Dubrovnik
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Stradun, Dubrovnik's main street |
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Republic of Ragusa before 1808 |
Dubrovnik (
Croatian with tone marks: Dùbrōvnik, stress on first syllable,
IPA [ˈd".bro̞ːʋ.nik],
Dalmatian,
Latin,
Italian, and former
English:
Ragusa) is an old city on the
Adriatic Sea coast in the extreme south of
Croatia, positioned at at the terminal end of the
Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent
tourist resorts, a
seaport and the center of the
Dubrovnik"Neretva county. Its population was 43,770 in
2001 and 49,728 in
1991. in 2001 the absolute majority of its citizens describe themselves as
Croats with 88.39% (2001
census). Dubrovnik is nicknamed
"Pearl of the Adriatic".
The city of Dubrovnik was based on maritime trade. In the
Middle Ages, as the
Republic of Ragusa, it became the only eastern Adriatic
city-state to rival
Venice. Supported by its wealth and skilled
diplomacy, the city achieved a remarkable level of development during the
15th and
16th centuries. Dubrovnik was one of the centers of the development of the
Croatian language and
literature, home to many notable
poets,
playwrights,
painters,
mathematicians,
physicists and other
scholars.
See also Republic of Ragusa.Dubrovnik was founded by joining two small towns:
Laus, a town on a small island off the southern
Dalmatian coast, which provided shelter for the Italic refugees from the nearby city of today's
Cavtat; and
Dubrava, a settlement of
Slavic immigrants at the foot of the forested
Srđ hill.
The strip of wetland between the two parts of the town, was
reclaimed in the
12th century, unifying the city around the newly-made plaza (today
Placa or
Stradun). The plaza was paved in
1468 and reconstructed after the
earthquake of
1667. The city was
fortified and two
harbours were built on each side of the
isthmus.
From its establishment in the
7th century, the town was under the
protection of the
Byzantine Empire. After the
Crusades, Ragusa/Dubrovnik 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.
Between the
14th century and
1808 Dubrovnik ruled itself as a
free state named
Respublica Ragusina, the
Republic of Ragusa also known as the Republic of Dubrovnik. The Republic of Ragusa reached its peak in the
15th and
16th centuries, when the Dubrovnik
thalassocracy rivalled the
Republic of Venice and other Italian maritime republics. During this time in Dubrovnik worked one of the most famous cannon and bell founder of this time:
Ivan Rabljanin (Magister Johannes Baptista Arbensis de la Tolle).
The city was ruled by
aristocracy that formed two city Councils (
Vijeće). They maintained a strict system of
social classes, but they also abolished
slave trade early in the 15th century and valued liberty highly. The city successfully balanced its sovereignty between the interests of Venice and the
Ottoman Empire for centuries.
The Republic gradually declined after a crisis of
Mediterranean shipping " and especially a catastrophic
earthquake in
1667. In
1699 it was forced to sell two patches of its territory to the Ottomans in order to protect itself from the advancing Venetian forces.
Its final demise was caused not by Venice, but by
Napoleon's forces, which conquered first the Venetian territories and then the Dubrovnik republic in
1806. 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 Ragusians. Later, however, French forces blockaded Dubrovnik's 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 into the
Illyrian provinces.
In
1815, by the resolution of
Congress of Vienna, Dubrovnik was annexed to the
Austrian Empire (from 1867
Austria-Hungary), and remained in the
crown land of the
Kingdom of Dalmatia until
1918. In 1815 the former Ragusan Government, i.e. its noble assembly, met for the last time in the ljetnikovac in Mokosica. Once again heavy efforts were undertaken to reestablish the Republic however this time it was all in vain. After the fall of the Republic most of the aristocracy died out and emigrated overseas. One of the last surviving families is the Gozze family.
In
1848, the Croatian Assembly (Sabor) published the People's Requests in which they requested among other things the abolition of serfdom and the unification of Dalmatia and Croatia. The Dubrovnik Municipality was the most outspoken of all the Dalmatian communes in its support for unification with Croatia. A letter was sent from Dubrovnik to Zagreb with pledges to work for this idea. In
1849, Dubrovnik continued to lead the Dalmatian cities in the struggle for unification. A large-scale campaign was launched in the Dubrovnik paper L'Avvenire (The Future) based on a clearly formulated programme: the federal system for the Habsburg territories, the inclusion of Dalmatia into Croatia and the Slavic brotherhood.
In the same year appeared the first issue of the almanac Dubrovnik. Flower of the National Literature (Dubrovnik, cvijet narodnog knjizevstva), in which Petar Preradovic published his noted poem To Dubrovnik. This and other literary and journalistic texts, which continued to be published, contributed to the awakening of the national consciousness reflected in efforts to introduce the Croatian language into schools and offices, and to promote Croatian books. The Emperor Franz Joseph brought the so-called Imposed Constitution which prohibited the unification of Dalmatia and Croatia and also any further political activity with this end in view. The political struggle of Dubrovnik to be united with Croatia, which was intense throughout 1848 and 1849, did not succeed at that time.
