General information

Dubrovnik - the city of a unique political and cultural history (the Dubrovnik Republic, the Statute from 1272), of world-famous cultural heritage and beauty (inscribed on the List of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO) - is one of the most attractive and famous cities of the Mediterranean. Apart from its outstanding natural beauties and well-preserved cul-tural and historical heritage, Dubrovnik also offers high-quality visitor opportunities. It is also the city of hotels, of high ecological standards and tourist programs, and is equally attractive in all seasons. Its geographical isolation is compensated by high traffic and communication standards - especially through air traffic and fast hydrofoil boats.

The tourist development of Dubrovnik started before the First World War; quite soon, the exclusiveness of its attractions made Dubrovnik a powerful international tourist centre.

The sightseeing of Dubrovnik and its monuments requires several days. However, already a walk through Stradun, through narrow streets and small squares, monumental ramparts and fortreses, provides enough opportunities to experience the millennial beauty of its shell-shaped urban core, centuries of building, stone-cutting, carving and engraving, the history of the Duke's Palace, libraries, the oldest pharmacy in the south of Europe, etc.

The Dubrovnik Museum in the Duke's Palace keeps 15,500 exhibits in its cultural and historical department. A collection of furniture from the 17th-19th century, uniforms of dukes and councillors, aristocratic garments and many other items are exhibited in the authentic halls of the palace. The Maritime Museum (situated in the fortress Sveti Ivan) has a number exhibits on a permanent display, related to the maritime affairs of Dubrovnik and Croatia on the whole, with a particular emphasis on the history of the Dubrovnik Republic. The museum of the Franciscan monastery keeps all inventories of the old pharmacy, as well as the works of Dubrovnik jewel-lers, painters and embroiders. The museum of the Dominican monastery exhibits valuable examples of Dubrovnik painting from the 15th and the 16th centuries, as well as sculptures, jewellery, manuscripts, incunabula and notes (music). The treasury of the Dubrovnik cathedral keeps the relics of St. Blaise, patron of Dubrovnik, and numerous paintings and works of art. The Rupe Ethnographical Museum presents traditional occupations and the rural architecture of the region of Dubrovnik, national costumes and hand-made textiles. Very attractive is also the Aquarium of the Institute of Biology, situated in the fortress Sveti Ivan, comprising interesting marine species.

Dubrovnik is the city of an outstanding cultural and artistic life. The most important event in the cultural life of the city is the Dubrovnik Summer Festival (10th of July - 25th of August), traditionally held since 1950. It is a theatre and classical and folk music festival, since 1956 included in the calendar of world festivals and as such one of the most famous cultural events in the world. Concerts and other performances take place on open stages in the town (Gunduliceva Poljana, Drziceva Poljana, Lovrijenac, Revelin) or in beautiful interiors of the most famous buildings (Duke's Palace, cloisters, churches). The repertoire includes works of Croatian and world classics, performed by the leading personalities from Croatia and abroad, including a number of world-famous actors, directors, conductors, etc. So far several hundreds of them have performed in Dubrovnik. An important part of the Festival are performances of local (Lindo, Lado) and foreign folk music ensembles.

Dubrovnik History
he Croatian name of the town is derived from the word dubrava, while the Latin name Ragusa - Rausa originated from the name of the island where the first settlement was established (Lave, Lausa). Dubr-ovnik was probably founded in the first half of the 7th century, upon the fall of the nearby Epidaurum (today's Cavtat) during the Avaro-Slavic invasion on Dalmatia. Opposite of that location, at the foot of Srd Mount, developed a Croatian settlement under the name of Dubrovnik, after which, in the course of time, the entire town was named. The spatial separation was created by levelling and filling up of the present Placa, where the core of an integrated town developed. From its establishment the town was under the protection of the Byzantine Empire (for a certain period, the Byzantine strategist also resided here); during the Crusades it came under the sovereignty of Venice (1205-1358), and by the Peace Treaty of Zadar in 1358 it became part of the Hungarian-Croatian Kingdom. Having been granted the entire self-government (bound to pay only a tribute to the king and providing assistance with its fleet), from that moment Dubr-ovnik started its life as a free state that reached its peak in the 15th and the 16th centuries. A crisis of Mediterranean shipping and especially a catastrophic earthquake in 1667 put Dubrovnik in a very difficult economic position. In such a situation Dubrovnik saw the beginning of the Napoleonic wars. The French entered Dubrovnik in 1806; in 1808 Marshal Marmont abolished the Dubrovnik Republic (the name was in use from the 15th c.). Pursuant to the resolutions of the Vienna Congress in 1815, Dubrovnik was annexed to Austria.

During the period of independence of Dubrovnik, the state administration was in hands of the aristocracy; the administrative bodies were the Upper Council and the Lower Council (from 1238) and the Senate (from 1253). The head of the state was the Duke, elected for a term of office of one month. In the 13th century Dubrovnik gained the island of Lastovo, and in the 14th century also Ston, the Peljesac Peninsula and the island of Mljet. In the course of several centuries Dubrovnik grew into the most powerful economic centre on the eastern coast of the Adriatic, trading both in the Orient and the Occident, developing a powerful fleet of merchant and war ships (shipyards in Gruz, Lopud and in Sudurd on Sipan; an institution for marine insurance from the second half of the 14th c.) and maintaining diplomatic relations with a number of countries and cities. Dubrovnik had its Statute as early as 1272, which, among others, codified the town-planning and hygienic regu-lations (organization of quarantines). Medical service was introduced in 1301; the first pharmacy was opened in 1317. The old people's home was opened in 1347; the first quarantine hospital ("lazaret") was organized in 1377; the Supreme Medical Council was established in 1424; in 1432 the orphanage was opened; the waterworks was constructed in 1436.

Dubrovnik was an outstanding literary centre in the Renaissance (M. Drzic, I. Gundulic); the centre of the local painting school in the 15th-16th century; the birth-place of several world-famous scientists, such as the physicists Marin Getaldic (1568-1626) and Ruder Boskovic (1717-1787), the economic theoretician Benedikt Kotruljic (1400-1468), the composers Luksa Sorkocevic (1734-1789) and Ivan Mane Jarnovic (1740 or 1745-1804) and other. Dubrovnik was the cradle of humanism and Latinism on the Croatian coast of the Adriatic.

Science and culture in the town were promoted by scientific and literary societies - academies: the Aca-demy of the Unanimous (second half of the 16th c.), the Academy of the Frivolous (founded around 1690) and other. Du-brovnik has mainta-ined its important position in the Croatian culture until today.