Lovćen National Park and Njegoš Mausoleum Guide

Lovćen rises behind Kotor and encloses the long, twisting bays of the Boka Kotorska. Proclaimed a national park in 1952, the area measures 62.20 km²; its highest point is Štirovnik at 1,749 m, with the second peak, Jezerski vrh, at 1,657 m. The park sits between Cetinje, Kotor and Budva. (Source: Wikipedia, Wikivoyage)

To reach the mausoleum on Jezerski vrh you pass through a marble-lined tunnel and climb 461 stone steps. The monument was designed by the sculptor Ivan Meštrović; construction began in 1971 and was completed in 1974. Granite caryatids flank the entrance, while inside a seated figure carved from a single block of marble stands beside Njegoš's black-granite sarcophagus. From the round stone platform behind it, the guvno, you look out over much of the country. (Source: Wikipedia, Wikivoyage)

Njegoš was born on 13 November 1813 in the village of Njeguši and died on 31 October 1851 in Cetinje, aged 37. From 1830 to 1851 he ruled as prince-bishop (vladika) of Montenegro and wrote the epic Gorski vijenac (The Mountain Wreath), a masterpiece of South Slavic literature. He wished to be buried atop Jezerski vrh, where he built his own chapel in 1845; his remains were moved to the mountain in 1855. (Source: Wikipedia, Wikivoyage)

From the round platform behind the mausoleum you see the twisting bays of the Boka Kotorska and the ranges beyond; on clear days the view stretches far. The historic serpentine road winds up from Kotor in sharp hairpin bends to the village of Njeguši, birthplace of the royal Petrović family. Njeguši is known for its air-dried ham (pršut). (Source: Wikipedia, Wikivoyage)

At the foot of Lovćen, Cetinje is Montenegro's old royal capital; founded in 1482 by Ivan Crnojević, it has housed the Cetinje Monastery since 1484. Sitting at around 671 m, the town lies about 13 km from the mausoleum. Njegoš's body was first interred here, at the Cetinje Monastery, in 1851. (Source: Wikipedia, Wikivoyage)