The onset and development of Cetinje, as a relatively young city, with its old historical core draws a lot of attention to urban and architectural heritage, on its construction and development influenced stormy historical, social and economic events in the country.

Cetinje, as a settlement exists for 500 years, which is not much compared to the development of the coastal agglomeration of the ancient period in the immediate surrounding. However, these five centuries - the whole history of a people, who, through the development of city recorded moments of their origin, ascent, stagnation and downs.

For Cetinje as urban agglomeration, can be said to have formed suddenly, which makes it very specific. In fact, since the seventies of the nineteenth century, for almost fifty years, there was, in the urban context, designed and typological characteristic areas formed with urban type residential home ground floor and storey house with developed attic, created and developed in closed urban blocks, where line of life in them was street - house - garden.

Along with the development of this type of urban city blocks and residential buildings, has developed substantial public architecture of the city, which was built under the great influence of foreign builders with the application of various architectural styles and which then and now, is a representative architectural backbone of the city.

RUsko poslanstvoBetween the two world wars, which characterized by the loss of Montenegrin statehood and noticeable stagnation of the architectural development of the city, Cetinje continues the tradition of formed, then already traditional type of urban residential houses and closed urban blocks, but they build the first modern multi-storey residential buildings for collective housing, and modern public institutions necessary for the then social life.

In the fastest and most important period of the development of Cetinje, since the seventies of the nineteenth century until the First World War, which was then the smallest European old capital, was created and developed city on the principles the European metropolises of that time in whose architectural activity of the city was engaged many foreign architects, engineers , builders and craftsmen.

The development of Cetinje in this period was followed by many important historical and social events. So the second half of the nineteenth century in the development of Cetinje marked period of state power and its pursuit of the European culture and international recognition. Recognition of Montenegro as an independent state, at the Berlin Congress in 1878. , on the basis of which greatly expanded, he began a period of rapid creation of a national, economic, social, cultural, societal and spatial superstructure which caused increasing of economic power and the reorganization and improvement of the state apparatus and the authorities. During this period, Cetinje, as the old royal capital, gains in an even greater national and international significance and experiencing its rapid socio - economic, institutional, and urban development.

Vladin domWithout taking into consideration possibility and efforts which Cetinje is realized as spatially small and young city, it occupies an important place in terms of conceptual, social and urban transformation of other cities in Montenegro, particularly since the second half of the nineteenth century until the First World War.

On the basis of that and the facts about today's relatively preserved old urban heritage, is justified the fact which Cetinje ranks among the cities with significant architectural heritage, which obliges us to its significant valorization and more scientific study.

(excerpt from the book "The Architecture of Cetinje from the XV century to the Second World War," by prof. Goran Radovic)