The Mausoleum of Njegoš is a mausoleum interring

Petar II Petrović-Njegoš Petar II Petrović-Njegoš ( sr-cyrl, Петар II Петровић-Његош, ; – ), commonly referred to simply as Njegoš (), was a Prince-Bishop (''vladika'') of Montenegro, poet and philosopher whose works are widely considered ...

located on the top of

Mount Lovćen Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

. The mausoleum is located twenty-one kilometres via asphalt road from near-by Cetinje and it was built on the idea of Croatian sculptor

Ivan Meštrović Ivan Meštrović (; 15 August 1883 – 16 January 1962) was a Croatian sculptor, architect, and writer. He was the most prominent modern Croatian sculptor and a leading artistic personality in contemporary Zagreb. He studied at Pavle Bilinić's ...

. It was built on the same location of the Njegoš Testament Church which Njegoš had built in 1845 with the intention of being buried there and which he dedicated to his predecessor

Petar I Petrović-Njegoš Petar I Petrović-Njegoš (Serbian Cyrillic: Петар I Петровић Његош; 1748 – 31 October 1830) was the ruler of the Prince-Bishopric of Montenegro as the Metropolitan (''vladika'') of Cetinje, and Exarch (legate) of the Serbi ...

(who is

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...

as Saint Peter of Cetinje in the Serbian Orthodox Church). The church suffered damage from bombardment in both World Wars. In 1974, despite protest from the

Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral The Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral of the Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr, Митрополија црногорско-приморска Српске православне цркве, Mitropolija crnogorsko-primorska Srpske pravoslav ...

and local Orthodox Christians, the old church was ordered demolished by a commission of the

League of Communists of Montenegro , logo = , colorcode = , leader = President of the League of Communists of Montenegro , foundation = 1943 , dissolution = 22 June 1991 , successor = Democratic Party of Socialists of Montene ...

led by

Veljko Milatović Veljko Milatović ( Serbo-Croat Cyrillic: Вељко Милатовић; 5 December 1921 – 19 October 2004) was a Montenegrin Communist partisan, politician, statesman serving once as the Speaker and once as President.

History

Prior to his death, Njegoš had asked to be buried atop Mount Lovćen, in a chapel dedicated to his predecessor

. He had designed himself, and oversaw its construction in 1845. Following his death in October 1851, Njegoš was interred at the

Cetinje Monastery The Cetinje Monastery ( sr, Цетињски манастир, Cetinjski manastir) is a monastery of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro. It is located in Cetinje and is the seat of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro. A center of historica ...

. His remains were transferred to Mount Lovćen in 1855. They remained there until 1916, when during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Montenegro was occupied by

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

and the Habsburg occupiers decided to erect a monument to Austrian Emperor

Franz Joseph Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

on Mount Lovćen. Not wishing for a monument to the Austrian Emperor to be located on the same perch as a symbol of South Slavic national feeling, Austro-Hungarian authorities demanded that Njegoš's remains be moved back to Cetinje. The Montenegrins had little choice in the matter and the remains were removed under the supervision of Serbian Orthodox clergy so that the Austro-Hungarians would not be accused of desecration. By the end of the war, Njegoš's chapel was severely damaged. Local authorities negotiated with the Yugoslav government for years over the question of where, when and at whose expense Njegoš was to be buried. Montenegrin officials favoured restoring the original chapel, while the authorities in Belgrade opened a competition over the designs of a planned mausoleum. Some of the plans differed greatly from the original Byzantinesque building. Due to lack of funds, plans for a mausoleum were discarded by 1925 and the original church building was reconstructed. In September 1925, in the course of a three-day ceremony sponsored and attended by Yugoslavia's King

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

and Queen

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

, the chapel was rededicated and Njegoš's remains were reburied. Historian Andrew B. Wachtel writes: "The tone of the event, which was described extensively in the Yugoslav press, bordered on a piety more appropriate for the treatment of a saint than a writer." At the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Yugoslavia came under communist rule. In 1952, Yugoslavia's communist authorities decided to replace Njegoš's chapel with a secular mausoleum designed by

. Wachtel suggests that this was done to " de-Serbianize" Njegoš and eliminate any trace of the chapel's Byzantine design. In the late 1960s the chapel was demolished, and a mausoleum was constructed by 1971. Njegoš's remains were transferred back to Mount Lovćen in 1974, and the mausoleum was officially inaugurated that year.

Legacy

Njegoš and his burial spot used to be mentioned in the popular Montenegrin Serb folk song ''

Oj, svijetla majska zoro "" (Cyrillic: "", ; "Oh, Bright Dawn of May") is the national anthem of Montenegro adopted in 2004. Before its adoption, it was a popular folk song with many variations of its text. The oldest version dates back to the second half of the 19th cen ...

'' which (with revised lyrics) has been the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...

of Montenegro since 2004. From 1945 to 1992, the previous Njegoš Testament Church was featured in the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

of the

Socialist Republic of Montenegro The Socialist Republic of Montenegro ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Crna Gora, Социјалистичка Република Црна Гора), commonly referred to as Socialist Montenegro or simply Montenegro, was ...

and from 1992 to 1994 in the coat of arms of the Republic of Montenegro.

Gallery

Lovćen mausoleum statue.jpg, Njegos with an eagle over his head Njegošev mauzolej.JPG, Entrance to the Mausoleum Njegošev mauzolej na Lovćenu, 2013-05-04 - panoramio (2).jpg, Caryatids at the entrance show Montenegrins Jezerni vrch na Lovcenu, v pozadi Cetinjske polje a Sinjajev.jpg, Jezerski vrh Tunel ka Jezerskom vrhu na Lovćenu.png, A tunnel that leads to Jezerski vrh Lovcen P8300087.jpg, Guvno lookout point with a view of the ″Stone Sea″

Notes

References

Works cited

; Books *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Njegos Mausoleum Petar II Petrović-Njegoš Mausoleums in Montenegro Tourist attractions in Montenegro Ivan Meštrović Burial sites of the Petrović-Njegoš dynasty