Dubrovnik history in a few words

For all of its history Dubrovnik was part of Republic of Dubrovnik which consisted of the city Dubrovnik, Konavle, Cavtat, Ston and few other small places together with Dubrovnik islands. Its independency Republic of Dubrovnik confirmed in 14th century. Its boom and the culmination was experienced in the 16th century trading mainly with the Ottoman Empire, but also with Italy and Spain. Its development Republic of Dubrovnik based on trade and navigation. Dubrovnik had one of the best navies in the history. In the 1667 Republic of Dubrovnik began its decline. That year strong earthquake hit Dubrovnik, destroyed all city and killed about 3 thousand people. The earthquake was followed by a fire which destroyed the cultural heritage which was centuries old, but Dubrovnik managed to recover and rise again. In 1808. Republic of Dubrovnik ceased to exist and Dubrovnik fell under the Austrian rule, as part of Kingdom of Dalmatia. Through the whole history many forces fought for this town, but it managed to resist and to keep its freedom and independency. In the recent history Dubrovnik once more needed to fight for its freedom and today it is one of the most beautiful cities and one of the most visited destinations in the whole world, just thanks to its history, cultural heritage and city walls because of which it is famous all around the world and which were made exactly for protection of this city.

War in Croatia

Today, Dubrovnik is a very safe city, but some 25 years ago the whole Old Town was destroyed. Probably most of you heard about the war in Croatia and damages the city suffered. The War in Croatia began in 1991 and it was a war for freedom and independency of Croatia. It began with the attack of Serbs when Yugoslavia failed. They tried to occupy and conquer Croatia and make it became a part of Serbia. The war finished in 1995 when Croatia liberated all its, previously conquered, territories. Dubrovnik was one of the most damaged cities in Croatia during the war. It was attacked from east Herzegovina and from Montenegro. October 1991 was the hardest time for Dubrovnik. Even though it was under the protection of UNESCO, the city was attacked from the sea, air and the mountains around Dubrovnik. The city of Dubrovnik and its surrounding were heavily damaged. Many cultural monuments were destroyed. Those who are interested can visit the fort Imperial on the hill Srd where the Museum of the homeland war is located. But all damages were repaired and nobody can even notice that war once happened in Dubrovnik. There is nothing that can be seen as sign that Dubrovnik was almost completely devastated. Its beauty, cultural heritage, richness of tourist offer as much as hospitality of people who live here make Dubrovnik today one of the most visited tourist detonations.