DUBROVNIK was, is and always will be somewhere rather special - This inexhaustible city has something for everyone - whatever you taste., Planning a trip !? - Don’t book anything until you have visited Dubrovnik - THERE ARE PLACES YOU LEAVE. AND PLACES THAT NEVER LEAVE YOU.
Dubrovnik unusual
The Dubrovnik County is full of interesting sights and sounds. Its history and tradition are rich, complicated and fascinating. Its nature and wildlife, including national parks, are unique and breathtaking. Its cuisine and wine are world class. The connecton to the sea is unbreakable. And finally its people are friendly, generous and warm.
Mark Thomas said: Did you know….?
- Monastery of Younger Brethren in Dubrovnik’s Old City has one of the oldest Apothecaries (Pharmacy) in Europe which still exists to this day.
- The English word Argosy, meaning a large, rich cargo ship, derives from the old name for Dubrovnik-Ragusa.
- The Dubrovnik Repubic was the first state to recognise the independence of the United States of America as a sovereign state.
- There are 1.185 islands of the coast of Croatia, 66 of them are inhabited.
- Croatia is bigger than Belgium, Denmark, Holland and Switzerland.
- The white stone and marble from the quarries of Croatia’s Island of Brac was used to build the White House, the Diocletian Palace in Split, as well as Stradun in Dubrovnik.
- Marco Polo was born on the island of Korcula, 2 hours drive from Dubrovnik.
- The Sunday Times voted Susak and Lopud in the top ten secret islands in the Mediterranean.
- The first ships from Dubrovnik arrived in England in 1510. Dubrovnik had an ambassador in London as one of its 85 consultates, and the English word Argosy,meaning a large,rich cargo ship, derives from the old name for Dubrovnik-Ragusa.
- The oldest arboretum in the world, Arboretum Trsteno, dating from before 1492, is near Dubrovnik.
- The old city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Monterey, California is a sister city of Dubrovnik.
- In 1667 an earthquake destroyed parts of Dubrovnik killing many of its inhabitants.
- Plavac mali is an indigenous grape grown only in Croatia, more precisely in Dalmatia. Plavac mali is used in creating world-class wines like Dingac and Postup on Peljesac.
- Dalmacija is named after the Dalmati, an Illyran tribe who lived in the area around 1200 B.C.
- Research has shown that oysters have been farmed in the Ston area from Roman times.
- The Rupe Ethnographical Museum in the Old City presents traditional occupations and the rural architecture of the region of Dubrovnik, national costumes and hand-made textiles.
- Dubrovnik Summer Festival has been included in the calendar of world festivals since 1956.
- There are seven national parks in Croatia, three being in the mountainous regions (Risnjak, Paklenica and Plitvicka Jezera) and four in the coastal regions (Kornati, Brijuni, Krka and Mljet). Mljet is island near Dubrovnik.
- Dubrovnik’s city walls are 25m (82 ft) high and have 16 towers.
- Croats first settled the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea in the seventh century A.D. Tomislav, the first Croatian king, was crowned in the year 925 A.D.
- The famous Columbus crew in 1492 had at least two Dubrovnik mariners.
- The earliest history of Dubrovnik goes back to Ancient times, at least to the 6th-5th centuries B.C. In other words, the City is at least thousand years older than it was believed until recently.
- In 1377 Dubrovnik had the first quarantine in Europe.
History
The history of Dubrovnik is a fascinating study of the rise of a great maritime power that lived in peace and prosperity for nearly five centuries. Dubrovnik was originally called Ragusa and was formed in the 7th century when coastal residents took refuge there under the onslaught of barbarian invasions. Walls were quickly built to protect the new settlement. Over the next four centuries Ragusa expanded its influence over the coast and became increasingly prosperous by trading with other Mediterranean cities. In 1205. it fell under the control of Venice but it managed to break away in 1358. By the 15th century the Republic of Ragusa was a major rival of Venice for control of the Adriatic waterways, trading with the Near East and Europe. It maintained its independence through canny diplomacy and used its wealth to expand its cultural and political influence. In 1667, Dubrovnik was devastated by a major earthquake which destroyed most of its Renaissance art and architecture. Only Sponza Palace and the Rector’s Palace survived the destrurction. The city was reconstructed in the baroque style that you see today. After the earthquake, Dubrovnik fell into decline, hastened by the emergence of other European naval powers. It was Napoleon who finally put an end to the republic in 1806 when he entered the city and announced its annexation. In 1815, the Congress of Vienna ceded Dubrovnik to Austria to whom it remained attached until 1918. Dubrovnik began to develop its tourist industry in the late 19th century. Luminaries such as Lord Byron, George Bernard Shaw and Agatha Christie were awed by the town and Dubrovnik became a major tourist centre in the region.