The flag of Montenegro, its coat of arms and its anthem

Montenegro’s flag is easy to recognise once you know what to look for. The constitution itself describes it, in Article 4, and does so in a single sentence. Here’s what that article says about all three symbols, and also what it leaves out, which matters just as much if you don’t want to repeat things without a basis.

Red, with arms and a gold border

Article 4 says Montenegro has a coat of arms, a flag and a national anthem, and defines the flag as red, with the coat of arms in the centre and a gold border. That’s it. No stripes, no stars, just the red field, the emblem and the gold trim framing it. For me the border is what makes it distinctive, and it’s what I’d check before anything else so as not to confuse it with another flag.

What the constitution doesn’t set out are the proportions or the exact shade of each colour. If those are defined anywhere, it’s in separate legislation I haven’t read, so I’m not giving you measurements or colour codes I can’t back up.

A two-headed eagle carrying a lion

The coat of arms, the emblem in the middle of the flag, is a golden double-headed eagle with a lion on its chest. Those are the two features I’d look for, the two-headed eagle in gold and the lion. You’ll see other eagles on other flags and crests around the Balkans, and the lion on the chest is what marks out Montenegro’s.

Several explanations of what each element stands for circulate, mostly tied to the country’s past, but none of them is in the constitution or on the official sites I use. If that past interests you, I go through it with dates and sources in the history of Montenegro.

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The anthem, a bright May dawn

The same article gives the national anthem’s title, ‘Oj svijetla majska zoro’, roughly ‘Oh, bright dawn of May’ in English. The constitution doesn’t include the full lyrics or say who wrote them, only the title, so that’s all I can give you here with any confidence.

Where it sits in the constitution

The symbols are in Article 4, just before Article 5, which makes Podgorica the capital and gives Cetinje the title of old royal capital. Article 1 opens the text with the country’s own name, Crna Gora, whose meaning I explain in Crna Gora and Montenegro.

If you’d like to be there on the country’s big days, the law sets aside two state holidays, one in May and one in July, each with two days off. Dates and what closes are in Montenegro public holidays, and 21 May has its own story in Montenegro’s Independence Day.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Cetinje and pick one that fits your day.

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