The Bay of Kotor - Montenegro, Europe

The Bay of Kotor (Serbo-Croatian: Boka Kotorska, Cyrillic script: Бока Которска, in south-western Montenegro is a winding bay on the Adriatic Sea. The bay, sometimes called Europe's southernmost fjord, is in fact a submerged river canyon of the disintegrated Bokelj River which used to run from the high mountain plateaus of Mount Orjen. It is an important tourist attraction in Montenegro. The Verige strait represent the narrowest section of the bay and is located between Cape St. Nedjelja and Cape Opatovo; it separates the inner bay east of the strait from the remainder and belongs to the Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor, A World Heritage Site. Montenegro is planning to build a bridge that would span the strait, the so called Verige bridge. The bay has been inhabited since antiquity and has some well preserved medieval towns. The picturesque towns of Kotor, Risan,Tivat, Perast, Prčanj, Herceg Novi and Budva along with their natural surroundings, are major tourist attractions. The religious heritage of the land around the bay — its numerous Orthodox and Catholic Christian churches and monasteries — makes it one of the major pilgrimage sites of the region. The region of the Bay of Kotor was occupied by the Italian Army in April 1941, and was included in the Italian Governatorato di Dalmazia until September 1943. Since 1945, it has been part of the Republic of Montenegro. The Bay of Kotor lies within the Mediterranean subtropical belt. While summers are hot and sunny, autumn, winter and spring are rainy seasons. It is the climate type of the Mediterranean but modifications exist in the vast region.