In
1861, Meeting of the first Dalmatian Assembly, with representatives from Ragusa. Representatives of Kotor came to Dubrovnik to join the struggle for unification with Croatia. The citizens of Ragusa gave them a festive welcome, flying Croatian flags from the ramparts, and exhibiting the slogan: Ragusa with KotorŸ. The Kotorans elected a delegation to go to Vienna; Dubrovnik nominated Niko Pucic. Niko Pucic went to Vienna to demand not only the unification of Dalmatia with Croatia, but also the unification of all Croatian territories under one common Assembly.
In
1883, Death of politician
Niko Pucic (born in 1820). He was a member of the Croatian Assembly and champion of the unification of Dalmatia (particularly Ragusa) with Croatia. He was the editor of the review Ragusa and founder of the review Slovinac. in the same year, Died
Ivan August Kaznacic (born 1817) publicist and promoter of the Illyrian cause. He edited the review Zora dalmatinska (Dalmatian Dawn) and founded the Dubrovnik review L'Avvenire (The Future).
In
1893, the minister of the city, the
baron Francesco Ghetaldi-Gondola,
opened the monument for Ivan Gundulic in Piazza Gundulic (Gondola).
Although colloquially known to its residents as Dubrovnik for centuries, the city's official name was Ragusa and was only changed to Dubrovnik only in 1918 with the fall of Austria-Hungary and the incorporation of the area into the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, later the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
At the very beginning of the
World War II, Dubrovnik was first part of the
Independent State of Croatia. From April
1941 until September
1943, Dubrovnik was occupied by the Italian army and after that by the Germans. In October
1944, the
Partisans liberated Dubrovnik from the Germans and it became part of the
second Yugoslavia in
1945.
Despite the
demilitarization of the old town by the
Yugoslav People's Army in the
1970s in an attempt to prevent it from becoming a casualty of war, following
Croatia's independence in
1991, the same army attacked and surrounded the city on
October 1,
1991 and the siege lasted until May
1992. The heaviest artillery attack happened on
December 6 with 19 people killed and 60 wounded. Total casualty in the conflict on this area according to the Croatian
Red Cross were 114 killed civilians, among them the celebrated poet
Milan Milisić (born
1941).
Following the end of the war, a major rebuilding project led by the Croatian authorities and
UNESCO began. They rebuilt the city in the ancient style to keep its sense of beauty and history. As well as rebuilding damaged buildings, surviving structures were strengthened against earthquakes.
As of 2005, most damaged buildings in the city have been repaired.
The climate along the Dubrovnik Region is a typical
Mediterranean one, with mild, rainy
winters and hot and dry
summers. The air temperatures can slightly vary, depending on the area or region. Summer temperatures in July rise till 34°C in the northern part, while in the southern part they usually rise to 38°C. During winter the coldest temperatures are recorded in the northern
Adriatic with temperatures dropping sometimes below zero, while the southern regions of the Adriatic coast generally remain above zero.
*average annual - 16.4°C (61.5°F)
*average of coldest period (January) 9°C (48.2°F)
*average of warmest period (August) 24.9°C (76.8°F)
*average May - September 17.9°C - 23.8°C (64.2°F - 74.8°F)
*approximately 38 ‰ (parts per thousand)
*average annual 1020.8 mm
*average annual rain days 109.2
*average annual 2629 l
*average daily hours: 7.2 h
The
patron saint of the city is
Sveti Vlaho (Saint Blaise), whose statues are seen around the city. He has an importance similar to that of
St. Mark the Evangelist to Venice.
The old city is a
UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Inhabitants of Dubrovnik often proudly quote the Irish playwright and man of letters,
George Bernard Shaw, who visited the city in
1929: "If you want to see heaven on earth, come to Dubrovnik."
Dubrovnik hosted the tenth and final
Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne in
1956.
The oldest
arboretum in the world,
Arboretum Trsteno, dating from before
1492, is near Dubrovnik.
The Republic of Dubrovnik was the first state to recognise the
United States of America as a sovereign state.
The English word
argosy is derived from
ragusye, which means vessel of Ragusa, the old name of Dubrovnik.
The Australian rock band
The Dubrovniks (
1987"
95) owed its name to the origin of the father of one of the members.
30 minutes by car from the old city is the
Dubrovnik Highlands (which is in Bosnia & Hercegovina). This area is commonly known for its crystal clear water, pine forests, rough mountain terrain, huge carp fish, winter sports and hot dry summers.
In the bay of Dubrovnik is the 72-
hectare wooded island of
Lokrum, where according to legend,
Richard the Lionheart was cast ashore after being
shipwrecked in
1192. The island includes a fortress, botanical garden,
monastery and naturist beach.
*"Nono"
Marino de Bona,
World War II survivor. Led immigration wave to
Lima, Peru*
Marin Držić, famous
Croatian playwright and prose writer
*
Ivan Gundulić, celebrated
Baroque poet
*
Rudjer Boscovich, great scientist and poet of 18th century
*
Ahmet Brkovic, professional football (soccer) player
*
Sanja Jovanović, Olympic swimmer
*Ivo "Duke" Karač, Motorcycle racer
In the film Rosemary's Baby, Roman Castevet, the leader of the witch coven, is falsely said to be in Dubrovnik leading Rosemary to exclaim on his presence, "You're in Dubrovnik, I can't hear you."
*
Dubrovnik Travel Guide from Wikitravel*
Old City of Dubrovnik - UNESCO World Heritage Centre*
Official website*
Dubrovnik Tourist Board*
Dubrovnik Photos Database
