Interesting facts about Montenegro that actually have a source

I like odd facts, but only when they have a source. Plenty of what circulates about Montenegro comes from nowhere in particular, so here are only the ones I’ve been able to check on official websites, from the constitution to the National Tourism Organisation.

An ecological state, two capitals and the euro

The word ‘ecological’ sits in Article 1 of the 2007 constitution, and it even has its own day, 20 September. Four articles on, Article 5 splits the honours between Podgorica, the capital, and Cetinje, the old royal capital. And the euro circulates although Montenegro isn’t in the EU and has signed no deal with Brussels, as the European Commission notes. There’s more on the name itself, Crna Gora, in Crna Gora and Montenegro.

Spain, pirates and a legend

The Ulcinj Tourism Organisation tells the legend that Miguel de Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote, was held captive in the town, which the National Tourism Organisation says was a pirate base from 1571. It’s presented as a legend, with no document to prove it. What does have a source is Spain’s brief stay in Herceg Novi, where the Španjola fortress is linked to the conquest of 1538. For everything else in the timeline, see the history of Montenegro.

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Water that changes size, and very deep canyons

Lake Skadar has no fixed size. The National Tourism Organisation gives it 370 km² in summer and 540 km² in winter, with around 280 bird species including the Dalmatian pelican. Up north, Durmitor’s Black Lake reaches 49.1 m deep according to MONSTAT. And the Tara Canyon drops to 1,333 m between Obzor and Štuoc. It’s all brought together in Montenegro’s lakes and Montenegro’s canyons and waterfalls.

Underground and underwater

Đalovića Cave, by Bijelo Polje, runs for 17,500 m, more than any other cave in the country, and has an 18 m stalagmite and a 220 m underground lake, according to the National Tourism Organisation. In Lake Skadar, the steamer Skenderbeg, built in Trieste in 1916, sank in Karuč bay in 1942 and can now be visited by divers with local clubs. And at Crvena stijena, near Nikšić, people lived on and off for 180,000 years, leaving 31 distinct layers.

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Museum pieces with a story

Three are my favourites. The Hypnos in the Risan mosaics, an image of the god of sleep with no known equal. The 400 kg carpet in the Husein Pasha Mosque in Pljevlja, commissioned in Egypt around 1573. And the submarine Heroj in Tivat, from 1968 and about 50 m long. Museums with other surprises, such as Kotor’s Cats Museum, are in museums in Montenegro.

One for British readers

MONSTAT recorded 111,844 arrivals from the UK in 2024, with 569,616 overnight stays, which puts the UK among the bigger western European markets, behind Germany with 144,172. Spain, by comparison, sent 14,553.

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