Montenegro Culture

The relationship of the Montenegrins towards the culture and art is best described by the famous painting by Jaroslav Cermak “Moving the paintings from the Cetinje court”, in which the Montenegrins save the paintings, while retreating before the Turkish army. Numerous galleries, theatres, festivals and other cultural events show that the Montenegrin people pay a lot of attention to the culture.

The diversity of the periods that came one after the other in this region have left their traces behind in many localities in Montenegro. From the Paleolithic, through the Bronze age, all the way to the Renaissance and Baroque, Montenegro has been enriched with the cultural heritage. The high concentration of the artistic and cultural wealth was recognized in the Kotor Bay, so the town of Kotor was included in the UNESCO list of cultural heritage.

The monasteries that are dispersed throughout Montenegro, from the Byzantine period until the modern times, reveal the spiritual wealth. Each one of them has its own unique way to enchant the visitors. One of them is the Ostrog Monastery which attracts people from around the world with its exceptional spiritual power and the unique ambiance. Carved into the high rocks, it is very important as a spiritual and historic center of Montenegro.

The printed word in Montenegro goes way back in history. Thirty-eight years after the Gutenberg’s Bible, in 1493, the first printing shop in the Balkans started its operations. One year later the first book was printed – Oktoih (Octoechos). All this was a precondition for the future development of literature in Montenegro. Through Andrija Zmajevic, the baroque poet and theologist, Petar I, and Petar II Petrovic Njegos, one of the best known Montenegrin philosophers and statesmen, as well as Marko Miljanov and Stefan Mitrov Ljubisa, Montenegrin literature became famous internationally.

The painters gave a great contribution to the success of the Montenegrin culture in the world. Leaving to the other parts of the world, they took the Montenegrin soul with them and transmitted it to the others through their artworks and thus enchanted the world.

Milo Milunovic, Petar Lubarda and Dado Djuric are just a few in the group of artists who presented Montenegro internationally in the best possible way.