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 city's cultural institutions include the Montenegrin National Theatre, the Natural History Museum of Montenegro, and several galleries and libraries.

Some three kilometres (1.9 miles) north-west of Podgorica lie the ruins of the Roman-era town of Doclea, from which the Roman Emperor Diocletian's mother hailed.

From 1946 to 1992, the city was named Titograd (Cyrillic: Титоград, [tîtoɡraːd]) in honour of Josip Broz Tito, the President of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1953 to 1980.

Podgorica is at the crossroads of several historically important routes, near the rivers Zeta, Morača, Cijevna, Ribnica, Sitnica and Mareza in the valley of Lake Skadar and near the Adriatic Sea, in fertile lowlands with favourable climate.

The city was economically strong: trade routes between the Republic of Ragusa and Serbia, well developed at that time, were maintained via the road that led to Podgorica through Trebinje and Nikšić.

However, Venetian rule of Podgorica did not last long, because Mehmed II soon conquered the fortified town of Medun in 1455, and two years later, most of Zeta.

At the beginning of 1474 the Ottoman sultan intended to rebuild Podgorica and Baleč and settle them with 5,000 Muslim families (most of them of Albanian or Slavic origin),[9] in order to stop cooperation between the Principality of Zeta and Albania Veneta.

On 7 October 1874, in a violent reaction over the murder of a local named Juso Mučin Krnić,[11] Ottoman forces killed at least 15 people in Podgorica.

[19]On 25 July 1948, the vice president of the People's Parliament of Montenegro, Andrija Mugoša, along with secretary Gavron Cemović, signed a law changing the name of Podgorica into "Titovgrad".

[16] The law was "retroactively" activated such that the name change applied to any records starting from 13 July 1946, when it became the capital of Montenegro within the newly formed Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

[26] Otherwise, the Yugoslav wars largely bypassed Podgorica, but the entire country was greatly affected with severe economic stagnation and hyperinflation lasting throughout the 1990s due to international sanctions.

[34] On local elections held on 25 May 2014, the Democratic Party of Socialists won 29 seats in the municipal assembly, one short of 30 needed to form a majority.

After lengthy negotiations, SDP dissolved coalition with Pozitivna and made an arrangement on forming a majority with DPS, similar to one they have in national government.

Since October 2018, the position of the Mayor is held by DPS Vice president dr Ivan Vuković, replacing Slavoljub Stijepović.

In contrast to most of Montenegro, Podgorica lies in a mainly flat area at the northern end of the Zeta plain, at an elevation of 40 m (130 ft).

Church of the Holy Heart of Jesus, built in 1966 in Konik neighbourhood, and notable for its unique brutalist architecture, serves as a primary place of worship for Podgorica Catholic community.

[citation needed] Before World War I, most of Podgorica's economy was in trade and small-scale manufacturing, which was an economic model established during the long rule of the Ottoman Empire.

[citation needed] After World War II, Podgorica became Montenegro's capital and a focus of the rapid urbanization and industrialization of the SFRY era.

[41] In the early 1990s, the dissolution of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav wars, and the UN-imposed sanctions left Podgorica's industries without traditional markets, suppliers, and available funds.

As Montenegro began its push for independence from Serbia in the late 1990s, Podgorica greatly benefited from the increased concentration of government and service sectors.

The large presence of government and service sectors spared the economy of Podgorica from prolonged stagnation in the late 2000s recession, which hit Montenegro hard.

[42] Further cultural and historic monuments in and around Podgorica are Sahat kula (Clock tower) Adži-paše Osmanagića, the ruins of the Ribnica fortress, remnants of the city of Doclea, Stara Varoš, and Vezirov most (Vizier's bridge).

[44] The city-owned AD Gradski saobraćaj public transport company used to be the sole bus operator until the 1990s, when private carriers were introduced.

The historic Cinema of Culture (Kino Kultura), which was founded in 1949, was closed in November 2008 due to continuous financial losses it generated.

Sporting events like the annual Podgorica Marathon, Coinis no limits Triathlon, and the Morača River jumps attract international competitors.

[citation needed] The oldest parts of the city, Stara Varoš (Old town) and Drač is typical of this, with two mosques, a Turkish Clock Tower and narrow, winding streets.

When the city was incorporated to Montenegro, the urban core shifted to the other bank of the Ribnica River, where the town developed in a more European style: wider streets with an orthogonal layout.

The main contemporary traffic arteries were laid out during this period, which extended the orthogonal street layout of the city center, to the south and west.

Residential and infrastructural developments in the SFRY era have mostly shaped the layout of today's Podgorica and accommodated the unprecedented population growth that followed World War II.