With its mountainous geography and turbulent history Montenegro
is a microcosm of the Balkans. Throughout its history Montenegro
was known in Europe for its fierce tribes and blood feuds. For
centuries, it has been the meeting point and battleground of
Muslim (Ottoman) and Catholic (Venetian and Austrian) empires.
In recent years, however, Montenegro has surprised those who
expected it to be torn apart by internal conflict. Montenegro is
Europe's youngest state, having achieved independence in the
summer of 2006. It hasn’t made much news since. For a country
which was once feared to turn into a failed state in a troubled
region, this, in itself, is remarkable. Of the six former
Yugoslav republics, Montenegro was the only one (since 1989) to
have avoided violent conflict on its territory. It is a country
without an ethnic majority; it is home to two Orthodox churches;
and its national currency is the euro. Its 620,000 citizens
include Orthodox Montenegrins and Orthodox Serbs, Muslim
Bosniaks, Catholic and Musl