Žlijebi is the smallest village of the Herceg Novi country side. It is situated on 700m of altitude. It is unusualy becouse of authentic architecture and unique in Montenegro. The houses are made of flagstones, manualy extracted and then carved in the local village quarry. The flagstones have natural straight edge so no other building material was use.
The roof and the boundarys are made of the same material. In the quarry of Žlijebi even today the stone is extracted as same as 300 years ago- manualy, with pegs, hummers and using the own skill. The village was growing fast in the begining of XX century, when the most mans got bit by *gold rusch* and went to America and Canada.
Not everybody went to search the gold, some of them worked in the coal mine, and the skill of extracting flagstones helped them to get promoted and occupy the leading position in mines and quarryies. The money they made, 20 people from Žlijebi, invested in constuctig acqueduct in the village, in 1933. Each of them tryed to be more original and to bring different innovaton from the other colleagues who worked in countries on the other side of ocean, and they even compete by themself. The innovaton and investment brought them the special position in the village. It is written that in 1928. form the Stewart (Canada) to Žlijebi arrived 105 raincoats. The donor generously bought the raincoats for all mans in village, so they could, durring the long rain periods, work in quarry, build the houses.
The other man from Žlijebi instead of bagage bring the barrel of 100l whisky. The barrel arrived in village, but there is no information how many liters of whisky arrived. The villagers were sceptic about whisky, they said: '' Our home made rakia is better, why americans interfere.''
They were not sceptic about 105 raincoates, so the man who brought the raincoats, won. People from Žlijebi, residents, were dedicate to agricoulture, livestock, their quarry and extracting the stoneflags. In the night, when the pegs and hummers are silent, the village become the stage. From spring to autumn, when the most of time people spare outside, during the warm nights, pervaded with cricket song and winds that in Žlijebi in the most perfect way mix the sent of sea with mountain flowers. It used to play the orcherstra of 7 brothers.
Each of them used to play a different intrument. In those months village, the nerrow streets and terrace become alive. They had the small teatre group who played a different parts. During Sundays the villagers come together in Church St. Nikola on liturgy.
The Church from which you can enjoy the beutiful view on Boka bay, was built in 1550. Nowdays in village lives a few people and one of them addapted the old stall into konoba which is situated between two houses in this authentic rustic village.