Perast & Gospa od Skrpjela

Gospa od Skrpjela (Our Lady of the Rock)

The reason I wanted to visit Kotor wasn't actually because of Kotor at all, but because of two islands located in the bay off the coast of nearby Perast.  Perast is a tiny town of 400 people.  After visiting it, Kati and I agreed that we would have rather stayed in Perast than Kotor, as it was even more picturesque and the food was better.

Perast is only 14 km away from Kotor so we caught an early morning bus there.  When we got there we were very excited to discover that one of the only cafes in the town served omelets for breakfast!  It was quite the treat.  After breakfast we struck out for the islands.  There are two islands: Sv. Dorde (St. George's Island) and Gospa od Skrpjela (Our Lady of the Rock).  St George's Island is home to a monastery and is closed to the public, but we did get to visit Gospa od Skrpjela.

The story behind Gospa od Skrpjela is incredible.  In 1452, two brothers were rowing in the bay when, on a rock jutting out of the bay, they miraculously found a painting of the Virgin Mary and Jesus.  Finding this painting was immediately seen as a miracle and she became known as Our Lady of the Rock.  In honor of "the Lady," the people of Perast purposefully sunk old ships near the rock so that they could build an entirely artificial island.  They then started hauling rocks out and dropping them into the 20-meter (65-foot) deep water. It took the townspeople over 200 years to finish the island and construct the first chapel on it!  In honor of this tradition, every July 22 the townspeople send a boat out to the island to continue construction.

Yet there is a second chapter to the story.  The nearby St. George's Island and Perast itself were always under Kotor's control.  In the 17th century, the people of Perast, in a rage over Kotor's control of their islands, took the bishop of Kotor out to St. George's Island and killed him.  In repentance for their actions, the people of Perast expanded Our Lady of the Rock and built a larger church in the small chapel's place.

The church is really cool.  The walls of the church are lined with various sized silver reliefs, all of which were given to the church in honor of the Lady.  The attached museum contains even more items given as offerings to the Lady, ranging from paintings and gold to old sewing machines and pieces of old boats.  Not only is the island incredibly beautiful, it's crazy to think that the whole thing is man-made and that it's a man-made island in 65-foot deep water!  All-in-all it was a great morning in Perast.