2025 Feb 19: Perast

dougbergh
Feb 21
2 min read

Took a bus to Perast, a small town on the inland end of the bay. Jam-packed with fascinating shit. The bus ride there (make sure the sound is on):

Morning along the waterfront:

(The creepy white human figures in two of the photos commemorate a siege that took place in the 17th century)

Perast has several churches, and several 17th century villas. One villa houses a museum, depicting life of a family that lived there:

Up away from the waterfront:

Back to the waterfront for a nice lunch at šijavoga - recommended. Good food, nice people:

They were carrying boats around, cleaning the bottoms, presumably to prep for tourist season. Speaking of which, weather was beautiful as you can see, but nippy. The restraunteur said that in the summer you can’t walk along the shoreline promenade ‘cause it’s packed with tourists.

So after lunch we took a boat out to Our Lady of the Rocks. Amazing. Here’s the blurb:

Our Lady of the Rocks (Gospa od Škrpjela) is a small, artificial island in the Bay of Kotor, near the town of Perast, Montenegro. It is home to a Catholic church of the same name and is one of the most famous landmarks in the region.

History & Legend

According to local legend, on July 22, 1452, two fishermen from Perast found an icon of the Virgin Mary and Child on a small rock in the bay. Taking it as a divine sign, the locals began a tradition of dropping stones and sinking old ships at that spot to create an island. This centuries-long practice, called fašinada, continues to this day—every July 22, locals sail out and throw stones into the water to maintain the island.

Church & Art

The Church of Our Lady of the Rocks, built in 1630, is the island’s main attraction. Inside, it features a beautiful baroque altar, paintings by the famous local artist Tripo Kokolja, and a museum with maritime artifacts and gifts from sailors.