Danilovgrad
Dragan Jankovic / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0
Danilovgrad stands in Montenegro's central region, between Podgorica and Nikšić, within the Bjelopavlići plain along the Zeta River. Founded as a planned new capital of the Principality of Montenegro, it combines partially preserved late nineteenth-century urban architecture, a protected river landscape and a role as gateway to Ostrog Monastery.
Danilovgrad today: the Bjelopavlići plain and the Zeta
Danilovgrad lies in the Central Region of Montenegro, between Podgorica and Nikšić, in the valley of the Zeta River. Construction began in 1869 and the town was officially founded in 1870, by order of Prince Nikola I, as a planned new capital of the Principality of Montenegro. It takes its name from Prince Danilo Petrović Njegoš, while Most Vojvode Mirka opened to traffic in 1870.
The municipality covers 501 km², around 3.6 per cent of Montenegro's territory, and recorded 18,617 inhabitants in the 2023 census. Its elevation ranges from about 30 to about 2,100 metres. Entirely inland, the municipality is defined by the fertile Bjelopavlići plain along the Zeta River and retains part of its urban architecture from the period of its foundation.
What to see and do in Danilovgrad: Ostrog Monastery and the Zeta
Nature Park "Rijeka Zeta", declared in 2019, has a total area of 121.78 km², with 80.8 per cent located in the municipality of Danilovgrad. The Zeta River flows for 65 km, rising beneath Mount Vojnik, passing through the Bjelopavlići valley and the municipality before joining the Morača north of Podgorica. Its catchment area measures 1,597 km².
Within the town, the Homeland Museum of Danilovgrad and the Art Colony form part of its cultural offer. The monument to fallen fighters of the Second World War stands on Danilovgrad's main square. Beyond the town, Spuž Fortress in the settlement of Spuž and Gradina in Martinici, with remains of fortifications from the Serbian medieval period, provide further historical reference points.
Ostrog Monastery is a Serbian Orthodox monastery founded at the beginning of the seventeenth century by Vasilije Jovanović, Metropolitan of Herzegovina, later Saint Basil of Ostrog. It was first marked on a geographical map of Montenegro in 1640. The Upper Monastery includes the Church of the Presentation, with frescoes from the end of the seventeenth century, and the Church of the Holy Cross, painted by Master Radul. Built in 1824, the Lower Monastery is centred on the Church of the Holy Trinity and includes accommodation for monks and pilgrims; the structure was restored from 1923 to 1926 after a fire.
Getting to Danilovgrad
Danilovgrad is positioned on the principal route connecting Podgorica and Nikšić. Podgorica Airport is about 30 km from Danilovgrad. The town also has a railway station on the Podgorica to Nikšić line.
Rail travel from Danilovgrad to Podgorica takes about 29 minutes. The journey from Danilovgrad to Nikšić takes about 35 to 36 minutes. These rail and road connections place the town within the central movement between the two cities.
When to visit Danilovgrad and Ostrog
Ostrog Monastery receives religious visitors and pilgrims throughout the year. The greatest concentration of pilgrims occurs around the feast of Saint Basil of Ostrog on 12 May, observed as 29 April in the old calendar. Pilgrims traditionally walk barefoot for 3 km from the Lower Monastery to the Upper Monastery.
The municipal calendar includes the Spring Bazaar on Trg golootočkih žrtava in May, organised by the Municipality of Danilovgrad and the Tourism Organisation, and Sač Fest in September, organised by the NGO Crepulja.
Tourism Organisation of Danilovgrad
