Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik is located on the thin coast strip between the high hills and the calmness of the Adriatic sea.

The ‘Pearl of the Adriatic’, on the Dalmatian coast, was an important Mediterranean sea power from the 13th century. Dubrovnik was founded in the first half of the 7th century by a group of refugees from Epidaurum, who established their settlement at the island and named it Laus. The Latin name Ragusa (Rausa), in use until the 15th century, originated from the rock (Lat. lausa = rock). Opposite that location, at the foot of Srđ Mountain, the Slavs developed their own settlement under the name of Dubrovnik, derived from the Croatian word dubrava, which means oak woods.

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

Counting only about 35 000 people Dubrovnik is the cultural and social center of the region.

Vegetation in the region is typical, mostly Mediterranean, and it is a result of hundreds of years of human influence. As suited for a merchant harbour city, Dubrovnik mariners traveled far and wide bringing home many tropical and sub-tropical cultures, creating an interesting mixture of plant life.

The name of the most famous street of Dubrovnik is Placa (Stradun) street .

• Dubrovnik is a remarkably well-preserved example of a late-medieval walled city, with a regular street layout. Among the outstanding medieval, Renaissance and Baroque monuments within the magnificent fortifications and the monumental gates to the city are the Town Hall (now the Rector’s Palace), dating from the 11th century; the Franciscan Monastery  with its imposing church; the extensive Dominican Monastery; the cathedral (rebuilt after the 1667 earthquake); the customs house (Sponza), the eclectic appearance of which reveals the fact that it is the work of several hands over many years; and a number of other Baroque churches, such as that of St Blaise (patron saint of the city).

The original World Heritage site consisted solely of the defences and the intra-mural city.
It includes the Pile medieval industrial suburb,the Lovrijenac Fortress, located on a cliff,the Lazarets,the Revelin Fortress.

The island of Lokrum lies to the south-east of Dubrovnik, some 500 m from the coast. In 1023 it became a Benedictine abbey.

Dubrovnik is Croatia’s most famous coastal city.