Montenegro declared independence from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro on June 3, 2006, after a referendum in which 55.5 percent of voters chose separation. The country has 620,029 residents according to the 2011 census. Montenegrins constitute 45 percent of the population, Serbs 28.7 percent, Bosniaks 8.65 percent, Albanians 4.91 percent, and smaller percentages of Croats, Roma, and others. The Serbian Orthodox Church claims the largest religious affiliation at approximately 72 percent, followed by Islam at 19.11 percent and Catholic Christianity at 3.44 percent. The official language is Montenegrin, written in both Latin and Cyrillic alphabets, though Serbian, Bosnian, Albanian, and Croatian hold official status in municipalities where those populations exceed defined thresholds. Podgorica, the capital since 1946, holds approximately 150,000 residents, while Cetinje retains the ceremonial title of Old Royal Capital with a population near 14,000.
The medieval principality of Duklja emerged in the 11th century under the Vojislavljević dynasty and achieved recognition from Pope Gregory VII in 1077. By the 14th century, the region fell under various Serbian feudal lords until Ottoman expansion absorbed most Balkan territories. The name Montenegro — Crna Gora in South Slavic languages, both meaning Black Mountain — appears in written records from the 15th century, likely referring to the dark forested appearance of Mount Lovćen. The Prince-Bishopric of Montenegro, ruled by Orthodox bishops of the Petrović-Njegoš family, maintained de facto independence in the mountainous interior while the Ottomans controlled coastal areas and fertile valleys. Kotor and the Bay of Kotor spent centuries under Venetian rule from 1420 to 1797, imprinting Catholic and Italian architectural traditions before passing to Austrian control.
Petar II Petrović-Njegoš ruled as prince-bishop from 1830 to 1851 and remains Montenegro's most celebrated literary figure. His epic poem "Gorski vijenac" (The Mountain Wreath), published in 1847, contains 2,819 lines examining themes of heroism, sacrifice, and national identity through the lens of 18th-century conflicts with Ottoman forces and Islamized Slavs. Njegoš constructed a mausoleum on Mount Lovćen summit at 1,657 meters, later replaced by the monumental structure completed in 1974 that houses his remains. The current Njegoš Mausoleum, designed by sculptor Ivan Meštrović, requires visitors to climb 461 steps from the parking area. Njegoš also authored "Luča mikrokozma" (The Ray of the Microcosm), a philosophical poem published posthumously in 1845, and established the first printing press in Cetinje in 1833.
The Berlin Congress of 1878 recognized Montenegro as an independent principality and expanded its territory from approximately 4,400 square kilometers to 9,475 square kilometers, granting access to the Adriatic coast including Bar and Ulcinj. Prince Nikola I Petrović-Njegoš, who ruled from 1860 to 1918, proclaimed Montenegro a kingdom in 1910. His daughters married into various European royal families, earning him the nickname "the father-in-law of Europe." King Nikola sided with the Allies in World War I, but Austro-Hungarian forces occupied Montenegro from 1916 to 1918. In November 1918, the Podgorica Assembly voted to unite with Serbia, effectively ending Montenegrin independence. King Nikola refused to abdicate and died in exile in France in 1921.
Montenegro became one of six republics in socialist Yugoslavia after World War II. Partisan resistance against Axis occupation was particularly intense in Montenegro, with the 13 July 1941 uprising marking one of the earliest organized revolts in occupied Europe. The Communist Party leadership under Milovan Đilas directed operations from Montenegro's mountainous terrain. Đilas, born in Podbišće near Kolašin in 1911, later served as vice president of Yugoslavia before his 1954 expulsion from the party for criticizing the Communist elite in articles published in Western journals. He spent nine years in Yugoslav prisons between 1956 and 1966 and wrote "The New Class" while incarcerated, an analysis of Communist bureaucracy published in 1957 that prompted international attention.