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Top tourist attractions in Montenegro

There are plenty of things to see and do in Montenegro, and the scenery is nothing short of spectacular. Here are a few of the top tourist attractions.

Ostrog Monastery is a stunning monastery set into the side of a spectacular mountain range overlooking the Zeta river and the Bjelopavlici plain. It was founded in the 17th century by Vasilije Jovanovic, a man who is now referred to as St. Vasilije of Ostrog after being canonised posthumously. Vasilije also chose the monastery as his final resting place. The monastery is perhaps the most important destination for pilgrimages in Montenegro, attracting thousands of visitors every year during the summer months.

The city of Kotor has many attractions for the tourist, not least the spectacular Citadel Bastion in the Northwest corner of the city. The structure is visible for miles around, and is usually the first thing that people notice as they approach the city. The citadel was originally built in the 13th century, although the large Kampana Tower was not built until the 16th century.

If you fancy a long walk up a hill, you might want to visit Kastel Kotor (Kotor Castle), high up on in the mountains at the edge of the city. Although it is actually a little too high to provide any decent views of the city, you can get a terrific panoramic view of the bay from here, and the castle itself is magnificent.

St. Tryphon’s cathedral was the first cathedral to be built in Kotor. It was founded in 809, but earthquakes destroyed the original structure, and much of the building that stands today was built in the late 1600s. As a result, the building has a distinctly Baroque feel. There are several beautiful sculptures, paintings, and artefacts inside, including a stunning silver-gilt altarpiece, and a 15th-century stone pieta.

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Tourist hotspots in Montenegro

There are lots of things to see and do in Montenegro. Here are just a few of the most popular tourist attractions in this beautiful country.

The Church of Our Lady of the Rock (Gospa od Škrpjel) is a spectacular building in the small fishing village of Perast that dates back to the 15th century. It features an ornate, gold-encased Gothic altar with a spectacular image of the Madonna and Child by Lovro Marinov Dobričević, and some amazing frescoes painted by the Montenegran artist Tripo Kokolja. There is also a small museum housed in the Keeper’s Lodge, containing artefacts brought to the church from across the seas by sailors.

Sveti Stefan is a small rocky island off the coast of Budva, joined to the mainland by a man-made stone walkway. It has been inhabited since the fifteenth century, and according to legend, the fortress that now covers the entire island was originally built with the proceeds from the capture of a Turkish ship. The island contains three small churches, the oldest of which dates back to the fifteenth century. Sveti Stefan was a quiet fishing town until the 1950s, when the fortress was converted into a giant resort hotel, attracting such illustrious visitors as Kirk Douglas and Sophia Loren. The hotel was badly damaged by bombs in the 1990s but has recently been bought over by a Singapore-based consortium, and plans are afoot to restore and re-open the hotel at some point over the next few years.

The monastery at Cetinje was built in 1701 at the behest of Bishop Danilo Petrović, as a replacement for the monastery that had been destroyed by Turkish raids in 1692. While it had to be rebuilt twice during the 1700s after further raids, the structure did not differ markedly from the 1701 original. There is also a small, ornate church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and a treasury full of intriguing artefacts, including the crown of the Holy Nemanjic Dynasty, a piece of the True Cross, and, most remarkably of all, the preserved right hand of John the Baptist.

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