Montenegro - The Land Of Wild Beauty (48/151)

Montenegro - The Land Of Wild Beauty (48/151)

Since the end of the war in the former Yugoslavia the now independent state of Montenegro has once again become a booming tourist destination. About 15% of the gross domestic product is accounted for by tourism, the state is the tourist land with the strongest growth worldwide. Certainly not without reason: Montenegro has much to offer both in landscape and culture. The wild coast along the southern Adria and its mountainous hinterland were ruled over by, among others, Byzantium, the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary, thus in the course of history cultural diversity became the norm. In the 14th century Kotor played an important role in trade in the Adriatic Sea. The unspoiled, rugged landscape of Montenegro also evokes memories of Karl May's descriptions of the Balkans. A fjord, the "Boka Kotorska", furrows its way with contrasting formations deep into the karst mountains. In the large Lake Skutari, part of which belongs to Albania, the fishing village of Vranjina is situated on the island of the same name. High up on the Lovaen massif is the mausoleum of Bishop Njego, perhaps the most significant poet of the Balkans and one of the most important reformers of the country. From 1830 to 1851, Petar II Petrovic Njegos was the spiritual head of Montenegro and, at the same time, the secular ruler of the country. He laid the foundations for the modern state of Montenegro. The former palace of the poet-prince is located in Cetinje, the former capital of Montenegro. The author Milovan Djilas has written a biography of Njegos.