ĐURĐE CRNOJEVIĆ AND OKTOIH

The National Library of Montenegro “Đurđe Crnojević” has been named after Montenegrin ruler Đurđe Crnojević, the eldest son of Ivan Crnojević, the founder of Cetinje.

During his reign in Montenegro (1490-1496) Đurđe Crnojević launched the first state printing house and the second Cyrillic printing house in Europe in 1493, by that he wrote the name of Montenegro on the cultural map of Europe and the world in capital letters.

The Printing House of Đurđe Crnojević on Obod, known as Crnojević printing house, printed the first South Slavic Cyrillic book “Oktoih prvoglasnik” on 4 January 1494.

The Most Important Years in the History of the Montenegrin National Library

• 1838. The ruler, bishop and poet Petar II Petrović Njegoš separated secular from church books, and it is considered that his library has functioned as a state library.
• 1893. Prince Nikola I Petrović decided to establish a public library on the occasion of 400th anniversary of Crnojević printing house.
• 1896. The Law of the Principality-Montenegrin Library was adopted. The library was housed in the premises of the Royal Theatre Zetski dom in Cetinje.
• 1899. The first State Librarian in Montenegro, Filip Kovačević, established the rules for the arrangement of the Library, the main and specialized catalogue and first printed catalogue cards. Thus he set up the basis for the application of at the time contemporary methods for library work in Montenegro.
• 1912. The Library was entitled the Royal Library. Almost the entire Royal Library fund was destroyed in the war.
• 1944. After the World War II and liberation of Cetinje, the National Museum’s Library functioned as the Central Library in Montenegro.
• 1951. The Central Library got the right to use the building of the former French Embassy in Cetinje.
• 1964. Due to the significant increase of the library holdings, the former Italian Embassy building became the Library’s residence. The Library was renamed to Central National Library “Đurđe Crnojević”, after the ruler of Montenegro who in 1493 established the first State printing house and the second Cyrillic printing house in Europe.

120th Anniversary Movie

Read more on the national library’s page on CENL.