Kotor, Montenegro

🇲🇪 Kotor (Котор) is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city is the administrative centre of Kotor Municipality.

The old Mediterranean port of Kotor is surrounded by fortifications built during the Venetian period. It is located on the Bay of Kotor (Boka Kotorska), one of the most indented parts of the Adriatic Sea. Some have called it the southernmost fjord in Europe, but it is a ria, a submerged river canyon. Together with the nearly overhanging limestone cliffs of Orjen and Lovćen, Kotor and its surrounding area form an impressive landscape.

Since the early 2000s Kotor has seen an increase in tourists, many of them coming by cruise ship. Visitors are attracted by the natural environment of the Gulf of Kotor and by the old town of Kotor. Kotor is part of the World Heritage Site dubbed the Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor.

The fortified city of Kotor was also included in UNESCO's World Heritage Site list as part of Venetian Works of Defence between 16th and 17th centuries: Stato da Terra – western Stato da Mar in 2017.

Early history Once populated by the Illyrians, the exact time of foundation of the first settlement is not known. According to some sources, the oldest settled area dates two millennia back.

The town, first mentioned in 168 BC, was settled during Ancient Roman times, when it was known as Acruvium, Ascrivium, or Ascruvium (Ἀσκρήβιον) and was part of the Roman province of Dalmatia.

Tourist Industry Kotor has one of the best preserved medieval old towns in the Adriatic and is a double Unesco World Heritage Site: it is part of Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor and Venetian Works of Defence between the 16th and 17th centuries: Stato da Terra – western Stato da Mar.

It is home to numerous sights, such as the Cathedral of Saint Tryphon in the old town (built in 1166), and the ancient walls which stretch for 4.5 km (3 mi) directly above the city. Sveti Đorđe and Gospa od Škrpijela islets off the coast of Perast are also among the tourism destinations in the vicinity of Kotor.

Culture Kotor hosts several summer events, such as the Summer Carnival or Bokeljska Noć. Together with Budva, and the small town of Tuzi, near Podgorica, the city hosted the Federation of European Carnival Cities (FECC) World Carnival City Congress in May 2009.

Kotor Festival of Theatre for Children is one of the most important festivals of its kind in Southeast Europe. Thirty years of this manifestation have marked performances by artists from over 30 countries, from 5 different continents. It was founded in 1993, not far from the place where the first play for children in the Balkans was performed in 1829. The 2017/18 festival was awarded the EFFE Label by the EFA (European Festivals Association). Kotor Festival is highly regarded in the local community and has a large volunteer base.

Kotor has a large population of cats that have become a symbol of the city. The city has several cat stores and a cat museum, as well as the Cats' Square (Trg od mačaka). Water and food is left throughout the city for the cats to feed on, and cardboard boxes are often arranged to be a place for the cats to sleep in. Tourists may notice cats in poor health, which may be due to malnutrition, lack of shelter, fighting, or illness (often a common viral respiratory condition for which medicine is unavailable). The charity Kotor Kitties exists to try and help the cats of Kotor through spaying and neutering. Kotor is described evocatively at the beginning of Marguerite Yourcenar's story 'Marko's Smile.'