List of Podgorica neighbourhoods and suburbs
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Below is a list of selected neighbourhoods and suburbs of Montenegrin capital of Podgorica. Note that there are many different interpretations on boundaries and existence of certain neighbourhoods, as neighbourhood is not an administrative category, but unofficial geographical notion.
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[edit] Centar
Historically known as Nova Varoš (new town), this neighbourhood roughly corresponds to the traditional city centre of Podgorica. It is bounded by Ivana Crnojevića Boulevard to the north, Svetog Petra Cetinjskog Boulevard to the south, Stanka Dragojevića Boulevard to the west, and Ribnica River to the east.
It is administrative, as well as socio-cultural heart of the city. Parliament of Montenegro, Central Bank of Montenegro, Montenegrin National Theatre and Podgorica City Assembly are located within this part of town. It is also home to most of Podgorica's caffes, nightclubs and retail establishments. Hercegovačka Street and Slobode Street, city's main promenades, are completely within the city center. The Square of the Republic, traditionally considered the heart of Podgorica, is positioned at the center of this neighbourhood.
The city center saw heavy investments in recent past, in order to make it a representable city center for a state capital.
[edit] Preko Morače
The neighbourhood's name, Preko Morače, literally translates to Across the Morača River, which refers to its location, across the river, relative to the city center. Majority of the neighborhood was built right after the World War II, incorporating basic residential buildings typical for post-WW2 FPR Yugoslavia (mostly 5-6 story multiple-entrance wide pavilions in addition to a few single entrance buildings up to 10 stories). Originally, it exclusively housed the families of Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) personnel, although this has somewhat changed in recent years as some of them sold their apartments. Still, many of the Preko Morače current inhabitants are in some way connected to former JNA.
Ever since its early construction, the neighbourhood has locally gained the reputation as a desirable place for living, sought after for its comparatively well-executed urbanistic plan with wide streets and extensive greenery. Although the residential buildings incorporate uninventive and basic designs, they are built in a solid way, so as to cope with aging very well.
Svetog Petra Cetinjskog Boulevard in this part of town is favourite promenade of Podgorica citizens, and is lined with numerous caffes and restaurants. This part of town is also home to a Montenegrin Ministry of the Interior building, and Morača Sports Center.
[edit] Kruševac and Vectra district
Kruševac settlement is an extension of Preko Morače neighbourhood. It extends to the southwest of the Boulevard of the Revolution, and is home to Clinical Center of Montenegro, RTCG, and Kruševac Park, arguably the most beautiful and spacious public park in Podgorica.
Vectra district is named after the company that built the first building in the area. The district is located around the Roman Square, coloquially known as Vectra square. It is the location of headquarters Montenegrin telecommunication carriers, numerous banks, luxury hotel and vast number of exclusive cafes, restaurants and boutiques. It is sometimes referred to as the New Podgorica Center and boasts some of the highest real-estate prices in Podgorica.
[edit] Blok 5 & Blok 6
Residential blocks 5 and 6 are the only neighbourhoods that kept the Blok designation as their common name, in contrast to other newer parts of town, that got other nicknames.
Blocks 5 & 6 are bounded by Svetog Petra Cetinjskog Boulevard on the south, George Washington Boulevard on the east, Dalmatinska Street on the north, and blend with Tološi neighbourhood on the west.
The Blocks are relatively new, as construciton started in 1980s. They consist of hihgrise residential buildings, up to 16 storeys high. Many consider Blocks most family friendly parts of town, as they have vast pedestrian-only spaces, lots of playgrounds, sports fields and greenery. They also incorporate wide streets, and relatively enough parking spaces, a rarity in today's Podgorica.
[edit] Tološi
Tološi is the westernmost part of Podgorica, and an extension of Blok 5-6 area. A lowrise residential neighborhood, it is mostly located between Dalmatinska and SKOJ-a streets. Before its development began, it was a physically detached suburb of Podgorica with mostly rural features. This neglect from the urban planning point of view resulted in poor infrastructure, a problem evident even today as it's still rare to find a street in Tološi that has features such as sidewalks or drainage system.
As an exception to this, recently developed upscale stretches have sprung up along the Dalmatinska street and SKOJ boulevard, which house some affluent locals such as Miomir Mugoša, current mayor of Podgorica.
In contrast, areas in the hills northwest of Tološi, known as Vranići, represent typical shanty towns.
