Njeguši, the plateau that gave Montenegro its rulers and its ham

Njeguši isn’t a picture-postcard village; it’s something better, a place where you start to see where Montenegro came from. It sits on a plateau of Mount Lovćen, halfway between the Bay of Kotor and Cetinje, surrounded by limestone, and at first glance it’s little more than a string of stone houses along the road. Yet the Petrović family came from here, Njegoš was born here and the country’s most famous ham is made here.

A fertile field among the stones

The Cetinje tourist board explains that the heart of Njeguši is its field, Njeguško polje, which locals simply call «Polje», a pocket of fertile ground in the middle of the karst. Around it are villages and hamlets, Žanjev Do, Mirac, Kopito, Dugi Do, Erakovići, Raičevići, Vrba, Velji Kraj and Veliki and Mali Zalazi, each belonging to a brotherhood with its own church and graveyard. The largest are Erakovići and Raičevići.

Being so close to Kotor and the sea made the place economically and politically important. The caravan route from Kotor up to Cetinje ran through here, the road that is now the Kotor serpentine. Njeguši cheese was sold in Kotor, Dalmatia, Trieste, Venice, Marseille and as far as Malta, and dried mutton and pršut were just as well known.

Cradle of the Petrović dynasty

The Njeguši clan, National Parks of Montenegro explains, put seven Petrović rulers at the head of the country across two centuries, and five of them led church and state together. By the road stands a group of stone family houses, Njegoš’s own, the Petrović tower house and those of Rade and Tomo Petrović, and in the same yard as Njegoš’s is the house of Vojvoda Mirko Petrović.

Njegoš’s birthplace is a rectangular stone house with a vaulted konoba, simple and undecorated in the local folk style. Today it belongs to the National Museum, like the museums in Cetinje. Another curiosity is the number of churches. The tourist board counts 15 today, and 17 before the Second World War.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Cetinje before prices climb.

Pršut and cheese

The reason most people stop is the food. The National Tourism Organisation explains that njeguški pršut is smoked only over beech wood and cured for six months, and that the secret is the climate, where sea winds meet mountain air. The Cetinje tourist board adds that it is still the village’s most important product. I go into it in more detail under Njeguši prosciutto.

The natural thing is to try it at one of the stone houses with a konoba along the road, with cheese and bread, before carrying on to Lovćen.

Fitting it into your trip

Njeguši belongs to Cetinje municipality and lies within the Lovćen area. From Kotor you climb the serpentine; from Cetinje you take the park road. I’d do the whole route in a day, Kotor, the serpentine, lunch in Njeguši, the Njegoš Mausoleum in the afternoon and a night in Cetinje. The National Tourism Organisation also mentions a zipline at Njeguši for anyone after a bit more adrenaline.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Cetinje and choose by the reviews.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Cetinje before prices climb.