Danilo's Bridge
Two limestone arches from 1853.
Javier Sánchez Portero — CC BY-SA 3.0 · A81t — CC BY-SA 4.0 · A81t — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Miomir Magdevski — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Pudelek — CC BY-SA 4.0
Rijeka Crnojevića is a small village in Cetinje municipality on the river of the same name, which flows into Lake Skadar. Its landmark is Danilo's Bridge, a 43 m double-arched limestone bridge built by Prince Danilo I in 1853 in memory of his father, Stanko Petrović, replacing a wooden one from the time of Petar II Petrović-Njegoš. After the Ottomans took Žabljak Crnojevića around 1478, Ivan Crnojević, lord of Zeta, moved his seat here, building a fortress and a monastery of St Nicholas on Obod hill across the river, then founded Cetinje in 1482. Tradition ties the Obod printing house, which in 1494 finished the first Cyrillic book printed among the South Slavs, to a cellar here, though most historians place the press at Cetinje. In the 19th and early 20th centuries the village was Montenegro's largest port. From the bridge the calm river runs between mostly 19th-century stone houses; beside it on the left bank stands the Mostina, Danilo's one-storey house. Boatmen at the quay take visitors along the winding river and its reed-lined channels into Lake Skadar National Park, and kayaks are another way in. Riverside restaurants serve lake fish such as carp. It lies about 16 km by road from central Cetinje and 27 km from central Podgorica. The road down from the Podgorica–Cetinje highway passes the Pavlova Strana viewpoint, 3 km north-east as the crow flies, above the river's horseshoe bend. With no regular bus, come by car, taxi or tour. King Nikola's Palace and Cetinje Monastery lie 9 km west as the crow flies.
Two limestone arches from 1853.
The river's horseshoe bend from above.
Down the winding river towards Lake Skadar.
Village centre by Danilo's Bridge, Cetinje municipality
Take the road that drops to the village from the Podgorica–Cetinje highway; the viewpoint is about 4 km before the village by road. Roadside parking is limited and the hairpins are tight, so pull over with care.
It was a leading trading centre in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and Montenegro's first pharmacy and first weapons workshop opened here. Its dried bleak, a small lake fish, was prized on Italian tables.