The city of Kotor is situated in Bay of Kotor in the west side of Montenegro. The natural and culturo-historical region of Kotor is part of UNESCO World Heritahe List since 1979. In the Middle Ages this natural harbour was an important artistic and commercial centre. It also have some famous school of masonry and iconography.
Throughout the centuries, many empires battled for control of the city. In the 10th century, it was an autonomous city of the Byzantine Empire. From 1186 to 1371, it was a free city of medieval Serbia. It was under Venetian and Hungarian control for brief periods, an independent republic from 1395 to 1420, and then returned to Venetian control once again. French occupation from 1807 to 1914 was followed by Austrian rule until 1918, when Kotor finally became part of Yugoslavia. All this time, a variety of buildings have been constructed.
The largest and most impressive of these is the St Tryphon Cathedral. The original church was constructed in the 8th century and new church, built in 1166, was subsequently damaged during the 1667 earthquake and then restored. St Nicolas Church. The biggest Orthodox church in the Old Town and in the old town you may visit the Maritime Museum.
The earthquake from 1979 damaged a large numbers of monuments, but the town has been restored, largely with UNESCO’s help. In July and August people come in Kotor and the yachts fill the marina, but this town never gets quite as empty as some other parts of the coast – this sheltered arm of the bay just isn’t as appealing for swimming.
But anyone with a heart for romance, living history and architecture will find Kotor a highlight of their Montenegrin travels. If you travel by car, the Vrmac tunnel has recently been completed, which significantly shortens the journey from Budva to Kotor. From the hills of the region, you can enjoy beautiful views not only of the tiny countryside villages, but also of Podgorica (when approaching from Cetinje), and also Kotor bay.
The entertainment life in Kotor is made special by a great number of music concerts, which are organized in some of the museums, old Kotor churches and halls for concert music playing. During the summer months there are a large number of fisherman’s fiestas that are organized in Kotor.
Photo source: wikipedia.org
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