Mratinje Dam

The Mratinje Dam is a concrete arch dam in the canyon of the Piva River in Montenegro.

The dam was completed in 1975 with designs by Energoprojekt. Its construction resulted in the flooding of the Piva Canyon and the creation of the Piva Lake, which, with its 12.5 km², is the second largest lake in Montenegro.

The dam is 220 m high, one of the highest in Europe. The dam is 268 m long and 4.5 m thick at the crest, while it is 30 m long and 36 m thick at the base. The foundations go as deep as 38 m into the ground. 820000 m3 of concrete and 5,000 tonnes of steel were built into the dam.

The hydroelectric power station at Mratinje is capable of producing 860 gigawatt-hours per annum. It has three turbines and generators, each with a generation capacity of 120 MW.

The location of the 16th century Piva Monastery was flooded by the lake, so while the dam was built, the monastery was broken into pieces and moved to a higher ground, 3.5 km away. It was reconstructed in the original way.