The earliest mention of the Drobnjak territory, or at least part of it, which at that time was called the župa (parish) of Komarnica, is found in the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja (also known as the Duklja Chronicle), written in the second half of the 12th century. In the Ottoman defter of 1477, that same territory is referred to as the nahija (district) of Komarnica. The Drobnjak region, however, had been inhabited even during Roman times. The Slavic tribe of Novljani arrived at the beginning of the 8th century and gradually displaced the indigenous people, the Kriči. During the period of the Zeta state, Drobnjak belonged to the Podgorje region. From the second half of the 12th century, it became part of the Nemanjić state. During and shortly after the Battle of Kosovo, it was part of the realm of King Tvrtko, and later came under the rule of Duke Stjepan. Around 1470, it fell under Ottoman rule. From then on, centuries of subjugation and relentless struggles for freedom followed, lasting until 1858 with the unification with Montenegro, and culminating in the international recognition of Montenegro in 1878.
There are various theories about the origin of the name Drobnjak, but the most widely accepted ones are those based on the etymological meaning of the word. The name Drobnjak first appears in documents from 1285 and is frequently mentioned thereafter in various Dubrovnik and Kotor records. However, many distinguished historians associate the origin of the name with a later period, specifically with the year 1541 and the death of the emperor’s nephew, Husref-bey.
After the annexation of Uskoci and the greater part of the Drobnjak region to Montenegro in 1858, a kapetanija (captaincy) was established. Later, following the Berlin Congress, when Montenegro’s border was extended to the Tara River, Drobnjak was fully incorporated into Montenegro and administratively divided into three captaincies (kapetanije): the Drobnjak captaincy, based in Šavnik; the Uskoci captaincy, based in Boan; and the Jezersko-Šaranci captaincy, based in Žabljak. In 1916, the Austro-Hungarian occupying authorities abolished the captaincies and divided Drobnjak into seven municipalities: Duži, Šavnik, Bijela, Boan, Bukovica, Žabljak, and Šaranci. The present-day territory of the Municipality of Šavnik was defined in 1952, through the administrative division of Montenegro into municipalities.
The Municipality Day of Šavnik is celebrated on July 22, in remembrance of the events of July 22, 1941, when local insurgents attacked the occupiers’ command and liberated Šavnik. The heroic struggle for the town’s liberation claimed the lives of 667 fighters.
In honor of their selfless bravery, and to commemorate the role they played in shaping history, a memorial plaque was placed in the building of the Šavnik Municipality.