The Island Made of Thrown Stones
In a bay in Montenegro stands a small island with a church on it. It was built by hand, stone by stone, by sailors who threw rocks into the sea for 200 years.
What was reported
Off the town of Perast, in the Bay of Kotor, lies a small island holding a church, Our Lady of the Rocks. Tradition says that in 1452, two sailors found an icon of the Virgin Mary on a reef there, and vowed to honour it.
Every time sailors returned safely from a voyage, they dropped a stone on the reef, and old ships were filled with stones and sunk there, until an island formed. The custom continues: every year, in a ceremony called the fašinada, local people row out at sunset to throw stones into the water around the island.
Explanations offered
The island really was built up by people over centuries. The church is decorated with paintings and offerings from sailors. The custom is a living tradition of the Bay of Kotor.
- When
- Built from 1452
- Where
- Bay of Kotor, near Perast, Montenegro
- Witnesses
- The people of Perast
- Status
- Folk custom
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.