Central Montenegro - Montenegro - page 208

MAP
( www.mnmuseum.org ; Narodni muzej Crne Gore; all museums adult/child €10/5; 9am-4pm) The National
Museum is actually a collection of four museums and two galleries housed in a clump of
important buildings. A joint ticket will get you into all of them or you can buy individual
tickets.
Two are housed in the former parliament (1910), Cetinje's most imposing building.
The fascinating History Museum MAP (Istorijski muzej; 041-230 310; Novice Cerovića 7; adult/child €3/
1.50) is very well laid out, following a timeline from the Stone Age to 1955. There are few
English signs but the enthusiastic staff will walk you around and give you an overview
before leaving you to your own devices. Bullet holes are a theme of some of the mu-
seum's most interesting relics: there are three in the back of the tunic that Prince Danilo
was wearing when assassinated; Prince Nikola's standard from the battle of Vučji Do has
396; while, in the communist section, there's a big gaping one in the skull of a fallen
comrade.
Upstairs you'll find the equally excellent Montenegrin Art Gallery MAP (Crnogorska galerija
umjetnosti; adult/child €4/2) . There's a small collection of icons, the most important being the
precious 9th-century Our Lady of Philermos, traditionally believed to be painted by St
Luke himself. It's spectacularly presented in its own blue-lit 'chapel', but the Madonna's
darkened face is only just visible behind its spectacular golden casing mounted with dia-
monds, rubies and sapphires. Elsewhere in the gallery all of Montenegro's great artists
are represented, with the most famous (Milunović, Lubarda, Ðurić etc) having their own
separate spaces. Expect a museum staff member to be hovering as you wander around.
In 2012 an offshoot of the national gallery opened in a striking building on Cetinje's
main street. Dedicated to one of Montenegro's most important artists, who died in 2010,
the edgy Miodrag Dado Ðurić Gallery MAP (Galerija ; Balšića Pazar; 10am-2pm & 6-9pm Tue-Sun) is
devoted to 20th-century and contemporary Montenegrin art. The same ticket covers both
galleries.
Entry to the King Nikola Museum MAP (Muzej kralja Nikole; Dvorski Trg; adult/child €5/2.50) is by
guided tour, which the staff will only give to a group, even if you've prepaid a ticket.
Still, this 1871 palace of Nikola I, last sovereign of Montenegro, is worth the frustration.
Although looted during WWII, enough plush furnishings, stern portraits and taxidermied
animals remain to capture the spirit of the court.