Montenegro is a small country full of things to see and hidden gems to explore! When you visit the Skadar Lake National Park, you can’t miss the town Rijeka Crnojevića. This town is a perfect stop after hours of driving on the narrow roads in the mountains.
We came to this city after driving around the Skadar Lake for 1 hour and we go amazed by the cute, old bridges. In the 19th and the 20th century Rijeka Crnojevića was the biggest Montenegrin port and a leading trade center. In the 15. century it was even the capital of Montenegro for some time. Now Rijeka Crnojevića is a very small, sleepy town with less than 200 inhabitants.
But still, there are a lot of people around the Old Bridge, because it feels like the center of the town. If you would like to go kayaking or you want to explore the river on a boat, next to the bridge you will find a lot of tourist guides and opportunities to choose from.
You definitely have to stop here a little bit to relax and admire the view of the bridges while drinking your coffee or eating your lunch.
There is a confusion on the internet about these bridge names: Danilo’s Bridge, Old Bridge, Rijeka Crnojevića bridge, New Bridge.... If you’ll search for them, you will find the same photos for all the bridges, although there are two bridges! On Google Maps it’s clearly visible that the Rijeka Crnojevića bridge (which is the new bridge!) is the first one when you enter the town, and the second one is the Old Bridge (Danilo’s Bridge), which is next to all the restaurants and boats. Sometimes Rijeka Crnojevića bridge appears on the internet with photos about the Old Bridge. Don’t believe them! Even wikipedia is confusing, because they put the photos of the Old Bridge under the article name Rijeka Crnojevića bridge.
You definitely don’t need a lot of time to visit all the places in the town, but you can spend more time to explore the surroundings of Rijeka Crnojevića.
1. Rijeka Crnojevića bridge - New Bridge (Novi Most) - Ljeskovac bridge
You can find nice view of the bridge from the highway, right before crossing the bridge. When you cross the bridge and turn to the left, you will find yourself in Rijeka Crnojevića town.
2. Old Bridge - Stari Most, Danilo’s Bridge
This is the biggest bridge on the Crnojević river and one of the important attractions of Cetinje municipality. It was built by Prince Danilo at the end of the 19th century. The bridge connected Rijeka Crnojevića with the medieval town of Obod, located on a hilltop across the river, which was the location of a first Southern Slavic printing house.On the left bank of the river, adjacent to the bridge, Danilo also built a one-story house, popularly called Mostina.
Next to this really old looking bridge there are lots of restaurants and cafeterias. If you compare the prices to other cities in Montenegro, it’s very cheap! We loved the Turkish coffee in the restaurant next to the bridge.
3. Stara Crkva na Rijecki Grad - something like “old church in the Rijecki castle”
On the Obod hill, on the other side of the river the ruler Ivan Crnojevic built a fortress and a monastery to avoid the Turkish army in the 15. century, and then he moved the capital from Žabljak Crnojevića to Obod and Rijeka Crnojevića. The remains of the castle and the church are still there and it’s possible to hike up there.
Rijeka Crnojevica - the view of the town with the Old Bridge and the port with the boats
4. Viewpoints to the Crnojević River
If you visit this town, don’t forget to check out the 2 most impressive viewpoints: one viewpoint approx. 10 minutes before you arrive to the town from Virpazar. The second one is called Pavlova Strana, 6 minutes after you leave the town and you head to northeast. If you want to read more about the viewpoints, click here to read our article!
Pavlova Strana viewpoint near to Rijeka Crnojevica in the Lake Skadar National Park
Where to stay in Rijeka Crnojevića?
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