Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

(Ben Green) #1

534 SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE


For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp541–2 and p543


Kotor 8


69 km (43 miles) W of Podgorica.



Located amidst breathtaking
mountain scenery at the tip
of Kotor Bay’s furthest inlet,
the medieval town of
Kotor is encircled by
ancient and impos-
ing walls. Built
between the 9th and
14th cen turies, the
walls stretch for
5 km (3 miles)
and are up to 15 m
(42 ft) thick and
20 m (66 ft) high.
Thanks to these
defences, Kotor
with stood two
Ottoman sieges, in
1537 and 1657.
During Roman times,
the town (then known as
Acruvium) was so well hidden
that it escaped the devas tating
barbarian raids that brought
down the Roman Empire. Its
navy was also a formi dable
force; by the 18th century it


had a fleet of 300 ships and
was trading as far afield as
India and northern Europe.
In 1979, after being hit by an
earthquake, Kotor was desig-
nated a World Heritage Site.
Today, the Old Town (Stari
grad) is filled with visitors
admir ing the laby rinthine
streets that connect
its squares, ancient
churches and splen-
did palaces.
Forming part of the
west ern wall is the
17th-century Duke’s
Palace, facing the
town’s 1602 clock
tower. Built in
Renaissance style, it
stands adja cent to
the 15th-cen tury
armoury and was
intended to house
military offices.
The only build ing to escape
damage by the earth quake
was the single-nave St Luke’s
Church (Crkva Sv Luke), with
both Orthodox and Catholic
altars. Its brigh test features are
the Cretan icons within the
small 18th-cen tury Chapel of

Lovćen National
Park 9
Nacionalni park Lovćen

37 km (23 miles) W of Podgorica.
@ from Podgorica. n Bajova 2,
Cetinje, (041) 231 570.
http://www.nparkovi.co.me

Inaugurated in 1952, Lovćen
National Park is the third
largest of Montenegro’s four
national parks. Covering an
area of 62 sq km (24 sq miles),
it includes pro tected areas
of ancient pine and beech
forests that are home to over
200 species of birds and
about 1,300 species of flora.
The park is dominated by the
twin peaks of Mount Lovćen.
At the top of Jezerski Vrh
(1,657 m/5,436 ft), Mount
Lovćen’s second highest peak,
is the mauso leum of the
Montenegrin poet and ruler
Petar II Petrović Njegoš.

St Spiridon. On the other side
of town is the Romanesque
St Tryphon’s Cathedral
(Katedrala Sv Tripuna), one of
only two Catholic cathe drals
in Montenegro. Its most pre-
cious treasure is St Tryphon’s
skull, which was brought to
Kotor from Constantinople in
809 and kept in a silver
casket. Other valuable items
include a superb 15th-century
engraved silver altar screen
depicting Christ on a throne
surrounded by saints.

R St Luke’s Church
trg Bokelijske Mornarice, Stari grad.
# 8am–8pm daily.
R St Tryphon’s Cathedral
trg Ustanka Mornara, Stari grad. Tel
(032) 322 315. # 9am–6pm daily.

Mist-covered hills forming a backdrop to Lovćen National Park


The 17th-century
clock tower in Kotor

Aerial view of Kotor’s sea-facing Old Town

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