Lake Skadar in the context of "Shkodër"

Podgorica ([pɔdɡɔɾit͡sa]; Montenegrin Cyrillic: Подгорица; lit. 'Under the Hill') is the capital and largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Historically, it was Podgorica's position at the confluence of the Ribnica and Morača rivers and at the meeting-point of the fertile Zeta Plain and Bjelopavlići Valley that encouraged settlement. The surrounding landscape is predominantly mountainous terrain.

After World War II, Podgorica was first designated as the capital of Montenegro in 1946. At that time, it was renamed Titograd in honor of Josip Broz Tito, the leader of Yugoslavia. It served as the capital of the Socialist Republic of Montenegro within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia until Montenegro's declaration of independence in 2006, after which it was reaffirmed as the capital of an independent Montenegro. The city's original name, Podgorica, had been restored in 1992 following the dissolution of Yugoslavia.

The Old Royal Capital Cetinje (Montenegrin: Prijestonica Cetinje / Пријестоница Цетиње) is one of the municipalities of Montenegro. Due to its former status as the capital of the old Kingdom of Montenegro, it is known as the "Old Royal Capital" (Prijestonica / Пријестоница), which is also translated in English as "Royal Town". Its center is the town of Cetinje and its territory, which covers an area of 910 km, is bordered by the Lovćen and Lake Skadar national parks. In 2023, the municipality of Cetinje had a population of 14,494.

The Buna (Albanian indefinite form: Bunë) or Bojana (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Бојана), is a 41-kilometre-long (25 mi) river in Albania and Montenegro which flows into the Adriatic Sea. An outflow of Lake Skadar measured from the source of the lake's longest tributary, the Morača, the Morača-Shkodra Lake-Bojana system is 183 km (114 mi) long.

The Morača (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Морача, pronounced [mǒrat͡ʃa]) is a major river in Montenegro that originates in the northern region in Kolašin Municipality under Mount Rzača. It meanders southwards for 99.5 km (61.8 mi) before emptying into Lake Skadar. Its drainage basin covers 3,257 km (1,258 sq mi).

In its upper flow the Morača is a fast mountain river. Just north of Podgorica it merges with its largest tributary, the Zeta, which it then cuts a rocky canyon before entering the Zeta plain. It flows through the surrounding flatland until it empties into Lake Skadar on the border with Albania. A shorter, much broader, meandering, approximately sea-level river, the Bojana, flows through the northwest corner of Albania until it drains into the Adriatic Sea at Ada Bojana.

Shkodër (/ˈʃkoʊdər/ SHKOH-dər, Albanian: [ˈʃkɔdəɾ]; Albanian definite form: Shkodra; historically known as Scodra or Scutari) is the fourth-most-populous city of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. Shkodër has been continuously inhabited since the Early Bronze Age (c. 2250–2000 BC), and has roughly 2,200 years of recorded history. The city sprawls across the Plain of Mbishkodra between the southern part of Lake Shkodër and the foothills of the Albanian Alps on the banks of the Buna, Drin and Kir rivers. Due to its proximity to the Adriatic Sea, Shkodër is affected by a seasonal Mediterranean climate with continental influences.

An urban settlement called Skodra was founded by the Illyrian tribe of Labeatae in the 4th century BCE. It became the capital of the Illyrian kingdom under the Ardiaei and Labeatae and was one of the most important cities of the Balkans in ancient times. It has historically developed on a 130 m (430 ft) hill strategically located in the outflow of Lake Shkodër into the Buna. The Romans annexed the city after the third Illyrian War in 168 BC, when the Illyrian king Gentius was defeated by the Roman force of Anicius Gallus. In the 3rd century AD, Shkodër became the capital of Praevalitana, due to the administrative reform of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. With the spread of Christianity in the 4th century AD, the Archdiocese of Scodra was founded and was assumed in 535 by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I.