Kotor, Montenegro

Kotor, Montenegro, is nested in a deep, fjord-like bay.  It is famous for its medieval old town (Star Grad), massive Venetian city walls, and a a rich maritime history.  Settled over 2,000 years ago by Romans, the city has been governed by the Byzantine Empire, the Venetian Republic and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The Venetians were responsible for building the defensive walls which stretch nearly 5 kilometers around the city and rise up the steep limestone cliffs behind the town towards the Castle of San Giovanni.  The old town has been a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.

People had said the entrance to the port was worth seeing, so when I woke up about 6:15, I looked out and could see the tops of the mountains just catching the dawn light.

 

Two ships were calling here today, so both anchored out and tendered their passengers ashore.  As soon as you get to the port, you see the walls.  They probably once touched the water, but the port has built a big plaza, and a roadway, so it’s a very busy, high-traffic area.

the city wall

You enter the old city through the Marina Gate directly into a central plaza – and see how different it is from Dubrovnik.  This is more welcoming, a series of buildings, narrow streets, and plazas.  And behind everything are sheer cliffs rising into the sun.

 

the Marina Gate

the main square

greeted by clock chiming 9

the cathedral

While there are the typical tourist things, you get a sense that people live here.

laundry hangs like flags

When we visited Malta years ago, there was a cat feeding station.  Kotor has something similar – cats all over the place.  Bar cats, street cats, cats on walls, cats on stairs, cats everywhere (in some areas away from the main plaza).

 

The city walls are not as tall as those in Dubrovnik, and it is FREE to walk them.  Only about 35 steps from the city level you come out on the top of the wall level.  I don’t think you can do the entire 5 kilometers (unless you are a mountain goat), but about 1,000 feet gives you a good sense of what it must have been when they were built.  Now the best places on the wall level are restaurants and parks.

atop the wall looking towards the port

Coming down from the wall, and back to the central square, you encounter the official greeters. 

Outside the wall, as you look up the hill you can see more of the wall as it climbs up the hill to the castle.

The local farmers lined the area outside the wall with a market selling fresh fruits and vegetables.  Real highlight - the fresh figs.  And the olives were unbelivable.  

Back on the tender, headed toward the ship, you could see how everything revolves around the bay.  Houses only go 3-4 roads up from the waterline.  Unlike the flat beaches in Ravenna, beaches here are only 20-50 feet of sand, tucked wherever you can find it.

They make the best of what they can... here is a lighted navigation aid marking a rock, but at the foot of the rock is a cross.  Then you realize there is a chapel atop the rock.   They warn you, but if you miss, you can hold your funeral there.