Sea Gate and Clock Tower
Sea Gate and Clock Tower features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Kotor. Give it roughly ~20 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type monument
- Suggested visit ~20 min
- Kotor Kotor guide
About Sea Gate and Clock Tower
Kotor's grand waterfront entrance, built around 1555, opens onto the Square of Arms beneath a leaning 1602 clock tower, a Tito-era slogan, and a stone pillar of shame.
The Sea Gate (Vrata od mora), also called the Main Gate, is the largest of Kotor's three town gates and the principal entrance to the Old Town from the waterfront. Built in the sixteenth century and commonly dated to 1555, it opens onto Trg od Oruzja, the Square of Arms, the main square of the walled town, named for the weapons and munitions produced and stored there under Venetian rule. Inside the arch is a bas-relief of the Madonna flanked by Saint Tryphon and Saint Bernard.
Above the gate, a socialist-era stone block records 21 November 1944, the day Kotor was liberated from Axis occupation, alongside the coat of arms of Yugoslavia and a slogan attributed to Marshal Tito. On the square stands the Clock Tower (Gradski sat), built in 1602 in partly Baroque style with Gothic north and east facades, and, before it, a reconstructed medieval pillory known as the pillar of shame (stub srama).
Did you know? The Square of Arms earned its name under Venice, when this was the town's arsenal: weapons and gunpowder were manufactured and stored here, a lively history for what is now Kotor's cafe-lined heart.
How long is a visit to Sea Gate and Clock Tower?
Set aside roughly ~20 min for Sea Gate and Clock Tower. That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Sea Gate and Clock Tower worth your time?
Sea Gate and Clock Tower is among the 12 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Kotor, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Kotor
Day 1 of the Kotor in 2 days itinerary →
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Hear the story of Sea Gate and Clock Tower
Preview the Kotor tour free in the Gingerguide app.