Behind the picturesque city of Kotor lays an amazing mountain and national park called Lovcen. Because of it's location near the sea but high in the mountains (it has two imposing peaks, Stirovnik with 1,749 m and Jezerski vrh 1,657 m) it's under influence of both, sea and mainland climate, what leads to a vary of endogenic plants there.
A particular architectural relic worth mentioning is Lovcen's serpentine road winding uphill from Kotor to the village of Njegusi, where the birth house of Montenegrin royal family of Petrovic is situated. The biggest and most important monument of Lovcen national park is Njegos's Mausoleum. The location for his burial place and the mausoleum at the summit of Jezerski vrh was chosen by Njegos himself as his last wish.
However, Njegos's express wish was to be buried in a small chapel which he had built in his lifetime. This was done, but the original chapel was destroyed when the Austro-Hungarian army invaded Montenegro. Njegos's remains were then transferred into Cetinje Monastery and buried in the chapel rebuilt by King Alexander in 1920s.
Contrary to Njegos's express wishes to be buried in that chapel, the then communist powers of Montenegro destroyed the chapel and built in its stead a monumental mausoleum in Viennese Secession style.
The outstanding design was made by famous croatian sculptor Ivan Mestrovic who had never set foot on Lovcen (among his famous monuments is "Victor" the landmark of Belgrade in Kalamegdan Fortress).
However some protests erupted in 1970 with many famous Yugoslav public figures, of both Montenegrin and non-Montenegrin origin, complained it was a barbaric breaking of Njegos's last will.
Njegos (he was born under the name of Radivoje "Rade" Tomov Petrovic) was not only a significant Serbian writer but also a Serbian Orthodox Prince-Bishop and a ruler who transformed Montenegro from a theocracy into a secular state. He solidified e renewed monenegro's affiliation to the Serbian nation, since it has been divided by Osmanian rulership. With the help of Russia he tried to secure his country against the Tursks. He foundet the first Elementary School in Cetinje, Montenegro's capital in 1834. The same year he opened a Printing Press in Cetinje specifically for printing his works and also montenegrins schoolbooks. In 1851 he died of an lung disease.
His most important book was »Gorski vijenac« (Mountain wreath) a play based on historical facts in the end of 17th century, where Montenegrins attempted to solve radically the problem of many of their brethren who had agreed/or were forced to being converted to Islam.
Some Islamists see in the poem one of the defining features of Serb nationalism (the Muslims repeatedly plead for coexistence and the bishop sees it merely as a satanic temptation and replies: ‘Our land is foul; it reeks of this false religion’)
The issue that preoccupied Njegos through his entire life was the struggle for freedom from foreign oppression and the struggle for justice and dignity.
However the tragic story helds also a healthy dose of humor.
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