[edit] Momišići
Momišići neighbourhood curves around the foot of Malo Brdo (Little Hill), and also up its southeastern slopes. It consists mostly of lowrise private family houses, except in its southern tip, which is home to University of Montenegro's Faculty of Economics and Faculty of Law buildings as well as Podgorica Police Headquarters.
[edit] Gornja Gorica
Gornja Gorica (Upper Gorica) is neighborhood located to the north of Cetinjski Road, and east of Gorica hill (not the Gorica Hill in the city center). It is a residential neighborhood, except for the strip surrounding Cetinjski Road, which is packed with commercial facilities, such as Delta City Montenegro.
[edit] Donja Gorica
Donja Gorica (Lower Gorica) is neighborhood which strethces along the road towards Cetinje, south of Gorica hill (not the Gorica Hill in the city center). It can be considered a suburb, due to its physical detachment from the rest of the city. It consists mostly of lowrise residential developments, except the part by the highway, which has a number of stores and warehouses.
[edit] Pod Goricom
Pod Goricom is urban neighborhood that is located on the southeastern slopes of Gorica Hill, and is an extension to the city center. It is known as exclusive residential neighborhood, especially Gorica C. It is a residence of choice for majority of politicians and Montenegrin nouveau riche.
Now Donja Gorica is Univerzity centre, since in 2007 it's established Unioverizsty "Donja Gorica".
[edit] Zagorič
Zagorič is the part of town located north of Gorica hill. Its name is derived from the expression Iza Gorice (Behind Gorica). It is entirely lowrise residential area.
[edit] Zlatica & Masline
Zlatica and Masline are entirely residential neighbourhoods in northeast Podgorica. Zlatica stretches along the motorway towards Kolašin, while Masline are south to the Zlatica, and north of Ribnica River. Masline is home to the biggest army camp within Municipality of Podgorica.
[edit] Konik
Konik is a residential neighbourhood, almost entirely lowrise, in Podgorica's eastern part. Its most distinctive feature is that it's home to Podgorica's Roma minority, and has an image of underdeveloped part of town. It has poor infrastructure compared to other parts of the city. Many parts of Konik reassemble a typical shanty town.
[edit] Vrela Ribnice
Vrela Ribnice, or Vrela Ribnička is an extension of Konik to the south-east. Is is the poorest neighborhood of Podgorica, consisting mostly of Roma population, and refugees from Yugoslav wars. It is mostly a lowrise residential area, with very poor infrastrucure. Most of the neighborhood has an appearance of a slum or shanty town. On its southeastern tip, it has a real refugee camp, a garbage dump and many garbage processing facilities.
[edit] Stari Aerodrom
Stari Aerodrom (Old airport) is a neighbourhood located between the Konik neighbourhood, Belgrade - Bar railway and the road towards Tuzi. It is relatively new part of town, and hence an entirely planned one. It consists of mixed highrise and lowrise buildings, and boasts wide streets and good infrasturucture. It now witnesses a construction boom as it has abundance of empty spaces for development, and is relatively well connected with the city center.
[edit] Drač & Stara Varoš
Drač & Stara Varoš (Old town) are parts of town located south-east to the confluence of Ribnica and Morača rivers. Stara VAroš's boundaries are Morača and Ribnica rivers, Kralja Nikole street, and Crnogorskih Serdara boulevard. Drač is bounded by Belgrade - Bar railway, Oktobarske Revolucije street, Pete Proleterske Boulevard and Bratstva - Jedinstva street. They formed one compact neighborhood before World War II, but since then they were split with highrise apartment blocks, built during SFRY. They are a historical core of the city, and are the last reminants of Ottoman architecture in Podgorica. Stara Varoš is home to Podgorica's two mosques and Turskish clock tower. Both neighborhoods are mostly residential, and incorporate narrow and curvy streets, typical for old Turkish town.
[edit] Zabjelo
Zabjelo is a large neighbourhood in southern Podgorica. It is located to the south of Ljubović hill and Bracana Bracanovića street. It is the southernmost neighbourhood of Podgorica, and largest one by area. It is uncertain weather the smaller neighbourhoods such as Pobrežje and Zelenika could be considered a part of Zabjelo.
Zabjelo is known by its characteristic subculture. Zabjelo's residents are known for their casual and laid-back lifestyle, and particularly for their strong native identity and appreciation for their neighbourhood. Zabjelo has no distinctive landmarks, the infrastructure is poor, yet, it is mostly loved by its residents. A localy famous organization called "The Republic of Zabjelo" exists since 12. September 1991, and among its "demands" is secession of Zabjelo from Republic of Montenegro, which came as a provocative response to the break up of old Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia.
