Skiing in Montenegro - who brought it, and when?

Skiing in Montenegro was Immediately supported by Prince Nikola

December 1, 2018 - Boka Bay is as geographic determination, as so entitative and cultural. You do not have to stay with the people of this area for a long time to recognize the specific pride of the part of the planet they get to enjoy. History has proven, no matter how heavy it was - Bokelians could always win more places to enjoy Boka than the areas to manage it. And so they did, keeping their own affairs in their hands, Bokelians survived a lot of dominations and complicated historical periods preserving their way of life and "infecting“ all those coming to Boka.

Perhaps in that lifestyle lies the answer to the question which over the centuries, regardless of all their differences - in nations, religions, social and property status, Bokelians have always been Bokelians first. Like the Mediterranean - as it was characterized by Predrag Matvejevic, the greatest theoretician of the Mediterranean culture beside Fernand Braudel - and Boka Bay is a combination of opposites, which are always sought after by one another. Serbian writer Dusan Kostic wrote: "The Boka is made of contradictions, just like everything in humans, so it's so intimate and irresistibly attractive, and the eyes that once brought it are carrying it forever."

Boka Bay- Essence in Five Quotes

Entering Boka Bay, one by one the mountain peaks emerge, glittering peaks surrounded by stories from the rich folk epic of this region. The angels of these "heavenly goddesses" descend on them as if to look after the people whom the gods themselves are inclined to. Lovely forest girls, white fairies, walk in the minds of a large rockery.“ (Henrik Hoe, 1892.)

"The general picture is dark and intense: we walk along a narrow corridor, the tops on the hills sky-skinned. The rocks above, and beneath them, at the foot of the bay, small villages, and small towns are placed vividly as white spaces stand out on the narrow outskirts of the houses, sheltered from the light, not particularly rich in greenery gardens and olive trees. The houses are tangled by the hills and clinging to the cliffs. Made from the local gray stone, one seems to appear next to their rocks, like polyps, and hardly recognize where the rock ends, where the building begins." (Pavle Apolonovič Rovinski, 19. century)

"It has been running for many millennia since the man in this area began his game with nature, history, and himself. And he was never alone, he from that little dagger of the earth lined with the sea and the cliffs of the surrounding mountains and hills, but various travel writers, poets, and army leaders came and went to him, all with the desire to leave a fraction of himself and his interpretation on this ancient beauty life ... " (Olga Blažova Gajin Vlasic, 21st century)

"Nowhere like in Boka Bay the man feels ready for the way back, for retrospective experiencing the past, living here and present in old stone houses, where old chairs still await former guests. Where renaissance balconies always resonate with troubadours' songs and the bells of medieval churches and today measure the hours of the living, while in the darkened houses the eastern jewelry is kept in silver vases and in Chinese porcelain. " (Aleksandra Serdukova, 1939.)

"There is another reason why Bokelian is so attached to his homeland. Over the centuries, Boka Bay has been considered for the shelter of gloom and fineness. Our sailor had already come into contact with the largest and oldest cultures of Europe and out-of-Europe countries for his profession, and in time he gained a lot of practical meaning for everything related to the cultural problem, concentrating his ethical and aesthetic meaning on the magnificent churches, once inexcusable hedges old congratulations and unswerving significance. Boka is a great cultural retort. Whatever approached it, it took its spirit. Silent spiritual infiltration transforms its guests into the cultural world. " (Pavao Butorac, the beginning of 20th Century)

Discover the art of Stevan Kordić, Bokelian best known photographer and Boka Bay through his lens.

30 November 2018 - Prime Minister Duško Marković noted on the occasion of the second anniversary of the 41st Government of Montenegro that the Government started its mandate in an extremely challenging environment, in 2016 - the most challenging year for Montenegro in its recent history, but thanks to the dedicated work of the entire Government an excellent result has been achieved. Nowadays Montenegro is a large construction site, it is more stable than ever and it has started accelerated economic development and improvement of the living standards, he added.

"The entire 2016 was the most challenging year for Montenegro, primarily in political and security terms. We had also challenging years in previous decades, but in that year we had the most brutal, most direct attack on the State, its institutions, its political system. It was the year in which the political will of the citizens of Montenegro was threatened to be changed in an undemocratic way in order to halt its European and Euro-Atlantic perspective. I would say that the ultimate goal was the loss and the disappearance of Montenegro as a state. At that very moment, the Government took over the mandate. You recall that the dissatisfied opposition that organised the boycott was on the streets, encouraging social and other dissatisfaction. The Government faced a serious challenge to ensure not only political but also security stability of the country, to enable its functioning. That was the political environment in which we started the mandate," Prime Minister Duško Marković said.

