Montenegro
This small, mountainous, and extremely rugged country formed part of the former Yugoslavia and became independent in 2006. Though Jews are known to have lived here in ancient and medieval times, little physical Jewish heritage remains.
A Jewish community has revived in recent years in the capital, Podgorica.
According to researchers, between four and seven Jewish cemeteries are believed to have existed, but, other than in Kotor (and ancient Duklja) their locations are not known.
See the ReDiscover project’s file, with an inventory of Jewish-interest sites in Montenegro
Known heritage sites include:
DUKLJA (DOCLEA)
Ruins of an ancient Roman trade center near today’s Podgorica, at the confluence of the Zeta and Morača rivers and the Širalija stream.
In 1960, archeologists at the site found a Jewish grave containing two skeletons and dating to the late 3rd or early 4th century. It was decorated with Jewish symbols including a seven-branched menorah, birds and floral motifs, traces of frescoed vines, a six-pointed star, and the Sukkoth etrog fruit.
See photo documentation, via Center for Jewish Art
KOTOR
Jewish cemetery
There is a small Jewish section of the municipal Škaljari cemetery which functioned in the 19th and early 20th century. The general cemetery was established in 1820; half was for use by the Orthodox Church; half by the Catholic church. In the Catholic section, the Bishop of Kotor allocated a plot for Jewish burials.
The ReDiscover project describes the cemetery as “rectangular and enclosed by a plaster-enclosed stone fence, with a height of c. 1-1-20 m, and the entrance gate is erected on the southern wall. There are 8-9 stone graves in the cemetery, with inscriptions of the names of the deceased, as well as the years of their birth and death. The Jewish cemetery is not in function today, although it is still maintained by the municipality of Kotor. The members of the Jewish community from Kotor buried in the 20th century are interred in the Catholic part of the Škaljari cemetery.”
ULCINJ
The false messiah Shabbatai Zevi died in this ancient seafront town near the Albanian border in 1676. He is assumed to have been buried here — what is believed to be his tomb is in the private yard of an Albanian Muslim family. The room where Zevi is believed to have lived out his final years, with two stars of David carved on its walls, is still preserved in the Ulcinj fortress.
The visit-ulcinj tourist web site uses Shabbatai Zevi’s story to promote the town