Architecture of Montenegro
Romanesque Kotor
Most of Montenegro's architecture is along the coasts
and in the Romanesque style or what is often times referred to as "Venetian,"
although it is quite distinct from that of Venice itself.
The highlight of this Romanesque or Venetian style is the city of Kotor, which sits
on a bay along the Adriatic Sea. This city begins with its city walls, which were
built in the 800s, but vastly reconstructed in the 1500s with updated gates in the
Renaissance style. Inside these walls and gates is the city itself, which is also
primarily in the same Romanesque-Venetian style. The highlights, or at least the
more recognizable buildings are the Cathedral of Saint Tryphon (1166) and the famous
16th century clock tower. More than these two buildings though, nearly the entire
city was built in the same style between about 1100 and into the 1400s. During this
time numerous palaces were built, but with a similar stone facades making difference
rather subtle; these include the Gothic Drago Palace (1400s) and the Venetian Renaissance
Pima Palace (1500s).