See full version: Our Lady of the Rocks Visitor; s Guide
The town of Perast was where the bay's power and wealth was concentrated, as you can see by the stone palaces lining the shore of the town. You can also tell by the number of churches in this town that that's only 1km from end to end. With seven churches in town and two on the islands just offshore to support, it's easy to see that God and the tides smiled on the seafarers of Perast.
Local's Tip: If you get one of the boats from Perast, make sure they give you a good 45 minutes on the island. The tour will take up 30 minutes and this will leave you another 15 minutes to look around. [links]
Address: Our Lady of the Rocks, Perast, Montenegro
Hours: 9am to 6pm daily
Dress code: minimum shorts and t-shirt (sleveless is ok). This applies to the whole island, not just inside the church [links]
Our lady of the rocks visiting hours
Boat from Kotor to Our Lady of the Rocks [links]
If you are visiting Kotor by cruise ship and have a few hours to explore the area, then the easiest and quickest way is arranging a boat tour. [links]
In the 1600s Venetians took over the region of Boka and the city of Perast. In 1630 they built a Catholic chapel on the place of original orthodox one. They decided to further expand the island by piling rocks from the mainland and by sinking the old ships. The custom remains to this day. Every 22nd of July at sunset citizens of Perast take their boats and throw rocks into the sea. The custom is known as fašinada. here
The island began as a pile of rocks, and according to legend, on 22nd of July 1452, two fishermen, brothers Moršić discovered an image of Virgin Mary there. A tiny Orthodox chapel was built on the site. more
Behind the church there is a small museum dedicated to history of Perast. The courtyard in front is known as “Place of Reconciliation.” Today the small island church acts as a sort of cultural center of Catholics of Boka. It has served for public gatherings and as a place where local disputes were settled, most importantly blood feuds between the catholic families of Boka, preventing many vendettas.
The peculiar fact about these island is that they are almost completely man made. more
Gospa od Skrpjela (Our Lady of the Rocks) is the name of one of two tiny islands located in the inner part of Boka Kotorska bay, near the old town or Perast.
The site has been occupied since the Merovingian period, and there is evidence that there was already a chapel here in the 10th century. In 1070, a group of Benedictine monks from Calabria settled here, at the invitation of Arnould, Count of Chiny, and began construction of a church and a monastery, but after some forty years, possibly because of the death of Count Arnould, they moved away again. They were replaced by a community of Canons Regular, who completed the construction work: the abbey church was consecrated on 30 September 1124. more
Orval Abbey is a Cistercian monastery founded in 1132. The abbey is well known for its history and spiritual life but also for its local production of the Trappist beer Orval and a specific cheese.
In the 17th century, the abbey converted to the Trappist branch of the Cistercian order, but reverted to the Rule of the main order in around 1785. In 1793, during the French Revolution, the abbey was completely burnt down by French forces, in retaliation for the hospitality it had provided to Austrian troops, and the community dispersed. more
The first known church was built on the islet in 1452. It was taken over by Roman Catholics and in 1632 the present Church of Our Lady of the Rocks was built. It was restored in 1722. The church contains 68 paintings by Tripo Kokolja, a famous 17th-century baroque artist from Perast. His most important painting, ten meters long, is The Death of the Virgin. There are also paintings by Italian artists, and an icon (circa 1452) of Our Lady of the Rocks, by Lovro Dobričević of Kotor. The church also houses a collection of silver votive tablets and a famous votive tapestry embroidered by Jacinta Kunić-Mijović from Perast. It took her 25 years to finish it while waiting for her darling to come from a long journey, and eventually, she became blind. She used golden and silver fibres but what makes this tapestry so famous is the fact that she also embroidered her own hair in it. here
Our Lady of the Rocks is one of the two islets off the coast of Perast in Bay of Kotor, Montenegro. It is an artificial island created by bulwark of rocks and by sinking old and seized ships loaded with rocks. The Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Rocks is the largest building on the islet; it has a museum attached. There is also a small gift shop close to the church and a navigation light at the western end of the islet.