The mausoleum of the Montenegrin leader and Mitropolite Peter II Petrovic-Njegos is located a couple kilometers away from Cetinje, on one of the mountaintops of the Lovcen ridge — the Jezerski Peak.

Initially there was a clock tower, built on the orders of the ruler himself in mid-XIX century. However, the tower sustained severe damage in 1916, when the country was occupied by Austro-Hungarian forces.

In 1924 an idea to build a mausoleum in place of the clock tower first came up. Representaitives of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia came to Croatian sculptor and architect Ivan Mestrovic, who started work on the project and came up with a couple of blueprints. However, the project was abandoned due to lack of funding. A decision was made instead to build another clock tower in place of the old one.

The project saw light again in 1951, on the 100-year anniversary of Njegos's death, when it was finally decided to build the mausoleum in his honor. Once again the government of Montenegro approached Ivan Mestrovic, then living in the US.

With his friend, architect Harold Bilinic, Mestrovic continued work on the project. At the same time preparations were done on site and granite blocks were delivered from the Jablanica quarry in Bosnia & Herzegovina. Njegos's statue was done by one of Ivan's friends, sculptor Andrij Krstulovic.

Preparation work was being done all the way until 1970, while the mausoleum received his well-overdue grand opening in 1974. The building lasted to this day.

The mausoleum is made of stone, with two felame sculptures at the entrance. Inside is Njegos's sculture, as well as a tomb with his remains. The sarcophagus is decorated with depictions of the two-headed eagle and the cross — symbols of secular and religious power of the ruler.

You can get to the top of the Lovcen mountain and the mausoleum by a tour bus or on your own by car. There's a car park at the top, after which you'll need to climb 461 stairs to the mausoleum.

The mausoleum is only open for visitor from April to November. Admission fees are 5 Euro for adults and 2.5 Euro for children.