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Culture of Montenegro

Culture

The culture of Montenegro has been shaped by a variety of influences throughout history. The influence of Orthodox, Slavonic, Central European, Islamic, and seafaring Adriatic cultures (notably parts of Italy, like the Republic of Venice) have been the most important in recent centuries.

Montenegro has many significant cultural and historical sites, including heritage sites from the pre-Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque periods. The Montenegrin coastal region is especially well known for its religious monuments, including the Cathedral of Saint Tryphon in Kotor, the basilica of St. Luke (over 800 years), Our Lady of the Rocks, the Savina Monastery and others. Montenegro's medieval monasteries contain thousands of square metres of frescos on their walls.

The traditional folk dance of the Montenegrins is the "Oro", a circle dance that involves dancers standing on each other's shoulders in a circle while one or two dancers are dancing in the middle.

The first literary works written in the region are ten centuries old, and the first Montenegrin book was printed five hundred years ago. The first state-owned printing press was located in Cetinje in 1494, where the first South Slavic book, Oktoih, was printed the same year. Ancient manuscripts, dating from the thirteenth century, are kept in the Montenegrin monasteries.

Montenegro's capital Podgorica and the former royal capital of Cetinje are the two most important centers of culture and the arts in the country.

Ethical beliefs

A very important dimension of Montenegrin culture is the ethical ideal of "Humanity and Gallantry". Another result of its centuries-long warrior history, it is the unwritten code of chivalry that stipulates that to deserve a true respect by those around him, a person has to show virtues of integrity, dignity, humility, self-sacrifice for the just cause, respect for others, and rectitude along with bravery. In the old days of battle, it resulted in Montenegrins fighting to the death, as being captured was considered the greatest shame.

This code of conduct is still very much ingrained, to a greater or lesser extent, in every Montenegrin's ethical beliefs system and it is essential that it be kept in mind in order to truly understand them. Coming from non-warrior backgrounds, most of other South-Slavic nations never fully grasp it, resulting in reactions from totally ignoring it, in the best case, to mocking it or ignorantly equating it with backwardness. Most extraordinary examples of Montenegrin conduct during its long history can be traced to the code.

Education

Education in Montenegro is regulated by the Montenegrin Ministry of Education and Science. Education starts in either pre-schools or elementary schools. Children enroll in elementary schools at the age of 6 and it lasts 9 years. The students may continue their secondary education, which lasts 4 years (3 years for trade schools) and ends with graduation. Higher education lasts with a certain first degree after 3 to 6 years.

Sport

The Sport in Montenegro revolves mostly around team sports: football, basketball, water polo, volleyball and handball. Also involved are boxing, judo, karate, athletics, table tennis, and chess. In Guatemala City in July 2007, the International Olympic Committee granted recognition and membership to the newly formed Montenegrin National Olympic Committee. Montenegro made its debut at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Water Polo is one of the most popular sports in the country. Montenegro won the European Championships in Malaga, Spain on 13 July 2008 over Serbia 6-5 in a game that was tied 5-5 after four quarters. This was Montenegro's first major international competition for which they had to qualify through two LEN tournaments. Montenegro won the gold medal at the 2009 FINA Men's Water Polo World League which was held in Podgorica, capital city. Montenegrin team PVK Primorac from Kotor became a champion of Europe at the LEN Euroleague 2009 in Rijeka, Croatia. Montenegro's water polo Olympic team finished fourth overall at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Cuisine

Montenegrin cuisine is a result of Montenegro's long history. It's variation of Mediterranean and Oriental. The most influence is from Italy, Turkey, Byzantine Empire/Greece, and as well from Hungary. Montenegrin cuisine also varies geographically; the cuisine in the coastal area differs from the one in the northern highland region. The coastal area is traditionally a representative of Mediterranean cuisine, with seafood being a common dish, while the northern represents more the Oriental.

In popular culture

The first official international representation of Montenegro as an independent state was in Miss World 2006, held on 30 September 2006 in Warsaw, Poland. Ivana Knežević from the city of Bar was the first Miss Montenegro at any international beauty pageant.

Part of the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale is set in Montenegro, although most of the filming was done in the Czech Republic.

Nero Wolfe, the eccentric fictional detective created by American writer Rex Stout, is Montenegrin by birth. One Nero Wolfe novel, The Black Mountain, takes place in Tito-era Montenegro.

Jay Gatsby, the main character of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel The Great Gatsby, was given a medal of honour by the Montenegrin King Nicholas I.

The setting for Franz Lehár's 1905 operetta The Merry Widow is the Paris embassy of the Grand Duchy of Pontevedro. Pontevedro is a fictionalized version of Montenegro and several of the characters were loosely based on actual Montenegrin nobility.

A Corto Maltese novel, "The Celts", features the chapter "Under The Flag Of Money" revolving around a group of people led by Maltese trying to seize the treasure of King Nicholas I from a small village in Italy during the Battle of Caporetto. At the end of the chapter it is revealed that Corto plans to disembark in Ulcinj with half of the treasure.

Montenegrin holidays

Date	Name of holiday
1 January	New Year's Day
7 January	Orthodox Christmas
14 January	Orthodox New Year
2 April	Orthodox Good Friday
4 April	Orthodox Easter
5 April	Orthodox Easter Monday
1 May	Labour Day
9 May	Victory Day
21 May	Independence Day
13 July	Statehood Day