Kotor: Montenegro Bayside

As part of our recent tour of the Balkan countries we briefly visited Montenegro, another republic from the former Yugoslavia but one which escaped the worst of the wars in the 1990s. At that time Montenegro formed an alliance with Serbia, but in 2006 the pair separated peacefully and Montenegro became a fully independent parliamentary republic.

We visited Kotor, a medieval walled town with a rich history and culture, located at the foot of Mount Lovćen at the southern end of Montenegro’s Bay of Kotor, or Boka Bay as it is also known.

Photo: Visit Montenegro

Before I go any further I want to call out a misleading practice we discovered on arrival. The picture-postcard view of “Kotor” frequently displayed in tourist promotions – the one immediately above – is not Kotor at all but Perast. Sure, it’s located on the Bay of Kotor but it’s not the town of Kotor, where you will most likely be taken on any tour and where cruise ships call. Perast is about 25 minutes by road to the north-west of Kotor.

Perast is arguably much prettier than Kotor and is definitely quieter, but Kotor has the UNESCO-listed and walled old town. It’s time we saw it representing Kotor more often in tourist brochures and on websites, rather than a different town altogether. Following is another shot of Perast taken from the water.

We spent most of the day on a bus tour that took us over the mountain, from where there are stunning views of the bay. Unfortunately, the narrow road was one where no bus should ever go and we were soon leading a long line of traffic that blocked the passage of oncoming vehicles. It was chaos.

After much shunting and diverting we finally made it to a pleasant village about halfway through the journey.

Here we stopped for lunch and were given a sample of a particularly fiery spirit called rakija that is found all over the Balkans. One glass was enough! The old motorbike pictured is clearly beyond repair, but it was parked in such a way that suggested someone still cares for it. Then it was back on the bus and down through another bayside town, Budva, before arriving back in Kotor.

In the evening we went into the old town and managed to get some photos before it got dark. There are several squares in the town and the biggest one is Trg od oruzja  or the Square of Arms, traditionally the main gathering place for the city.

Kotor has been ruled by Illyrians, Romans, Byzantines, Austro-Hungarians and Venetians, but it is the last-mentioned whose architecture is most prominent in the city’s fortifications and public buildings.

The Venetian Sea Gate, the main entrance to Kotor old town.

The most significant building in the old town, though, is Romanesque. Kotor Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of St Tryphon, after the patron and protector of the city, is the largest building in Kotor. Consecrated on 19 June 1166, the cathedral was seriously damaged in an earthquake in 1667 and reconstructed piecemeal owing to a shortage of funds. The result of this can be seen in unmatching parts of the building, especially in the two towers. Another massive earthquake in April 1979, which completely devastated the Montenegro coast, caused further damage to the cathedral.

It has been carefully restored and is today one of the most ornate buildings in Kotor. It contains a rich collection of artifacts including frescos from the 14th century, a stone ornament above the main altar in which the life of St Tryphon is depicted, as well as a relief of saints in gold and silver. Unfortunately it was too late in the day for us to view these treasures.

The following morning, back on board our island-hopping cruise boat, we saw the bay at its best as the sun came up and we headed north towards the Croatian island of Korcula.

Photos © Judy Barford except where otherwise indicated