History of Pljevlja

built their own city on the ruins of the Illyrian city and named it Municipium S (S is the first letter of the name of the city that was founded on the ruins near Pljevlja's Komini suburb). The city was the second largest Roman city in modern Montenegro after Doclea. Municipium S was the large trade and religious center of the upper Roman province of Dalmatia. A large number of valuable objects including jewellery pieces, glass vases and pottery have been found in the ruins of the old city. The most valuable object is the Diatreta or cage cup, a glass vase trimmed with blue glass threads which is considered to be priceless and the only one of its kind in the world.

Middle Ages

The Slavs eventually entered this region in the 6th century and built a city called Breznik (Breznica), first mentioned in 822, named after the river which runs through the city. The city blossomed over the centuries and became one of the main cities in the early Serbian state of Raška. Breznik was on the main routes from Dubrovnik, Trieste and Kotor to Constantinople, Sarajevo and Belgrade and because of that, the first customs was opened in 1338. From 14th century city had the double name Breznik and Pljevlja. After the breakdown of Dušan’s empire, Breznik (Pljevlja) was ruled by many rulers: from 1368 to 1373 by Nikola Altomanović, 1373 to 1435 by Bosnian kings and from 1435 till September 1, 1462 by HerzogStefan Vukčić when he lost the city to the Ottoman Empire.

Ottoman rule

The new name, Pljevlja, was not in use for a long time because after the Ottoman invasion the city was renamed Taşlıca (rocky terms). Turks upgraded the city to 'kasaba', a larger Ottoman city