Banks in Montenegro

The National Bank of Montenegro is open from Monday to Friday (10:30-14:00). Commercial banks are open from 08:00 to 19:00, on Saturdays – from 08:00 to 13:00, Sunday is a day off. On weekends, you can use exchange offices. There are many ATMs in Montenegro, through which you can make transactions with foreign currency. ATMs are installed in banks, airports and some hotels. Some stores and hotels accept payments with credit cards. In the bank you can always find several employees who speak English or Russian.

Money in Montenegro

The monetary unit is the euro (coins 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 euro cents, 1 and 2 euros; banknotes 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 euros).

Rate: 1 Euro (EUR) = 1.05 USD

Political State in Montenegro

According to the Constitution, Montenegro is a democratic, social and ecological state. Power is divided into legislative, executive and judicial. The head of state is the President, elected by popular vote for a term of 5 years. The legislative body is the Assembly (parliament), the executive body is the government.

Population in Montenegro

According to TOP-MEDICAL-SCHOOLS, the population of Montenegro is about 670 thousand people. The majority of the country’s population are Serbs and Montenegrins: more than 40% are Montenegrins, 30% are Serbs. The main national minorities are Bosniaks (13.7%) and Albanians (7.1%). In addition, Croats (1.1%) and Roma (0.4%) live in the country.

In connection with military operations in the former Yugoslavia in the 90s of the XX century, many people were forced to flee to Montenegro. Montenegrins are the most tolerant of all the peoples of the Balkan Peninsula regarding national and religious differences.

Despite the fact that in the 1950s Montenegro was a predominantly rural country, and more than 60% of the population was engaged in agriculture, by the end of the 20th century only 7% of the population remained in rural areas, while almost 60% were concentrated in cities. Large cities – Podgorica and Niksic are located in the fertile valley of the Zeta River, most of the population of Montenegro lives on the plain.

Language:
Article 9 of the Constitution establishes that the state language in Montenegro is the Iekava dialect of the Serbian language, Cyrillic and Latin are equally used in writing. In communities where a significant part of the population is made up of national minorities, other languages are also officially used (for example, Albanian in the Ulcinj community). In Montenegro, many people know Russian, and English can only be explained in the main tourist centers.

Cuisine in Montenegro

The cuisine of Montenegro is not limited to the preparation of national dishes according to traditional recipes. In various historical times, many dishes were borrowed from Italian, Greek, Turkish and even Western European cuisine. Here you can taste Hungarian goulash, Turkish kebab, Balkan burek and Italian pizza. But a person who wants to get to know the country better will definitely want to try some dishes traditional for the area.

On the coast great variety of fish dishes. The main ways of cooking fish are “on gradely”, “leshō”, “brodet” and regular frying. Fish “on gradel” are fried on a brazier (brazier). At the same time, the fish is watered with the essence of aromatic herbs, most often rosemary is used. Served with garlic, parsley and olive oil gravy, vegetables and salad. Lesho fish is boiled in water to which olive oil, wine vinegar, onion, bay leaf and other spices are added. As a side dish, fish is served with boiled potatoes or blive (a kind of spinach). Brodet is made from different types of fish, and palenta (cornmeal dish) is served as a side dish. Olive oil is an indispensable component of seaside cuisine. The most useful oil is obtained as a result of cold processing using a press.

Most often they catch carps and small bleak, which are then dried. Specialties on the lake are fried carp with prunes, apples and quince, then carp baked with onions, eel with rice or on skewers. Smoked carp is especially appreciated. Dried bleaks, lightly fried or boiled, are served as a salad.

Under Mount Lovcen, near Cetinje, is the village of Njegusi, famous for its many delicacies: prosciutto (smoked pork meat), cheese, kastradina (cured lamb meat) and sausages. Prosciutto acquires a special taste and aroma thanks to special firewood, which is used for drying and smoking meat.

Restaurants all over Montenegro use the traditional way of cooking – under sachet. Sach is a large metal lid in the shape of a shallow bell, which is used to cover the dough when baking bread or meat when frying. Ashes and hot coals are placed on this lid. Among the meat dishes there are pork, beef, and lamb, they are often cooked using kaimak – they become very tender. Kaymak is easy to prepare, so it is usually made at home. They take milk, preferably sheep, pour it into a flat bowl and put it in a warm oven for three hours, after which it is cooled. The resulting top layer is carefully removed, transferred to another bowl and lightly salted.

In traditional Chernogian cuisine, there is one very unusual way of cooking chicken. It is salted and put into a lamb or kid, which is going to be baked on a spit. Among the unusual dishes there is also meat cooked in the tripe. They take the tripe of a pig or other animal and thoroughly clean and wash it. Then meat is put into it and water is added. The scar is tied tightly and covered with ashes and hot coals, or hung over the hearth and thus boiled over the fire.

Among the wines made from local grape varieties, red wine “Vranac” and white wine “Krstach” are valued in Montenegro. In addition, grape brandy (lozovaca, grape vodka) is made from Vranac grapes. Kruna is the highest grade of grape brandy, which has a pleasant aroma, clean and harmonious taste, it is easy to drink. They also make plum and apricot brandy. The only national beer is Niksicko beer. It is made from barley, water from mountain springs and bitter and aromatic hops.