Croats of Montenegro

The Croats have a minority in Boka Kotorska (Bay of Kotor), a coastal region in Montenegro, the largest of their kind in Tivat. The three municipalities making up the Bay of Kotor (Tivat, Kotor and Herceg-Novi) include 4,519 Croats or 6.70%.^[2] They are also known as Bokelji, a common name for all inhabitants for of Boka Kotorska. Tivat is home to the minority political party Croatian Civic Initiative, and to the National Council of Croats in Montenegro. Kotor is home to Croatian Civic Society of Montenegro.

Croats of Montenegro
Hrvati u Crnoj Gori
Хрвати у Црној Гори

Croat minority flag in Montenegro
Total population
5,150 (2023 census)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Tivat Municipality (12.01%) Kotor Municipality (5.73%) Herceg Novi Municipality (1.66%)
Languages
Croatian, Montenegrin
Religion
Roman Catholicism
Related ethnic groups
Other South Slavs

Percent of Croats in municipalities of Montenegro in 1953

Ethnic composition of three Boka municipalities in 2003

Religion

Croats of Montenegro are mainly Catholic. According to the 2011 census, 5,527 (91.80%) Croats declared as such. Since most of them live in the Bay of Kotor, the vast majority of them fall under the Diocese of Kotor.

Places of worship

• Our Lady of the Rocks
• Cathedral of Saint Tryphon

Demographics

Settlements in Montenegro with significant Croatian minority (10 percent or more) include (2011):^[3]

• Bogdašići (27 or 47,37%)
• Donja Lastva (315 or 41,94%)
• Lepetani (53 or 28,80%)
• Strp (12 or 24%)
• Krašići (27 or 20,77%)
• Muo (115 or 18,58%)
• Bogišići (33 or 17,93%)
• Tivat (1,622 or 17,31%)
• Donji Stoliv (58 or 16,67%)
• Prčanj (170 or 15,04%)
• Kavač (93 or 13,86%)
• Kotor (113 or 11,76%)
• Škaljari (415 or 10,90%)

Census year
Municipality	Number of Croats	Percentage
1961
Herceg-Novi	1,544	10.18%
Kotor	3,483	20.92%
Tivat	3,423	57.29%
1971
Herceg-Novi	1,195	6.5%
Kotor	2,612	13.8%
Tivat	3,375	48.73%
1981
Herceg-Novi	702	3.01%
Kotor	1,644	8.03%
Tivat	2,876	30.87%
1991
Herceg-Novi	630	2.28%
Kotor	1,617	7.2%
Tivat	2,663	23.35%
2003
Herceg-Novi	831	2.45%
Kotor	1,842	7.84%
Tivat	2,761	19.73%
2011
Herceg-Novi	662	2.14%
Kotor	1,553	7.84%
Tivat	2,304	16.42%

Croatian Civic Society of Montenegro

The Croatian Civic Society of Montenegro (Croatian: Hrvatsko građansko društvo Crne Gore) is a Croat community organisation in Montenegro. Their headquarters is located in the coastal town of Kotor, in the Boka kotorska region of Montenegro.

Notable people

• Marta Batinović, Montenegrin handball player
• Tihomil Beritić, physician
• Luka Brajnović, university professor and journalist
• Ivan Brkanović, writer
• Tomislav Crnković, Croatian football player
• Vjenceslav Čižek, poet
• blessed Gracija of Muo, Augustinian and hermit
• Ilija Janjić, Bishop
• Leopold Mandić, Catholic saint
• Franjo Kunčer, motorsport racer
• Andrija Maurović, comic book author
• Nikola Modruški, Bishop of Modruš
• Božo Nikolić, sea captain and politician
• Josip Pečarić, mathematician
• Matea Pletikosić, Montenegrin handball player
• Branko Sbutega, priest and writer
• Milan Sijerković, meteorologists
• Viktor Vida, writer
• Marija Vučinović, politician
• Predrag Vušović, actor

See also

• Croatia–Montenegro relations
• Croatian diaspora
• Ethnic groups in Montenegro
• Croatian Confraternity Bokelj Navy 809.
• Montenegrins of Croatia