34th PDDG Conference

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Dubrovnik, Italian Ragusa, port of Dalmatia, southeastern Croatia. Situated on the southern Adriatic Sea coast, it is usually regarded as the most picturesque city on the Dalmatian coast and is referred to as the “Pearl of the Adriatic.” 

The history of Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik (derived from dubrava in Croatian, meaning “grove”) occupies a promontory jutting into the sea under the bare limestone mass of Mount Srdj. The port’s sea fortifications rise directly from the water’s edge, and the massive round tower (completed in 1464) of the Minc̆eta Fortress dominates the city on the landward side. The old city of Dubrovnik was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979. Pop. (2001) 31,756; (2011) 28,434.

The city was founded about 614 as Rausa, or Ragusium, by Roman refugees fleeing the Slav and Avar sack of Epidaurus, just to the southeast. A colony of Slavs soon joined the Romans there, and from an early date, the city formed a link between two great civilizations. 

After the fall of Rome, Dubrovnik was ruled by the Byzantine Empire. From the 9th to the 12th century Dubrovnik defended itself against foreign powers, and in the period 1205 to 1358 it acknowledged Venetian suzerainty, though it retained much of its independence. 

The city-republic was liberal in character, affording asylum to refugees of all nations—one of them, according to legend, was King Richard I (the Lionheart) of England, who landed on the offshore island of Lokrum in 1192 on his return from the Crusades—and abolishing the slave trade in 1418, and through treaty and tribute it enlarged its territory along the Dalmatian coast.

In 1272 the city received a statute that incorporated Roman and local practices. Situated at the seaward end of overland trade routes to Byzantium and the Danube region, it became a great mercantile power. Ragusan land trade flourished throughout the Balkans.

In 1420, when Dalmatia was sold to Venice, Dubrovnik remained a free city in all but name. For centuries the people of Dubrovnik were able to preserve their city-republic by skilful manoeuvring between East and West. A strategic treaty with Turkey protracted Dubrovnik’s liberty and maintained the opportunity for a major trading role between the Ottoman Empire and Europe. 

In the 16th century, Dubrovnik traded with India and the Americas (the republic was among the first to recognize the independence of the United States in the late 18th century), and the city contributed ships to Spain in 1588 for the Armada’s abortive invasion of England. 

In 1667 an earthquake destroyed parts of the city, including the cathedral and many monasteries and palaces, and killed as many as 5,000 residents. The republic did not regain its prosperity until the Napoleonic Wars. 

From 1800 to 1805, as the only neutral Mediterranean state, it secured a large share of the carrying trade. Napoleon I subjugated Dubrovnik in 1808, and the Congress of Vienna (1815) gave Dubrovnik to Austria; in 1918 it was incorporated into Yugoslavia. 

Many of Dubrovnik’s historic buildings suffered damage in 1991–92 during Croatia’s struggle for independence, but much of the old city has since been restored.