30 November 2018 - The Protocol on Cooperation of Tourist Organizations of Herceg Novi and Saint Petersburg, signed in September, will be officially announced on December 1 in this Russian city. Representatives of the Tourist Organization of Herceg Novi, a delegation of the Municipality, as well as a dozen businessmen from Herceg Novi, representatives of local Tourist Organizations from the coast, the Ministry of Transport, the National Tourism Organization and Montenegro Airlines traveled to Saint Petersburg. Representatives of the Embassy of Montenegro in Russia will also be present.

According to the director of the Tourist Organization of Herceg Novi Pavle Obradović, a press conference is planned for December 1, where the main tour operators, travel agencies and the media will be present.

"I think that it is very important to establish cooperation with a popular tourist destination, from where a large number of tourists can come from us. Our city is a very attractive destination for tourists from Russia, and Saint Petersburg, a city of over five million inhabitants is a very emitting market and based on these facts the cooperation of tourist organizations of two cities will be affirmed," said Obradović, adding that they received support from the Ministry of Tourism and National Tourism Organization .

Herceg Novi and Saint Petersburg will cooperate in the field of culture and tourism. According to the Agreement, business cooperation includes cooperation in various fields such as tourist traffic, establishing and implementing the tourism development policy and its promotion, coordinating and organizing cultural, artistic, sports and other events, with the aim of mutual promotion and promotion of tradition, customs and ethnological treasures of tourist areas of two cities.

In May next year, Herceg Novi will host guests from Saint Petersburg for many cultural and entertainment programmes.

30 November 2018 - As stated in the official UNESCO’s report, Singing to the Accompaniment of the Gusle was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2018.

During the thirteenth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage that took place at Port Louis, Republic of Mauritius, from Monday 26 November to Saturday 1 December 2018 at the Swami Vivekananda International Convention Centre (SVICC), it was decided that Singing to the Accompaniment of the Gusle will enter UNESCO’s List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Over the six days, the twenty-four States Members of the Committee, elected by the General Assembly of the 2003 Convention, have discussed a number of issues that are important for the safeguarding of living heritage around the world. On this occasion, the agenda of the meeting included the issue “Inscriptions on the Lists”, which led to the expansion of the List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Singing to the Accompaniment of the Gusle was nominated for inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2017, along 39 other nominated proposals, and during the examination of nominations process, the Committee representatives have made the decision for this performing practice to enter the aforementioned UNESCO’s List.

The proposal for the nomination process included the following short description of the element: “Singing to the accompaniment of the gusle is a performing practice that includes solo singing of folk epic decasyllabic poems, performed by a singer to the accompaniment of the gusle, a one-stringed (exceptionally two-stringed) bowed string instrument. In the past, both the poetic texts and the musical component of guslar songs were transmitted orally, whereas today, the presented texts mostly include the well-known, written ones, while the musical component is shaped through improvisation. This archaic form of folk art promotes the highest ethical values, the importance of kinship and the homogeneity of the community, and it is also a blend of the community's historical memory and traditional music skills. The communities that practice it considers it the most representative element of their identity.”

UNESCO’s Official Website has recently created a page that describes the Singing to the accompaniment of the Gusle as a performing practice.

“Singing to the accompaniment of the Gusle – a simple string instrument – is an ancient art of performing primarily heroic epics practiced for centuries as a form of historical memory and an expression of cultural identity. Performances involve a complex form of interaction between the audience and performer and are based on the skills and creativity of soloist artists (guslars): the guslars’ ability to dramatize poetic content, body language and charisma are key for successful performances. The repertoire includes songs predominantly about mythical and historical heroes, events from the legendary past, ancient or recent history and, less commonly, ballads and humorous songs. Stage performances take place locally, at festivals, and as part of commemoration practices. Covering a wide range of topics, the songs reflect the value system of the community and their interactive character fosters community feeling. Most modern guslars acquire the basic singing and playing skills from more experienced players in their family, local community or a guslar association, but the skills are also transmitted in public music schools,” it is stated on the page.

30 November 2018 - Olympiacos Piraeus was too strong for Budućnost VOLI in Round 10 of the 2018/19 EuroLeague regular season. The team from Podgorica suffered a defeat with the result of 92:70, after the Greek giant increased their pace in the third quarter of the game, scoring 32 points.

