Kotor, Serbia-Montenegro
| Name of the Inscribed Sector | Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor |
| Year of inscription on the World Heritage List | 1979 |
| Location and site | Situated on the Dalmatian Coast and at the edge of the Balkans, Kotor is 50 km. southeast of Dubrovnik. It is at the head of a deep inlet which divides into four large basins, and is dominated by the abrupt topography of the Orijen and the Lovcen. |
| Historical Function | Trade (maritime). |
| Foundation | 7th century A.D. |
| Population | 23000 |
History
- In the 7th century, the territory known since the 1st century B.C. as the Province of Mesia was invaded by the Serbs. Kotor was erected on the Roman site of Acruvium.
- Although the difficult topography favoured isolation, certain communities united to form the first Serbian states; this was the case of Zeta (Montenegro) in the 11th century. Kotor, which was located in this state, had been ruled successively by Bulgarian and Macedo-Bulgarian suzerains, as well as by Byzantines. Serbia had been christianized since the 9th century.
- Under the Nemanjids Dynasty, the Serbs liberated themselves from Byzantine authority and attained their independence in 1180. Serbia became a powerful state and Kotor, although isolated, became an active trading centre, as did other coastal cities. Numerous churches and monasteries were erected. Serbia expanded its territory and reached its apogee from 1331 until 1355. The 12th and 13th centuries also represented the golden era for Serbian art.
- Following the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, Serbia came under Turkish control and remained part of the Ottoman Empire until the 19th century. Although less than elsewhere, its cities bore the burden of this control. Between 1814 and 1918, Kotor was the site of a Austro-Hungarian naval base. Since that time, its citizens - like those of its neighbours Dobrota, Perast and Risan - have never lost their rapport with the sea.
Urban Morphology
At the heart of its mountainous landscape, the small city of Krotor, with its narrow, sinuous streets, maintains traces of the Middle Ages despite the cataclysms it suffered since that time.
In addition to the wall and gates that constituted the first monument of the settlement, a large number of Roman-Byzantine, Gothic and Renaissance constructions (the cathedral, churches, the palace) testify to the medieval past that has traces of both Rome and Byzantium, as well as of the Balkans and Western Europe.
Inscription Criteria
The natural and cultural-historic region of Kotor is a grouping of monuments on the coast of the gulf that share exceptional value is due to their rapport with their carefully chosen sites and their insertion in the urban context. (I) Kotor and its neighbours have been the site of creation in the region over a period of several centuries. Their schools for painters and silversmiths and their architecture have exercised profound and longlasting influence on the Adriatic coast. (II) The successful integration of these cities in the gulf site, their number, the quality and diversity of their monuments and cultural properties, and the exceptional authenticity of their conservation constitute a unique ensemble. (III) Kotor and Perast represent one of the most characteristic and authentically conserved testimonies of urban design of small cities. (IV)
