Dubrovnik
Croatia
April 13th to 15th, 2025
We began our Balkans road trip in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik. Also known as the "Pearl of the Adriatic", Dubrovnik is a stunningly beautiful city, and a place I have wanted to visit for a long time. Rosie and I flew from Munich directly to Dubrovnik airport, located about 15–20 km southeast of the city. Since it was Rosie's birthday trip (and I had to keep up the high standards I set with the Tunisia birthday trip last year), I had decided to splash out a bit and we stayed at the Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik Hotel, set in a grand 19th century palace and located right next to the old town.
After checking into the hotel, we began our sightseeing with a guided city walking tour led by a young local women, who gave us a good introduction to the city and its history. Dubrovnik's remarkably well preserved medieval Old Town it fairly compact and easy to get around by foot. It was one of the first monuments in Europe to be awarded the UNESCO World Heritage Site label in 1979.
Once known as Ragusa, Dubrovnik was an maritime republic during the Middle Ages, and remained independent for centuries. The Rector’s Palace (the building on the left), once the seat of the Republic’s elected leader, now houses the cultural history museum. Just a short walk a way is Dubrovnik Cathedral, rebuilt in baroque style after the 1667 earthquake. Dubrovnik also was the set of the town of King's Landing in the series Game of Thrones, and has since become a pilgrimage destination for Game of Thrones fans.
We celebrated Rosie's birthday in a wonderful restaurant right by the old harbor.
On the way back we walked through the old town at night, which is beautifully illuminated and there were a hardly any tourists around:
The next morning we ventured out by ourselves and first climbed up to Fort Lovrijenac, which is perched dramatically on a cliff just outside the city walls. The fortress played a key role in defending the city from Venetian attacks.
The most significant feature of Dubrovnik are its formidable defensive city walls, which completely surround the old town. You get a great view over the city and its amazing walls from the top of the fortress.
Dubrovnik's origins can be traced back to the 7th century, when Latin-speaking refugees from the nearby Roman city of Epidaurum fled to this small rocky island. The city flourished as a maritime republic from the 14th to the 19th centuries, rivaling Venice. The city developed a sophisticated legal and political system, abolished slavery as early as 1416, and established one of the first quarantine hospitals in Europe in 1377. Its wealth enabled the construction of the impressive city walls, which are still the main site to visit. You have to buy a city ticket to enter the walls, but once up there you can walk completely around the city. They stretch nearly 2 kilometers around the Old Town, and offer great views of the Adriatic Sea and the terracotta rooftops of the old town.
Dubrovnik’s golden age lasted until 1667, when a devastating earthquake destroyed much of the city and killed a significant portion of its population. Although Dubrovnik was rebuilt it never fully recovered. The republic was finally abolished in 1808 by Napoleon, and the city became part of the Habsburg Empire. After WWI the city was incorporated into the short-lived Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and become part of the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia after WWII.
In the afternoon we decided to climb the 412 meter high Mount Srđ, which tower above the city. The trail is a fairly steep series of switchbacks, where each turn represents a stage on the way of the cross. You can also reach the summit of Mount Srđ by cable car, which we had planned to take on the way down, but it was closed on that day because of strong winds. From the top you have amazing panoramic views of the whole of the city, the the Adriatic Sea, and the surrounding islands.
At the summit stands Fort Imperial, which is a defensive stronghold, built by the French in 1810 during the short period when Napoleon controlled the Dalmatian coast. The fort never faced a major battle in the 19th century, but it gained renewed significance when it became a key defensive position for the Croatian forces during the Siege of Dubrovnik in 1991 - 1992. Today, the fort houses the Homeland War Museum, which is very good and provides lots of interesting but harrowing information about about the the siege and defense of Dubrovnik, including original photographs and video footage. In late 1991, forces of the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA), composed largely of Serbian and Montenegrin troops, laid siege to Dubrovnik. Although the city held no strategic military value and had been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it was bombarded extensively between October and December 1991. The attack resulted in civilian casualties, the destruction of residential areas, and damage to historic monuments, including parts of the city walls and baroque churches.
Since the war, Dubrovnik has undergone extensive restoration. The damaged buildings were meticulously repaired using traditional materials and methods.
We had two nights here, and then continued our trip by car to Montenegro. But we passed through Dubrovnik again a few days later after Montenegro and Bosnia, and this time the weather was perfect for flying the drone.
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