Budućnost stood up against their opponent in the first quarter, producing some big plays to score, and even managing to create an advantage of 13:10. Still, the Olympiacos' players demonstrated true team play on the court, overpowering the “Blue Team” from Montenegro with the score 25:20.

At the start of the second quarter, Budućnost showed its persistence, securing new points for a minor advantage over the Greeks (26:25). However, Olympiacos responded with a nine-point series again to reverse the result. Olympiacos increased the pace in the third quarter, scoring 32 points - 76:51. At that moment, luck turned its back for Budućnost, and it was clear that the Greek team would score the win.

In the last quarter, the advantage of the home team was only growing, but Budućnost managed to alleviate the defeat by the end of the match - 90:72.

The best player of the game was Zach LeDay (Olympiacos), who scored 28 points, with a 9/11 field goals made, eight rebounds and the Performance Index Rating of 42. In the “Blue Team” from Podgorica, Earl Clark scored 15 points; Nemanja Gordić 14 points, while Edwin Jackson finished the game with 12 points.

This was the eighth defeat for Budućnost VOLI, who managed to win two games in the EuroLeague. The match against Budućnost marks the sixth victory for the Greeks.

The next match for Budućnost VOLI is against Barcelona, on December 6^th.

November 30, 2018 - More new flights to Montenegro as Lufthansa announce new services to Tivat from both Munich and Frankfurt, starting in April 2019. 

It is the season of announcements of new flights to Montenegro, and, as recently reported by ExYuAviation, Lufthansa is entering the Montenegrin market from April to October next year, with two key connections to Tivat, from both Frankfurt and Munich. 

All flights will be operated by Airbus A319 with 138 seats. Timings are carefully chosen to allow excellent connections within Europe as well to selected intercontinental destinations.

The move by Lufthansa has been under discussion for several months, as previously reported by TMN, and it can be seen as a first step into a potentially lucrative market, but one with several unknowns. The goal is to build on this initial first step and ultimately to turn the routes into year-round connections, which would increase the attractiveness and accessibility of Montenegro in the winter months, as well as providing additional choice for luxury guests of places such as the Chedi Lustica Bay and Porto Montenegro. Speaking about the potential arrival of Lufthansa earlier this year, Danilo Orlandic, Head of the Airports of Montenegro, said:

"Lufthansa, as one of the most important carriers in Europe and the world, should be our partner. The German market is extremely important for our tourism industry. Furthermore, German airports have excellent worldwide connectivity, so the launch of new routes to this market is vital for the public."

Please find the schedules of the new flights below.

Frankfurt – Tivat

Operations will start 14APR until mid of October 2019 every Sunday with Airbus A319

LH1468                  Frankfurt             departure           15:30

                                Tivat                      arrival                    17:30

LH 1469                Tivat                      departure           18:20

                                Frankfurt             arrival                    20:30

Munich – Tivat

Operations will start 13APR until end of October 2019 every Saturday with Airbus A319

LH 1732                Munich                 departure           07:25

                                Tivat                      arrival                    09:15

LH 1733                Tivat                      departure           09:55

                                Munich                 arrival                    11:50    

To follow all the new flights to Montenegro for next summer, follow the TMN dedicated page.

November 30, 2018 - The Maritime Museum of Montenegro in Kotor and the Boka Navy Kotor promulgated the capital work-History of Montenegrin Maritime in the Context of Adriatic, Mediterranean and World Maritime Affairs by Dr. Antun Sbutega.

The promotion of the book, which was organized at the Palace Grgurina Maritime Museum of Montenegro in Kotor, was addressed by the director of this institution, Andro Radolović, one of the most important scientists of today dealing with the history of Boka Bay – archaeologist M.Sc. Jovan J. Martinović, and the author, Doctor of Economics and Admiral of the Boka Navy Antun Sbutega. The lecture, by Ms. Jovica Martinović, was submitted by Slavko Dabinovic, a retired librarian.

"Composed chapters in the manuscript are assembled in a very well-organized chronological order, from the earliest to the recent phases of maritime development. Within each chapter, the author paid his attention to focusing on a wide area in the Mediterranean and the Adriatic Sea, and across the Montenegrin coast to Boka Bay as one of the priorities in studying the total matter," emphasized Mr. Martinović.

