The Cathedral of St. Tryphon in the Old Town of Kotor is one of the most significant monuments of medieval architecture on the eastern coast of the Adriatic and the central seat of the Kotor diocese. Key facts and historical details about this shrine:
History and consecration: The construction of the current cathedral was completed and consecrated in 1166 on the foundations of an older pre-Romanesque church from 809 (which originally housed the relics of Saint Tryphon after they were brought from Constantinople). It is older than many famous European cathedrals, such as Notre Dame in Paris.
Architecture: It was built in Romanesque style with elements of Byzantine architecture. Due to devastating earthquakes — especially the one in 1667 — the cathedral suffered damage, so its distinctive bell towers were rebuilt in the Baroque style. The two bell towers are of different heights (the southern one is 35 m, the northern one is 33 m) because during the renovation the financial resources ran out to finish the northern one to the same height.
Relics of the patron saint of the city: Saint Trifun is the patron saint of the city of Kotor. His relics (saint's head/skull) are kept in a special part of the cathedral — the Treasury and Reliquary, where the Silver Pala (altar partition), a masterpiece of Kotor goldsmiths from the 14th century, is also located.
Interior and art treasures: Inside the cathedral there is an exceptional ciborium (stone canopy above the altar) from the 14th century, the work of a master from the workshop of Vito Kotoranin (who also built the Visoki Dečani monastery), as well as the remains of paintings/frescoes from the Nemanjić era.
UNESCO heritage: As part of the Old Town of Kotor, the cathedral has been under the protection of UNESCO since 1979 and is an unmissable cultural and historical point of Boka Kotorska.
