Perast Museum

The town museum of Perast in the 17th-century Bujović Palace on the waterfront: about 2,000 objects of maritime, ethnographic and art history, with ship models, captains' portraits and paintings by Tripo Kokolja.

Maritime Museum · Kotor

Photo: Marcin Konsek · CC BY-SA 4.0

Hours: 15 April to 15 October, Tue-Sun 08:00-20:00 …Tickets: €8

Perast Museum (Muzej grada Perasta) occupies the 17th-century Bujović Palace on the waterfront of Perast, at Obala Marka Martinovića, in the municipality of Kotor. It holds about 2,000 objects from the 15th to the 20th century in maritime, ethnographic and historical-art collections, run since 1992 by the municipal institution Muzeji Kotor. In summer it opens Tuesday to Sunday 08:00-20:00; the individual ticket is €8.

Opening hours and tickets

From 15 April to 15 October: Tuesday to Sunday 08:00-20:00. From 15 October to 15 April: Tuesday to Sunday 10:00-16:00. Closed on Mondays, for the whole of January, on Orthodox Easter, on 1 May and on 13 and 14 November.

Tickets: €8 individual, €5 for children up to 12, €5 per person in groups of more than 10. A common ticket for €15 covers all Muzeji Kotor sites: this museum, the Roman Mosaics in Risan, and the Gallery of Solidarity, the Lapidarium and St Paul's Church in Kotor. Telephone +382 32 373 519, e-mail perast@muzejikotor.me.

What to see

Ground floor: ship models, navigation instruments, charts and weapons.
First-floor salon: portraits of the captains Matija Zmajević and Vicko Bujović, a painting of Marko Martinović teaching Russian nobles, and works by Tripo Kokolja.
Second floor: jewellery, porcelain and costume pieces, with furniture and portraits from the former Visković family museum.

A room with a piano, period furniture and portraits under a dark beamed ceiling — A room in the Bujović Palace, Perast MuseumPhoto: Sailko, CC BY 3.0

Three dates from the museum's own account put the collection in context: in 1698 Martinović ran a navigation school in Perast for Russian boyars; in 1714 Matija Zmajević became an admiral of the Russian fleet; and the Holy Cross fort above the town was built in 1570.

History

The Perast municipal council decided to found a town museum on 28 February 1937, first housed in the Town Hall. The Bujović Palace, built in the 17th century, was reconstructed for the museum in 1957; the name "Perast Museum" was restored in 1967, and a Visković family memorial museum was added in 1970. The earthquake of 1979 collapsed the Visković house and damaged the palace, whose repair, with an extension, lasted until 1998; it reopened for the 300th anniversary of Martinović's school. The attribution of the palace to the architect G. B. Fontana in 1694 appears only in unofficial sources.

A stone balustrade above the waterfront, with Perast and the bay behind — Perast from the terrace of the Bujović PalacePhoto: Sailko, CC BY 3.0

Getting there

The museum stands on the Perast waterfront, Obala Marka Martinovića. The palace has several floors and the operator gives no information on step-free access.

Nearby

Questions

Is the museum open in winter? Yes, Tuesday to Sunday 10:00-16:00 from 15 October to 15 April, except in January.

Is the €15 joint ticket worth it? It covers five sites; Perast alone is €8 and Risan €6 (€14 together), so the €15 ticket pays off only if you also visit at least one of the Muzeji Kotor sites in Kotor.

Is it open on Monday? No.