First World War and incorporated into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes in 1918, later Yugoslavia. After Yugoslavia's collapse, Montenegro remained in a federation with Serbia. The 2006 independence referendum passed by a narrow margin. Montenegro joined NATO in 2017 and continues EU accession negotiations.