Bay of Kotor

The Bay of Kotor winds inland from the Adriatic among steep mountains, its shores dotted with towns including Kotor, Perast and Herceg Novi. Kotor's sheltered position helped it become a center of the salt trade, while its merchant fleet grew in importance during the later Middle Ages. In 1420 Kotor accepted Venetian rule, but the northern shore remained under other rulers. The Ottomans took Novi in 1482, and for two centuries the bay lay divided between rival powers. In 1654 an Ottoman attack on Perast was repelled by the townspeople; by the end of the century Venice had taken the Ottoman-held parts of the bay as well.