Petnjica, the heart of upper Bihor

Petnjica is one of Montenegro’s youngest municipalities and barely features in guidebooks. The municipality calls it the heart of Bihor, one of the oldest historic areas of the north-east, known for its folklore, traditional music, sevdalinka songs, crafts and food. To me it’s the stop that lifts a Lim valley trip beyond the obvious, because it has a mosque unlike any other in the country.

From Bihor to municipality in three dates

According to the municipality, people have lived here since prehistoric times, and routes linking the Balkan interior with the coast passed through. The Ottomans arrived in the 15th century, beginning more than four centuries that shaped its buildings and customs, and Bihor gained a largely Bosniak population, according to the municipality. The area became part of Montenegro in 1912.

Its recent history comes down to three dates. In 1945 it first became a municipality, in 1957 it was folded back into Berane, and in 2013 it regained its status. Today it has 4,957 people, down from 5,482 in 2011, spread across 24 settlements. The largest is Gornja Vrbica, with 988, ahead of Trpezi and Petnjica itself, with 656. The municipality speaks of a large diaspora in Germany, Luxembourg and Turkey, and Petnjica is the only northern municipality missing from MONSTAT’s 2024 tourism table.

The three-storey mosque

The national tourist board says Petnjica has the only three-storey mosque in the Balkans, one of the largest in the region, with hand-carved wooden pillars from the 16th century and a collection of more than 500 rugs from different periods. The building pictured above has exactly three rows of windows in its stone walls and a timber minaret. The municipality’s coat of arms carries a 16th century mosque as a symbol of Bihor’s heritage.

The board explains that the Bihor rug was used in blood-brotherhood ceremonies and in arranging marriages. People still pray here, so avoid prayer times, keep arms and legs covered and check before stepping inside or getting your camera out. No official source gives visiting hours.

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

Radmanci and the Copper Age shelters

The tourist board recommends the gorge above the village of Radmanci, with katuns it dates back to the Bronze Age. The Polimlje Museum is more precise. In the Radmanska river canyon, about 25 km north-east of Berane, there’s a rock shelter 15 metres deep with Copper Age material, closed off at the front by a 6 metre wall built in antiquity, plus traces of a Roman aqueduct by the river. Where the gorge opens out, a plateau with a seasonal settlement yielded a rich haul from the same period in digs from 2007 to 2009.

The board also lists the Torine archaeological site, without further detail, and a viewpoint over Ham’s tower and Bihor fortress. It tells the legend of Bratimin vir, a pool on the Popa river where a cave supposedly hid treasure in a jar, cursed according to local lore.

Fitting it into a trip

Petnjica has next to no beds, so I’d do it in a morning from Berane and pair it with the Polimlje Museum, where the area’s finds are displayed. Heading east, Rožaje shares Bihor’s history and its rug-weaving tradition. Watch the name, too, because OpenStreetMap shows another hamlet called Petnjica in Šavnik municipality, out by Durmitor. The bigger regional picture is in my guide to northern Montenegro.

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

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