Perast () is a town in Coastal region of

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

. It is situated a few kilometres northwest of

Kotor Kotor (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian language, Italian: ), is a town in Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has ...

and is noted for its proximity to the islets of

St. George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

and

Our Lady of the Rocks Our Lady of the Rocks is one of the two islets off the coast of Perast in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro (the other being Sveti Đorđe island). It is an artificial island created by bulwark of rocks and by sinking old and seized ships loaded with ...

History

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

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

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

Illyrians The Illyrians (, ; ) were a group of Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking people who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan populations, alon ...

, 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 (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the R ...

, which belonged to

, is in the immediate vicinity, the development of Perast was slow. 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 (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Херцег Нови, ) is a town in Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro located at the Western entrance to the Bay of Kotor and at the foot of Mount Orjen. It is the administrative center of ...

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-beg Rizvanagić. Pyotr Andreyevich Tolstoy traveled from Herceg Novi to Perast in 1698 and he wrote that in the town of Perast live

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

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

Don Cossacks Don Cossacks (, ) or Donians (, ), are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don River (Russia), Don. Historically, they lived within the former Don Cossack Host (, ), which was either an independent or an autonomous democratic rep ...

lived in the village. Perast also had free trade with the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

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 Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

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

Bay of Kotor The Bay of Kotor ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Boka kotorska, Бока которска, separator=" / ", ), also known as the Boka ( sh-Cyrl, Бока), is a winding bay of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Montenegro and the region of Montenegro concentrated a ...

, it was left to the

Austrians Austrians (, ) are the citizens and Nationality, nationals of Austria. The English term ''Austrians'' was applied to the population of Archduchy of Austria, Habsburg Austria from the 17th or 18th century. Subsequently, during the 19th century, ...

and

Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...

, and then the French, and then again under the rule of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

and was in its composition to defeat in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. 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 , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

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

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

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 generally a small island. Definitions vary, and are not precise, but some suggest that an islet is a very small, often unnamed, island with little or no vegetation to support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/ ...

s: one is called

Sveti Đorđe Sveti Đorđe may refer to: * Sveti Đorđe, Ulcinj, a village in the municipality of Ulcinj, Montenegro * Sveti Đorđe Island, an island in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro {{geodis ...

(St George) or Sveti Juraj and the other Gospa od Škrpjela (

), 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 was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

on it in 1452.

Demographics

Out of total population of Perast, 115 are male, while 122 are female. According to the 2023 census, the town had a total of 237 inhabitants, divided by ethnicity:

Notable people

Matija Zmajević Matija Zmajević (also Matej Zmajević; ; January 6, 1680 – August 23, 1735) was an admiral of the Russian Baltic Fleet. He was also a shipbuilder for Peter the Great, Peter I of Russia, building a fleet in Voronezh. Early life He was born in ...

, admiral of the Russian Navy * Andrija Zmajević, Baroque poet, the Archbishop of Antivari, and theologian * Krsto Zmajević, captain and merchant * Vicko Zmajević,

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

archbishop of the Archdiocese of

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

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

* Vicko Bujović, military commander and captain of Perast * Tripo Kokolja, painter * Andrija Balović, Roman Catholic priest

Gallery

File:Perasto (1900).jpg, Postcard of Perast in 1900. File:Widok na Perast od strony morza 05.JPG, View of the town from the sea File:Widok na Perast z zachodu 01.JPG, View of the town from the west. 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.

References

External links

Information about Perast
*
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