A census in 2003 put city's population at 136,473; The favorable geographical position of Podgorica, at the confluence of the Ribnica and Morača rivers, on the meeting point of fertile Zeta plain and Bjelopavlići Valley has made the city an attractive location for settlement. The city is situated only a few tens of kilometers from both winter ski centers in the north and seaside resorts on Adriatic Sea.
The municipality of Podgorica accounts for 10,4% of Montenegro's territory and 27,3% of its population. Besides being an administrative center of Montenegro, Podgorica is also its economic, cultural and educational focal point.
The name literally means "under the Gorica" in Serbian; Gorica (meaning "little mountain") is the name of the hill that overlooks center of the city. The city was known as Doclea in pre-Roman and Roman times. In the Middle Ages, the town was known as Ribnica, and between 1945 and 1992 it was called Titograd.
In accordance with city's and country's turbulent history, Podgorica is mixiture of various architectural styles. Whenever the rule and regime changed, which in Podgorica occured frequently, the architectural style typical for that regime was applied.
As Podgorica was incorporated into Ottoman Empire until 1878, there are many reminescents of Turkish architecture. Oldest parts of modern Podgorica, Stara Varoš (Old town) and Drač, are typical representatives of this, with two mosques, turkish clock tower and narrow, curvy streets throughout the neighbourhoods.
With Podgorica being incorporated in Montenegro, the urban core shifted to the other bank of Ribnica River, where the town developed in European-oriented way, with wider streets intersecting at right angle.
During the World War II, over 70 times bombed Podgorica was almost razed to the ground. After the liberation, the rebuilding began in a similar way to other cities in communist-ruled SFRY. Mass residential blocks were erected, with basic design typical for countries of Eastern bloc. The entire part of the city on the right bank of Morača River was built in this way. Even the empty spaces in the city center were filled with near-brutalist structures, resulting in an unfortunate fusion of old and the new. The residential and bussines blocks erected during the existence of SFRY provided the more-than-neccesary housing for Podgorica citizens after the war, but they are heavily criticized for the uninventive and grey looks they incorporate.
The major advance in architecture of Podgorica began in late 1990s, since when the city's face is changing rapidly. Apartment buildings and bussines blocks are erected rapidly, and they incorporate the modern all-glass-and-steel looks. Public spaces in Podgorica are heavily invested in, so the city got many entirely new squares, parks and monuments. Some of the new landmarks have been emerging, such as Hristovog Vaskrsenja orthodox temple and the premium feature of Podgorica skyline, The Millennium Bridge. Podgorica is today in procces of rapid transformation from featureless town to modern Eurpean capital.
