Basic facts about Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic coast in extreme south of Dalmatia. Dubrovnik is one of most prominent travel destination on the Adriatic, big seaport and centre of Dubrovnik – Neretva county. The Dubrovnik-Neretva County is the southernmost county in the Republic of Croatia. It encompasses an area of 1785 km2 and has about 127,000 residents. Territorially, it is organized into 22 local self-administration units, divided into 5 cities (Dubrovnik, Korcula, Ploce, Metkovic and Opuzen) and 17 municipalities (Blato, Dubrovnik coastal region, Janjina, Konavle, Kula Norinska, Lastovo, Lumbarda, Mljet, Orebic, Pojezerje, Slivno, Smokvica, Ston, Trpanj, Vela Luka, Zazablje and Zupa Dubrovnik).

History about Dubrovnik

Historical lore indicates that Ragusa (Dubrovnik) was founded in the 7th century on a rocky island named Laus, which provided shelter for Dalmatian refugees from the nearby city of Epidaurum. Through Dubrovnik turbulent history, many sovereign and maritime powers came in conflict in this region like: Byzantine, Saracen, Croat, Norman, Venetian, Hungarian-Croat state, Roman-German empire, Ottoman, Habsburg monarchy and the Napoleon Empire.
Before Dubrovnik, there was a much older city, Epidaurum, which developed in the area of where Cavtat is today, 18 kilometres southeast of Dubrovnik. Until the time of its demise in the 7th century, Epidaurum existed for at least 10 and perhaps as many as 12 centuries.

The intensification of traffic between the East and West both during and after the Crusades resulted in the development of maritime and mercantile centers throughout the Mediterranean and the Adriatic Sea in the 12th and 13th centuries. Dubrovnik was one of them. The Zadar Treaty in 1358 liberated Dubrovnik from Venetian rule, and it was crucial to the successful furthering of its development. The remaining Dalmatian towns failed to achieve this, so that they definitely fell under Venetian rule in the year 1420. Already during the 14th and 15th centuries, Dubrovnik was the most significant maritime and mercantile center of the Adriatic, alongside Venice and Ancona. Dubrovnik expanded its territory by using contracts and by purchasing land from Klek in the north to Sutorina at the entrance to the Bay of Kotor, including the islands of Mljet, Lastovo, Elaphite and Lokrum.

In 1806 the city surrendered to French forces, as that was the only way to cut a month’s long siege by the Russian-Montenegrin fleets (during which 3000 cannonballs fell on the city). At first Napoleon demanded only free passage for his troops, promising not to occupy the territory and stressing that the French were friends of the Ragusans. Later, however, French forces blockaded the harbours, forcing the government to give in and let French troops enter the city. On this day, all flags and coats of arms above the city walls were painted black as a sign of grief. In 1808, Marshal Marmont abolished the republic and integrated its territory first into the Napoleon’s Kingdom of Italy and later into the Illyrian provinces under French rule.

Under the Austrian occupation, which lasted an entire century, right up to the breakdown of the Austro-Hungarian state prior to the end of World War I in 1918, Dubrovnik did not play any significant political or economic role. Instead it stagnated and fell into ruin both economically and culturally.

With the fall of Austria-Hungary in 1918, the city was incorporated into the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia). The name of the city was officially changed from Ragusa to Dubrovnik.

During World War II, Dubrovnik became part of the Nazi controlled Independent State of Croatia, occupied by the Italian army first, and by the German army after September 1943. In October 1944 Tito’s partisans entered Dubrovnik, that became consequently part of Communist Yugoslavia. Soon after their arrival into the city, Partisans sentenced approximately 78 citizens to death without trial, including a Catholic priest.
After 1945, many citizens left the city and settled in Italy, Austria or Germany.

In 1979, the city of Dubrovnik joined the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

In 1991 Croatia and Slovenia, which at that time were republics within Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, declared their independence. At that event,Socialist Republic of Croatia was renamed Republic of Croatia. On october 1991. Dubrovnik was attacked  by the Serbians and the Montenegrins aimed to conquer and destroy the region, attacking with a destructive force that had never been seen so far. The Dubrovnik region was occupied and significantly devastated. In the 8-month siege, the city itself was repeatedly bombarded. The most brutal destruction occurred on December 06th, 1991. In this last and cruellest attack on the survival of Dubrovnik, the goal of the enemy was the complete destruction of the city, but they did not succeed.