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Prince Peter of Montenegro

1889–1932

Born
10 Oct 1889, Cetinje
Country of birth
Principality of Montenegro, today Montenegro
Died
7 May 1932, Merano
facts
7
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

A life in time

  1. Born · Cetinje

    Birth, Cetinje

  2. Died · Merano

    Death, Merano

What was it like?

The world around Cetinje, 1889: who ruled, who else was alive, how people lived. This is general history, not a record about the family, and every item shows where it comes from.

Prince was born the same year as Charlie Chaplin, Jean Cocteau, and Gabriel Marcel.

Born the same year

  • Charlie Chaplin

    English actor and filmmaker (1889–1977)

  • Jean Cocteau

    French writer and film director (1889–1963)

  • Gabriel Marcel

    French philosopher, playwright, music critic and leading Christian existentialist (1889-1973)

  • Jawaharlal Nehru

    Prime Minister of India from 1947 to 1964

  • Ludwig Wittgenstein

    Austrian philosopher and logician (1889–1951)

  • Martin Heidegger

    German philosopher (1889–1976)

Fashion

Costume worth more than property

A luxurious Montenegrin national costume could be so valuable that, together with weapons, it was worth more than a family's entire property. It took an average of three months to craft one of these costumes.

Weapons as essential clothing for men

For men, carrying a belt with weapons was considered essential, to the point that a man without them was viewed as being naked. The flat, cylindrical hat was an obligatory element of the traditional male attire.

Music

The gusle and epic songs

The gusle, a single-stringed instrument played with a bow, was essential for epic poetry, with stories often passed between people during evening gatherings. Its soundbox was traditionally made of maple and covered in animal skin, with a string crafted from thirty horsehairs.

Traditional oro dancing

The oro dance, performed by men and women together, was a centerpiece of festivities and was sometimes danced until dawn. Dancers would circle while singing, often illuminated at night by burning kindling wood.

Getting around

Antivari to Vir by carriage

A carriage journey between Antivari and Vir took five to six hours, covering a distance of roughly 20 kilometers that was effectively doubled by the road's many sharp curves.

Cetinje to Podgoritza by carriage

Traveling by carriage from Cetinje to Podgoritza took between six and seven hours, depending on road conditions and the weather.

Daily life

Compulsory and free elementary education

Elementary education was made compulsory and free, with 75 public and 26 private schools operating in Montenegro by 1899.

Stone homes shared with livestock

Homes were typically built of stone and usually contained only one or two rooms, where families and livestock lived together, filled with smoke from the hearth.

Food

Bread was the essential, sacred staple food

Bread was the most important food, often made from rye, barley, wheat, or corn, and it was so highly valued that people sometimes took oaths on it. Households also prepared simple meals based on flour and dairy products, such as cheese and cream.

Rakia was the most popular traditional drink

Rakia, a brandy typically distilled from plums or other local fruits, was the most popular drink. It was often produced at home using primitive stills and stored in sheep or goat skin bags.

Prices and wages

Cost of mountain transport

Transporting luggage over 3-4,000 feet of mountain terrain and through deep snow for a distance of over 3 Norwegian miles cost 6 gulden.

Defining wealth in Montenegro

Wealthy individuals were defined as those with an annual income of 400 gulden, illustrating the poverty of the region.

Work

Agriculture and patriarchal household life

The primary occupation was agriculture and livestock farming, with families often living in large patriarchal households of 50 to 300 people. While manual labor was previously stigmatized for men, this prejudice faded by the late 19th century as agricultural opportunities grew.

Heavy physical labor and sparse diet

Women performed the majority of heavy labor, including transport and field work, often carrying huge loads with straps across their chests while knitting or spinning. Daily sustenance for common people was sparse, typically consisting only of maize bread at sunrise and a small evening meal of bread and milk.

News and letters

Few post offices for the public

By 1890, there were only eight post offices in all of Montenegro, and early use of the service was limited due to high rates of illiteracy among the public.

During their lifetime

  1. 1889

    Massive emigration due to famine

    A period of intense hunger affected the population, leading to the emigration of over 10,000 people.

  2. 1891

    First water supply system built

    The first water supply system in the country was constructed in the capital, Cetinje.

  3. 1898

    The Bread Riots of 1898

    Widespread bread riots broke out across Italy in 1898 due to rising wheat prices, leading to mass repression, including the Bava Beccaris massacre in Milan where up to 400 people were killed.

  4. 1905

    Nationalization of Italian Railways, 1905

    In 1905, the Italian state nationalized the railway network, forming the State Railways (FS) to modernize transport and boost heavy industry.

  5. 1906

    Simplon Tunnel opens, 1906

    In 1906, the Simplon Tunnel, at 19.7 km the world's longest at the time, opened, connecting Italy and Switzerland by rail.

  6. 1913

    Peak of Italian migration, 1913

    In 1913, Italian migration hit a record peak, with 870,000 people leaving the country in a single year.

Family

Parents

Ancestors and children

Open the full tree

Four generations back to the right, the children to the left. The number beside a child counts the generations of descendants known after them.