MONTENEGRO
Geographical position:
Montenegro lies in the south-west of the Balkan Peninsula and has coast on the Adriatic Sea – it is therefore both a Balkan an Adriatic-Mediterranean country. The southernmost point of the country lies at 41º51’ N, closer to the Mediterranean than any other southern Slavic country – direct distance from the town of Bar to the Strait of Otranto is 180 km. The Beograd-Bar railway takes the meridian direction, connecting the Adriatic and Pannonian basins, i.e. southern and central Europe. Along with the international waters, the coastal sea borders with Italy, which exerted a signifi cant cultural infl uence in some parts of Montenegro in the period of Venetian rule.
Surface:
The surface of Montenegro is 13,812 km². The country is located between 41° 52’ – 43° 42’ N and 18° 26’- 20° 22’ E. The total length of its border is 614 km. It borders with Croatia (14 km) in the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina in the north (225 km), Serbia in the east (203 km), and Albania in the south (172 km), and between Montenegro and Italy lies the Adriatic Sea. The total length of the coast is 293.5 km. The end points of Montenegro are: in the north: 43° 32’N, 18° 58’ E – the slopes of the Kovač mountain near the town of Moćevići; in the south: 41° 52’ N, 19° 22’ E – at the Bojana river island, at the mouth of the Bojana river; in the east: 42° 53’ N, 20° 21’ E – at the Jablanica village, east of Rožaje; in the west: 42° 29’ N, 18° 26’ E – at the Sutorina village, near Herceg Novi. Territorial sea surface is 2.099 km².
Population:
According to the preliminary results of the 2011 census, the population of Montenegro is 625,266. Capital: the capital Podgorica is also the largest city in Montenegro, and its administrative and economic centre, while Cetinje has the status of the royal capital. According to the 2011 census, the population of Podgorica was 156.169. The Podgorica municipality comprises 10.4% of the Montenegrin territory and approximately 30% of its population. Podgorica is located in the vicinity of the remains of the ancient Roman town of Doclea.
Country capital / County capital:
Zagreb (population: 792,875) / Dubrovnik (population: 42,641).
Total length of coast:
The total length of the Montenegrin coast is 293 km, of which 73 km are beaches. The longest, 12 km-long beach, is in Ulcinj.
Number of islands, islets, and rocks:
There are a total of 48 islands, islets, and rocks.
Climate:
The vast water surfaces of the Adriatic Sea and Lake Skadar, the bay of Boka Kotorska penetrating deep into the land, the mountain hinterland near the coast (Orjen, Lovćen, Rumije), and the high mountains of Durmitor, Bjelasica and Prokletije, all have impact on the Montenegrin climate.
The southern area of the country is dominated by the Mediterranean climate. Mount Orjen is among the locations with greatest precipitation in Europe. The area receives 4600 mm of precipitation per year; average precipitation at the town Crkvice, on the slopes of the Orjen mountain, is 5000 mm per annum, which is the European maximum, and the maximum precipitation in record years reaches 7000 mm/m².
Central and northern Montenegro are dominated by mountain climate, and the northernmost part of the county by continental climate.
Useful data:
Average number of sunny days per year:
240
Average temperature:
Because of the diversity of terrain on a fairly small area and signifi cant temperature differences between northern and southern Montenegro, the average air temperature in Montenegro is diffi cult to determine. The average temperatures in 2011 ranged from 6.8 ºC at Žabljak (in the north) to 18.2 ºC in Budva, and 17.5 ºC in Podgorica. Average summer temperature at the coast is 23.1 ºC.
Official languages and alphabet:
The offi cial language in Montenegro is Montenegrin, and the Cyrillic and Latin alphabet are equally used. Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian and Albanian languages are offi cially used.
Travel documents:
Passport or other internationally recognised documents.
Currency:
The currency used in Montenegro is EURO (€), even though Montenegro is not an EU member.
Credit cards:
Visa, Visa Electron, MasterCard, Maestro, American Express, Diners.
Time zone:
Montenegro is in the Central European time zone (GMT + 1). On the last Saturday in March, the time zone switches to GMT + 2, until the last Sunday in October.
National parks:
Montenegro was the fi rst country to be declared an ecological state (in 1991). There are as many as fi ve national parks in the small territory of Montenegro: Lake Biograd National Park (5,650 ha), Lake Skadar National Park (40,000 ha), Durmitor National Park (39,000 ha), Lovćen National Park (5,650 ha, representing a perfect symbiosis of water areas and wild karst) and Prokletije National Park (16,630 ha).
Mains voltage and water:
220V/50Hz, Montenegrin rivers are part of the Black Sea and Adriatic Sea basins. The total surface of the part of the Black Sea basin is approximately 7,260 km² or 52.5% of the territory of Montenegro. The total Montenegrin surface of the Adriatic basin is approximately 6,560 km² or 47.5%. The longest river is the Tara river (141 km) and other longer rivers include Piva, Ćehotina, Zeta, Morača, Bojana, and Lim. Tara fl ows through a 1,300 m deep canyon, one of the deepest ones in Europe. The only navigable river is the Crnojevića River. Lake Skadar is the largest lake in Montenegro and in the Balkan Peninsula. Lake Skadar is a cryptodepression. The lakes of the Montenegrin mountain area are of glacial origin. The largest and most famous lakes are: Plavsko, Biogradsko, Crno, Šasko and Pešića lakes. Most of them are situated in national parks.
International calling code:
International calling code for Montenegro is +382.
