Perast - Kotorski Zaliv

The first settlements in the area of Perast were established in the Neolithic period; there are also remains from the Illyrian, Roman and early Christian periods. The city was founded by the Illyrians and named after one of the local tribes, Pirusti. The first written evidence of Perast dates back to 1336 - at that time it was a small fishing village with a shipyard, and there were always several merchant and fishing boats in the harbor. However, due to the proximity of the strategically important island of St. George, which belonged to Kotor, the development of Perast was very slow. A first flourishing of the town was represented by the Venetian period. During this period, the fortress of the Holy Cross and a dozen defense towers were built to defend against the Turks. After the end of the Turkish wars, Perast had its heyday in the 18th century. There were four shipping companies in the town, which together maintained a fleet of more than 100 merchant ships. Many of the captains who became wealthy chose Perast as their retirement home and built smaller or larger villas, which still characterize today's townscape. At the end of the 18th century Perast had more than 1600 inhabitants. When in 1797 the Venetian rule ended with the breakup of the Republic, this was greatly regretted by the inhabitants, because they had always had a good relationship with the Republic of St. Mark. In the 19th century, the town lost its importance and the number of inhabitants decreased to 430 by 1910. Today, 349 inhabitants still live in Perast (2003). Worth seeing is the Orthodox church of the village, where there is a small exhibition of relics, liturgical objects and jewelry.