The Bay of Kotor (Montenegrin: Бока Которска / Boka Kotorska; pronounced [bɔ̂ka kɔ̂tɔrskaː], Italian: Bocche di Cattaro) known simply as Boka (“the Bay”), is the winding bay of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Montenegro and the region of Montenegro concentrated around the bay.
The bay has been inhabited since antiquity. Its well-preserved medieval towns of Kotor, Risan, Tivat, Perast, Prčanj and Herceg Novi, along with their natural surroundings, are major tourist attractions. Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor has been a World Heritage Site since 1979. Its numerous Orthodox and Catholic churches and monasteries make it a major pilgrimage site.
Most of the region’s inhabitants are Orthodox Christians, declaring themselves on census forms as either Serbs or as Montenegrins, while a minority are Croatian. The Bay region is under the protection of UNESCO due to its rich cultural heritage.[citation needed]
The Boka region has a long naval tradition and has harbored a strong naval fleet since the Middle Ages. The fleet peaked at 300 ships in the 18th century, when Boka was a rival to Dubrovnik and Venice.
On the landward side, long walls run from the fortified old town of Kotor to the castle of Saint John, far above; the heights of the Krivošije (Krivoscie), a group of barren plateaus in Mount Orjen, were crowned by small forts.
The shores of the bay Herceg Novi house the Orthodox convent of St. Sava near (Savina monastery) standing amid beautiful gardens. It was founded in the 16th century and contains many fine specimens of 17th century silversmiths’ work. 12.87 km east of Herceg Novi, there is a Benedictine monastery on a small island opposite Perast (Perasto). Perast itself was for a time an independent state in the 14th century.