DUBROVNIK

Italian Ragusa, port of Dalmatia in Croatia. Situated on the southern Adriatic coast, it is usually regarded as the most picturesque city on the Dalmatian coast. It 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 a massive round tower dominates the city on the landward side. The city walls, mostly a double line, have long been the pride of Dubrovnik. Beyond them are many villas surrounded by gardens. The basic city plan dates from 1292, when the port was rebuilt following a fire. The Stradun, or main street, with beautiful late-Renaissance houses on each side, runs along a valley that, until 1272, was a marshy channel dividing the Latin island of Ragusa from the forest settlement of Dubrovnik (dubrava in Serbo-Croatian means grove). No motor vehicles are allowed inside the walls, and, except for the Stradun, the old city is a maze of picturesque narrow streets, many of them steep and twisting. Two 14th-century convents stand at the ends of the city; the Franciscans guarded the western gate, while the Dominicans kept the eastern. The Rector's Palace is one of the masterpieces of Dalmatian architecture. Lokrum, an offshore island, is famous for its gardens and orange groves. Annual festivals of the arts attract many tourists to the scenic city. Dubrovnik is connected to Sarajevo and Belgrade by rail. From its new harbour at nearby Gruz, ships ply to other Dalmatian ports and to Italy. The main industries produce liqueurs, cheeses, silk, and leatherwork. The city was founded as Rausa, or Ragusium, in the 7th century 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 Byzantium. From the 9th to the 12th century it defended itself against foreign powers, but in 12051358 it acknowledged Venetian suzerainty, though keeping much of its independence. The city-republic afforded asylum to refugees of all nationsone of them was King Richard I of Englandand by means of treaty and tribute it enlarged its territory along the Dalmatian coast. It became a great mercantile power, being situated at the seaward end of overland trade routes to Byzantium and the Danube region. 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 skillful 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 it traded with India and the Americas, and the city sent men-of-war to Spain in 1588 for the abortive invasion of England. A great development of art and literature, from the 15th century to the 17th, earned Dubrovnik the title of the South Slav Athens. For the first time in the history of the South Slavs, the language of the people was introduced into literature. The city's literary history, however, never compared to its maritime and mercantile achievements. In 1667 an earthquake destroyed parts of the city, and about one-fifth of the inhabitants perished. Only during the Napoleonic Wars did the republic regain its prosperity. 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. Dubrovnik suffered some damage in 1991 during Croatia's struggle for independence. Pop. (1981) 43,990.