Berane

Berane Беране
Town and municipality
Clockwise, from top: Berane town hall, Đurđevi stupovi monastery, Grammar School, Main square, Panorama of Berane
Flag Coat of arms
Berane Location within Montenegro
Coordinates: 42°50′N 19°52′E / 42.84°N 19.86°E / 42.84; 19.86
Country	Montenegro
Region	Northern
Municipality	Berane
Founded	1862
Settlements	66
Government
• Type	Mayor-Assembly
• Mayor	Vuko Todorović (NSD)
Area
• Town and municipality	496 km2 (192 sq mi)
Population  (2023 census)
• Rank	8th in Montenegro
• Density	49/km2 (130/sq mi)
• Urban	9,923
• Rural	15,239
• Municipality	25,162
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	84300
Area code	+382 51
ISO 3166-2 code	ME-03
Car plates	BA
Climate	Cfb
Website	www.berane.me

Berane (Cyrillic: Беране) is a town in Montenegro in the northern region. It is former administrative centre of the Ivangrad District. The town is located on the Lim river. From 1949 to 1992, it was named Ivangrad (Cyrillic: Иванград) in honour to people's hero Ivan Milutinović. According to the 2023 census, the town had a population of 9,923, whereas its municipality area had 25,162 people.

During the medieval period the land of Berane was known as Budimlja (Будимља). It was of great holistic, political and economic importance in the medieval Serbian state and its rulers. Until 1455, when Turks took the city, Budimlja was part of the wider historical region of Raška, within the Medieval Serbia. Since the first Serbian Uprising until its final liberation, fights against Turks were constant. Famous battles occurred from 1825 to 1862 when the most important Rudes battle was fought on 7 April in which the Montenegrin rebels won. Berane was finally liberated in 1912. The town shared the destiny with its country being damaged in both World Wars. As Ivangrad, the town was meeting with prosperity and population growth being one of the Yugoslav industrial centres. Although the Civil War in Yugoslavia did not reach Montenegro, the city suffered from it as the industry collapsed and the people started to leave it. Nowadays, Berane is one of the poorest settlements in Montenegro so most of the population lives in difficult conditions. Despite that, the town remains an important educational, medical, religious and sporting centre, having produced many successful individuals in those categories.

Berane is administrative centre of municipality of the same name. There are 13 elementary schools, four high schools and four institutions of higher education. Having a solid sport infrastructure, the most successful sport collectives in the town are handball club and table tennis club. Berane is connected with rest of the country by two-lane motorways. It also has an airport which hasn’t been used for a while. In 2012, Berane celebrated 150 years since its official foundation and 100 years of being part of Montenegro.