"The show of 2.5 million years of maritime development, with the abundance of data and well-used literature, was a demanding task whose successful solution was only capable of being personally connected to the sea through a long family and local tradition, but at the same time a person armed with erudite and encyclopedic knowledge in more scientific areas... This book represents the most significant scientific contribution to the study and popularization of our rich maritime past," wrote Mr. Jovan Martinović on the promotion of the book, which was held on Thursday in the Maritime Museum of Montenegro in Kotor.

Numerous visitors and acquaintances were welcomed on behalf of host Andro Radulović, director of the Montenegrin Maritime Museum of Montenegro, who pointed out that the publication of the book History of Montenegrin Maritime once again confirmed the fact that Boka Bay and Montenegro are an inexhaustible source for history and culture of the people who created it.

"I hope the book will serve as a great motive and a sign for more intensive and more dedicated engagement with the aim of studying our past," Radulovic said.

"I do not know how much I wrote; it was not short, I will tell you that the bibliography has 750 units and about 1140 footnotes... This book has been the fruit of my entire life since I entered the world of seafaring in the earliest childhood, surrounded by seafarers, historians, technical works and objects that testify to maritime history," said Admiral Sbutega visibly satisfied. "This book is not an encyclopedia, nor I have the pretense to elaborate all the aspects through the time fully, it is only the first comprehensive review that should inspire other authors to write on this subject," the author said.

"The history of our navy is very long and rich in events and interesting personalities, which was very difficult and demanding to critical in a book, so I had to miss much. The main, intimate motive to write this book is the sense of debt towards my family members who have been involved in maritime affairs for more than 400 years. I dedicated this book to them. But not only to them but also to all seafarers in the history of this area and to numerous naval historians of the previous generations, which I owe my life orientation, the culture of knowledge and identity. It is written from the feeling of debt to the present and future generations, as an attempt to bring them at least part of that knowledge and values. It was a complicated and long job, but also an exciting intellectual adventure," said Sbutega.

Sbutega emphasized that the coast is still today the most developed part of Montenegro, where the most important foreign investments are being developed. "And now Montenegro is breathing through its shore, although it is not always aware of it. There are at least 6,000 active seamen in Montenegro, but is an impressive number compared to the number of inhabitants. More than 95 percent of our seamen are sailing with foreign companies, and their revenue is estimated at over 200 million euros. It is the highest income Montenegro achieves. In Montenegro, tourism revenues of about one billion euros are expected, but this is total revenue, of which pure profit is between 100 and 150 million. The 200 million of the seafarers' income has no expense. In spite of schools and more seafaring training centers, Montenegro has no clear and long-term maritime policy."

"The most important goal of this book is not to increase awareness of the significance of maritime history, but to encourage state and social institutions and seafarers to create a development policy without which country cannot effectively develop maritime affairs and valorize the coastal state's position. Marine affairs are, once again, Montenegrin most important business branches," said Boka Navy Admiral Antun Sbutega.

The release of this capital work was realized thanks to the support of the Ministry of Culture of Montenegro, and the publishers are the Maritime Museum of Montenegro Kotor and the Boka Navy Kotor.

29 November 2018 - At the meeting of the Energy Community's Ministerial Council, which took place in Skopje on November 29, under the auspices of the Energy Community, a delegation of Montenegro was led by Minister of Economy Dragica Sekulić.

Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev chaired the meeting of the Council. Macedonia gathered ministers of energy, environmental protection, and climate change, bearing in mind the importance of functioning of energy systems by renewable energy sources, as well as energy efficiency, to reduce emissions with the greenhouse effect.

The meeting presented the Annual Report on the Implementation of the 2018 Agreement, drafted by the Energy Community Secretariat. This year's report, as well as the last year's one, reads that Montenegro has achieved the best grade when it comes to meeting the obligations under the Agreement. It was noted that Montenegro is the only Contracting Party which has not had an open case to date in line with Articles 91 and 92 of the Treaty defining the initiation of proceedings against a member who does not respect the obligations provided for in the agreement.

About energy infrastructure, the PECI (Project of Energy Community Interest) list includes the project Trans Balkan Corridor - 400kV - Montenegro OHL Lastva - Pljevlja, while the PMI (Project of mutual interest) list consists of the Ionian-Adriatic Pipeline (IAP).

Finally, the Council of Ministers made decisions on the transfer of the Regulation EU 2017/1369 concerning the energy efficiency labeling of products, as well as the Regulation 1227/2011 on the integrity of the energy market and transparency in the national legislation of the Contracting Parties.