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mummified right hand of St John the Baptist. The hand's had a fascinating history, hav-
ing escaped wars and revolutions and passed through the hands of Byzantine emperors,
Ottoman sultans, the Knights Hospitallers, Russian tsars and Serbian kings. It's now
housed in a bejewelled golden casket by the chapel's window, draped in heavy fabric and
with an icon of the Baptist at its, ahem, foot. The casket's only occasionally opened for
veneration, so if you miss out you can console yourself with the knowledge that it's not a
very pleasant sight.
The monastery treasury (admission €2) is only open to groups but if you are persuasive
enough and prepared to wait around, you may be able to get in (mornings are best). It
holds a wealth of fascinating objects that form a blur as you're shunted around the rooms
by one of the monks. These include jewel-encrusted vestments, ancient handwritten texts,
icons (including a lovely Syrian Madonna and Child ) and a copy of the 1494 Oktoih
(Book of the Eight Voices), the first book printed in Serbian. The crown of 14th-century
Serbian king Stefan Uroš III Dečanski (who was deposed by his son, murdered and be-
came a Serbian saint) is covered in pearls, large precious stones and priceless Byzantine-
style enamels.
If your legs, shoulders or cleavage are on display you'll either be denied entry or given
an unflattering smock to wear.
CHURCH
Court Church
MAP
(Dvorska crkva; Novice Cerovića bb) Built in 1886 on the ruins of the original Cetinje Monastery,
this cute little church has a lovely gilded iconostasis but its main claim to fame is as the
burial place of Cetinje's founder, Ivan Crnojević, and Montenegro's last sovereigns. If
Nikola I and Milena were unpopular after fleeing the country for Italy during WWI, they
received a hero's welcome when their bodies were returned and interred in these white-
marble tombs in 1989 during a three-hour Orthodox service. While still a part of com-
munist Yugoslavia, a quarter of Montenegro's population were reported to have attended
and the royal couple's great-grandson Crown Prince Nicholas (a Parisian architect) was
mobbed by royalist fans.
Ulica Njegoševa
Cetinje's main street is pretty Njegoševa, a partly pedestrianised thoroughfare lined with
interesting buildings, cafes and shops. At the southern end are two shady parks and the
elegant Blue Palace MAP (Plavi Dvorac) , built in 1895 for Crown Prince Danilo but recently
STREET
 
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