One of the most beautiful areas of the Mediterranean. As you enter the Bay of Kotor, you immediately are mesmerized by the enormous mountains, the quaint villages and the colorful Our Lady of the Rocks in the middle of the bay which is the highlight. The Bay of Kotor, also known by locals as “Boka,” and is known not only for the beauty but the winding roads, the “cats” of Montenegro, the town of Perast, the walled medieval city of Kotor, and so much more.
Our Lady of the Rocks is this small church in the middle of the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro. Now this is where I would definitely go to church if it meant going across the bay in a small boat, as long as all the tourists were not there. The key to seeing this small church is to catch one of the many small boats that will take you over for a small fee. Try to go as early as possible because the later you wait, the more crowded it is.
The Bay of Kotor is a submerged river valley made up of four connected bays making up a butterfly shape which stretches inland from the coast. As you enter the bay, especially on a boat…make sure you are up front when entering the bay so you can get the best pictures of the church. This has also been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Our Lady of Remedy, St. John’s Hill
View from the town of Perast
How did Our Lady of the Rocks (Gasp od Skrpjela), come to be in the middle of the bay along with another island known as Sveti Dorde? The legend is just as impressive as the church.
The legend is said that, in 1452, two brothers from Perast, both fishermen, found an icon of the Virgin with Christ on the sea-cliff. They brought it home but the next morning it was gone. It appeared at the same sea-cliff, so the two brothers took it home one more time. The same thing happened – the icon disappeared again and reappeared on the sea-cliff. They took this to mean, the Virgin wanted to stay there forever, so the two brothers decided to build a church for the Virgin in the center of the bay. It is believed that every time a successful voyage was made, the fisherman would lay a rock onto the island.
The people of Persat began throwing stones, rocks, and placing boulders out in the bay and eventually the island was created. To this day, there is a large procession of boats once a year known as the Fasinada in which people throw rocks from their boats onto the island in honor of the Virgin.
The church was built soon after. Once you have a chance to go inside of the church, there are numerous artifacts, paintings and a large marble alter.
Next to Our Lady of the Rocks sits another island known as, The Islet of the Dead, also known as Ostrvo Sveti Dorde (Island of St. George), and rises from a natural reef. No-one is allowed to visit the island.
The island contains Saint George Benedictine monastery from the 12th century and the old graveyard for the old nobility from Perast and further from the whole Bay of Kotor. This island is also the resting place of many famous captains of Persat.
Cats of Kotor
As one enters the old town of Kotor and you pass through the midevil walls that surround the town you quickly start to notice cats are prevalent. They seem homeless, but don’t think they are not taken care of by the locals and many of the tourists. In fact, they have an entire park where the moms come to have their offspring.
History of the Kotor cats goes back hundreds of years when there was a large number of mice and rats in the town. To stop the infestation in town, cats were introduced.
I love cats, so I was in heaven. You can find them in flower pots, on the staircases and even on chairs at some of the local eateries.
Like many of the European towns, it is fun to get lost into the maze of cobblestone streets or alleys once in the old town. I also would recommend walking along the top of the walls to get some wonderful views. You can find great food, souvenir shops, cats of course and strolling musicians.
If you have the chance to visit Kotor, make sure to go over to the town of Persat, in fact that is a great place to catch a boat across to Our Lady of the Rocks. When getting off the cruise ship, we hired a guide to take us around and see sites other than the normal Old Town and we were not disappointed at all.
We went to a very high point to take this picture and then we headed to the town of Persat which is small but worth a walk around.
All I can say is The Bay of Kotor, Montenegro is worth a visit, especially if you are in Croatia. It can be a day trip from Dubrovnik.
Travel with me as we go to Greece.