Montenegro (Montenegrin: Crna Gora / Црна Гора, meaning "Black Mountain" — the English name is itself a Venetian Italian translation) is a Southern European country and one of the world's newer independent states. An independence referendum in 2006 led to the breakup from Serbia, with 55.5% being for it (the requirement set by The European Union was 55%, in order to recognize it as an independent country).
During most of its history, the people of Montenegro considered themselves Serbian. Montenegrins in fact make up less than 50% of the population, with nearly 29% identifying as Serbian at the last (2011) census. Signs in Latin and Cyrillic script are common place, the latter being useful to Russian tourists (who don't need a visa) and business people (who own a lot of property out there).
In the 19th century, Montenegro became a small Balkan monarchy. After World War II, it became a member state of Tito's Yugoslavia.
The capital city is Podgorica, which was known as Titograd in the Yugoslavia years. The country is a candidate for European Union membership, with negotiations opening in 2012; it is currently the most likely next EU member state with a join date at some point in the 2020's. Montenegro already has a major European Union connection with its decision to unilaterally adopt the Euro as its currency, a remnant of it having accepted the Deutsch Mark as legal tender alongside the Yugoslav Dinar upon its initial independence as a way of separating itself from the latter. This puts Montenegro in the unique position of it still needing to take all the required steps to prepare for official Euro adoption, while already using the Euro.
It also joined NATO on June 5, 2017. The national stereotype of Montenegrins is that they are extremely lazy, hence the joke: "How does Montenegro build a highway? They build two miles and then put up a sign saying "'etc etc etc'"."
Montenegro's appearances in fiction:
- Casino Royale (2006), although the filming of Montenegrin scenes took place in the Czech Republic.
- The Brothers Bloom
- The November Man
- Fictional detective Nero Wolfe hails from here, although he is mainly based in New York City. He does come back once in the aptly named The Black Mountain to catch the murderer of his best friend.
- Jay Gatsby received a medal from King Nicholas I (Montenegro was still an independent monarchy back then).
- Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain: The last secret mission takes place in Budva, Montenegro.
- Hitman: Sniper is set here.
The Montenegrin flag
Coat of arms of Montenegro
The Montenegrin national anthem
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Government
- Unitary parliamentary technocratic constitutional republic
- President: Jakov Milatović
- Prime Minister: Milojko Spajić
- Speaker: Andrija Mandić
Miscellaneous
- Capital and largest city: Podgorica
- Population: 621,873
- Area: 13,812 km² (5,333 sq mi) (156th)
- Currency: Euro (€) (EUR)
- ISO-3166-1 Code: ME
- Country calling code: 382
- Highest point: Zla Kolata (2534 m/8,314 ft) (93rd)
- Lowest point: Adriatic Sea (1,233 m/4,045 ft) (-)
