About Kotor

Lord Byron one of the most famous british romantic poets discribed Montenegro in the 19th century:

"'At the birth of our planet, the most beautiful encounter between the land and the sea must have happened at the coast of Montenegro. When the pearls of nature were sown, handfuls of them were cast on this soil." June 1872.

Kotor is  a typical Mediterranean travel destination with old narrow streets, romantic bars and restaurants, small shops, antique monuments, churches and picturesque buildings. Famous poets and writers like Bernard Shaw, Lord Byron or Ivo Andric got inspired by the beauty of the Bay of  Kotor.

Kotor is a center of sailing, yachting and boating since the 12th century. Today Kotor is an outstanding centre of tourism and sailing.

Flora and fauna in Kotor are similar to all other coastal towns in Montenegro. In Kotor there are palm trees, oleanders, mimosas and wild and domestic pomegranates, figs, oranges, mandarins, grapes and olive trees. Rare examples of flowers and decorative trees are cultivated there.

Sailors and Traders

Kotor is also well known for his famous sailors and port on the Adriatic coast in Montenegro and was an important artistic and commercial centre with its own famous schools of masonry and iconography.

During the last centuries the most developed industry in this area was trade and maritime affairs. Sailors used to import different products from overseas which they would exchange for the goods they were in need of. Kotor became one of the most important trading centres in this part of the Adriatic coast.

The Town

The city Kotor is situated at the foot of mountain “Lovcen”, at the end of the Boka Kotorska Bay in a fiord which is well known as the largest fjord of the Mediterranean sea.

The Kotor Bay is based of several smaller broad gulfs, united by narrower channels, forming one of the finest natural ports in Europe and is flanked by an exceptionally rich variety of cultural monuments from all ages. Boka Kotorska was added to the list of twenty five the most beautiful bays in the world.

The touristic highlight of Kotor is the Bastion Citadela (Citadel Bastion). A 4.5 km long stone wall stretches around the whole mountainous city of Kotor. The  walls were built by the Byzantines and reinforced by the Venetians and around 20 m high and 15 m wide.

The old city has three entrances : main entrance, north entrance and south entrance. Walking up the walls will be rewarded by a fantastic view of the old town and the bay of Kotor.

You will find in the old city local shops, cafés, restaurants and galleries in small romantic streets.

History of Kotor

The old town of Kotor is one of the best preserved medieval towns in this part of the Mediterranean. The old town is surrounded by old city walls. Kotor (Cattaro) is placed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage. The city is over 2000 year old and is a treasure trove of 12th to 20th century architecture.

Another highlight in the middle of Kotor Bay are two islands called Sveti Djordje (St. George)  and Gospa od Skrpijela (Lady of the Rocks). They are close off the coast of Perast a small town 10 km from Kotor.

Kotor has many different tales and stories of its history. Historians find out that is was  originally an island, which later joined the shore to form a sand isthmus.

Kotor was first settled during the Roman times, when it was known as Acruvium and was a long time a part of the Roman province of  Dalmatia starting in 168 BC. The earliest signs of civilization in this region are Neolithic artifacts found in the Spila cave; there are also cave paintings in the Lipici grotto. Burial mounds and the ruins of the town of Teuta are all that remain of the Illyrian civilization that flourished here in the 3rd century B. C. Next sailors and traders of the Hellenic age established a trading post. They were followed by the Romans who built a fort for one of their military units. From this period there remains a mosaic floor, of a 3rd century Roman villa, that depicts Hypnos the Roman God of sleep.

Naturally protected by a steep cliff from inland attack as well as by the sea, Kotor successfully survived the great barbarian migrations of late antiquity and the early Middle Ages. From the time of Justinian I, it turned in to one of the Byzantine strongholds on the Adriatic sea. The remains of an Episcopal basilica to St. Mary of the River discovered near the city gates illustrates the importance of strategic location of Kotor in the 6th century.

In the tenth century, it was an autonomous city of the Byzantine Empire. Kotor (Cattaro the Italian Name) was an independent republic from 1395 to 1420. Between 1420-1797 Kotor (Cattaro) and its surroundings belonged to Venice and the Venetian influence is typical in the architecture of the city. By the treaty of Campo Formio in 1797 it passed and protected to Austria.

The city Kotor has many cultural faces and exciting  historic buildings, such as the famous Cathedral of Saint Tryphon in the old town, built in 1166 and on the remains of the former temple from the IX century. The Romanic church of St. Ana dates from the end of the XII century and has frescos dating back from the XV century. Another  Romanic church of St. Mary dates from 1221. The church contains the remains of a monumental fresco painting as well as an early Christian baptistry. In the 14th century the commerce of Cattaro, as the city was then called by the italian, rivaled that of the nearby Republic of Ragusa, (Dubrovnik) and provoked the jealousy of Venice.

St. Mihovil a gothic styled church was built on the remains of the Benediction monastery from the VII century . St. Clara's church dates from the XIV century with the extremely beautiful marble altar, the work of Francesco Cabianca, from the XVIII century.- The Church of Lady of health originates from the XV century.- The Orthodox Church of St. Nicolas was built by the beginning of the XX century with a valuable collection of icons.

Also numerous palaces in the Kotor Stari Grad (Old Town) like the Drago palace with Gothic windows from the XV century, the Bizanti palace from the XVII century, the Pima palace, with typical renaissance and baroque forms from the XVI century the Grubonja palace with the built-in emblem of the old Kotor's pharmacy established in 1326.  

The Grgurina palace, from the XVII century, which today hotsting the Naval museum, and finally the Clock tower, from the XVI century, with the medieval pillory just beside

1900: At the end of XIX century, Kotor, that is bay of Boka Kotorska or the southern fiord, as that bay is lately called, because of its unsurpassable beauty, got the epithet of the Bride of Adriatic.

After 1918, Kotor became part of Yugoslavia. It was an Italian province during World War II. After the War it was incorporated in the Yugoslavia.

A large number of the monuments (including four Romanesque churches and the town walls) were seriously damaged by the 1979 earthquake but the town has been restored, largely with UNESCO's help.

Crystal clear water and incredible views

Kotor has a mild Mediterranean climate, crystal clear sea water, smal quitel stony beaches, rich flora and fauna, are the reasons having an unforgettable vacation at the Bay of Koto.

Climate & Weather

During the winter the temperature at Montenegro coast is mostly between 8-14 C and during summer between 25-34C.

The climate along Kotor is a typical Mediterranean one, with mild, rainy winters and hot and dry summers. Summer temperatures in July can rise up to 34°C to 36°C. 2300 hours of sunshine a year.