Perast ( cnr, Пераст) is an old town in the

Bay of Kotor The Bay of Kotor ( Montenegrin and Serbian: , Italian: ), also known as the Boka, is a winding bay of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Montenegro and the region of Montenegro concentrated around the bay. It is also the southernmost part of the ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

. It is situated a few kilometres northwest of

Kotor Kotor ( Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrativ ...

and is noted for its proximity to the islets of St. George and Our Lady of the Rocks.

History

According to the presumptions of the archaeologists, the first settlements appeared in the area of Perast in the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several part ...

; There are also monuments of the Illyrian, Roman and early Christian periods. The city was founded by the

Illyrians The Illyrians ( grc, Ἰλλυριοί, ''Illyrioi''; la, Illyrii) were a group of Indo-European-speaking peoples who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan populations, a ...

, named after one of the local tribes; Pirusti. The first memories of Perast refer to 1336—at that time there was a small fishing village, which had a shipyard, and there were always several commercial and fishing boats in the harbor. But since the strategically important island of

St George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

, which belonged to

, is in the immediate vicinity, the development of Perast was going very slowly. The prosperity of the city brought the Venetian period, and it was of particular importance in the border area around 1482, after taking the Turkish part of the coast from

Herceg Novi Herceg Novi ( cyrl, Херцег Нови, ) is a coastal town in Montenegro located at the Western entrance to the Bay of Kotor and at the foot of Mount Orjen. It is the administrative center of the Herceg Novi Municipality with around 33,000 in ...

to Risan. When a small village finally became a city, its inhabitants thought about reinforcements. The fortress of the Holy Cross and a dozen defensive towers were built. After the successfully held battles, Perast began to use some of the political and economic privileges, in particular, it had the right to guard the Venetian flag of St. Mark after 1654 by holding a siege by the Turks under the leadership of Mehmed-aga Rizvanagić.

Pyotr Andreyevich Tolstoy Count Pyotr Andreyevich Tolstoy (russian: Граф Пётр Андреевич Толстой; 1645–1729) was a Russian statesman and diplomat, prominent during and after the reign of Peter the Great. He was the ancestor of all the Counts T ...

traveled from Herceg Novi to Perast in 1698 and he wrote that in the town of Perast live

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, ...

. He also recorded that there were no Orthodox churches in the city while Greek church exist in a village not far away and that Serbs of Greek faith live in the village which are military people similar to the

Don Cossacks Don Cossacks (russian: Донские казаки, Donskie kazaki) or Donians (russian: донцы, dontsy) are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don. Historically, they lived within the former Don Cossack Host (russian: Д� ...

. Perast also had free trade with the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia ...

and was granted the forgiveness of the Venetian authorities in the ruthless fight against pirates on the Adriatic. Because of this, the city grew and was enriched: only in the 18th century. For centuries, 20 palaces were built in Baroque style, 17 Catholic and two Orthodox churches. And since one of the best maritime schools was housed here, Peter I was sent here from Russia by promising sailors for training with extraordinary captain Marko Martinovic. When Napoleon defeated the

in 1797, Perast was faithful to Venice for several months, but in the end the city had to lower the flag of St. Mark. From that moment began the decline of Perast: along with the whole area of the

, it was left to the

Austrians , pop = 8–8.5 million , regions = 7,427,759 , region1 = , pop1 = 684,184 , ref1 = , region2 = , pop2 = 345,620 , ref2 = , region3 = , pop3 = 197,990 , ref3 ...

and

Italians , flag = , flag_caption = Flag of Italy, The national flag of Italy , population = , regions = Italy 55,551,000 , region1 = Brazil , pop1 = 25–33 million , ref1 = , ...

, and then the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, and then again under the rule of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with t ...

and was in its composition to defeat in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

. In 1918, the city became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians, and in 1941 it became part of the Italian province of Cattaro (Kotor). It was only in 1944 that the city gained independence in

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

and became one of the administrative areas of the Montenegrin Republic. Since 2006, the city has finally become part of an independent

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

Geography

Perast lies beneath the hill of St Ilija (873 m), on a cape that separates the Bay of Risano from that of Kotor, and overlooks the Verige strait, the narrowest part of the Bay of Kotor. The average yearly temperature in Perast is 18.3°C, and the number of sunny days is 240 (or around 2,500 sunny hours per year). Near Perast there are two

islet An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be perman ...

s: one is called Sveti Đorđe (St George) or Sveti Juraj and the other Gospa od Škrpjela ( Our Lady of the Rocks), and each has a picturesque chapel. Gospa od Škrpjela is particularly interesting given that it is the only artificially-built island in the Adriatic, with an area of 3,030 m², it was built upon a rock (''Škrpjel'') after two Venetian sailors from Perast found a picture of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

on it in 1452.

Demographics

Out of total population of Perast, 121 are male, while 148 are female. According to the 2011 census, the town had a total of 269 inhabitants, divided by ethnicity:

Notable people

* Matija Zmajević, admiral of the Russian Navy * Andrija Zmajević, Baroque poet, the Archbishop of Antivari, and theologian *

Krsto Zmajević Krsto Zmajević (May 21, 1620— 1688), also known as Krile, was a captain and merchant in his home-town of Perast. He was the brother of Andrija Zmajević. Life Zmajević was born in Perast, in the Bay of Kotor, at the time part of the Republic ...

, captain and merchant *

Vicko Bujović Vicko Bujović (1660 – May 6, 1709) was a Venetian military commander and captain of Perast. Life During the Morean War, Bujović took command of the forces of Perast, offering their services, in his own name and that of the people of the city, ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

archbishop of the Archdiocese of

Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serv ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

* Tripo Kokolja, painter

Gallery

File:Perasto (1900).jpg, Postcard of Perast in 1900. File:Iglesia de San Nicolás, Perast, Bahía de Kotor, Montenegro, 2014-04-19, DD 37.JPG, St Nicholas church in Perast. File:Monasterio de San Jorge, Perast, Bahía de Kotor, Montenegro, 2014-04-19, DD 21.JPG, St George island. File:Nuestra Señora de las Rocas, Perast, Bahía de Kotor, Montenegro, 2014-04-19, DD 20.JPG, Old Perast: the artificial island Gospa od Škrpjela. File:Perast, Bahía de Kotor, Montenegro, 2014-04-19, DD 33.JPG, Shore of Perast. File:Nuestra Señora de las Rocas y Monasterio de San Jorge, Perast, Bahía de Kotor, Montenegro, 2014-04-19, DD 14.JPG, The two islands off Perast. File:Dalmazia1560.png, Venetian Bay of Kotor shown as the pink area south of the

Republic of Ragusa hr, Sloboda se ne prodaje za sve zlato svijeta it, La libertà non si vende nemmeno per tutto l'oro del mondo"Liberty is not sold for all the gold in the world" , population_estimate = 90 000 in the XVI Century , currency = ...

References

External links

Information about Perast

Bay of Kotor Perast Travel Guide

Perast Attractions
{{Kotor Municipality Cities in ancient Illyria Coastal towns in Montenegro Mediterranean port cities and towns in Montenegro Populated places in Bay of Kotor Populated places in Kotor Municipality Stato da Màr Tourist attractions in Kotor