Cetinje

- 399

“This is a beautiful heavenly valley” said an English princess thrilled with the view, while approaching Cetinje at the beginning of the 20th century.

It is likely that this occurred at Orlov Krš, which provides the most beautiful view of the old Montenegrin capital. There are no walls, as in many other ancient royal towns, since nature surrounded Cetinje with stone hills that serve as mighty guardians.

The town was founded in back in 1482, when Ivan Crnojević, the last ruler of the powerful mediaeval state of Zeta, erected a palace below Orlov Krš, and after that founded the monastery as the centre of the Zeta Metropolitanate. He did this convinced that the state would be better protected from invaders in these inaccessible surroundings.