History of  Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik has a unique political and cultural history. Dubrovnik offers exellent visitor opportunities. The pearl of the Adria is one of the most attractive and famous cities of the Mediterranean. The sightseeing of Dubrovnik and its monuments requires several days.

The earliest history of Dubrovnik goes back to Ancient times, to the 5th-6th centuries. The Grad (the City) is at least thousand years older than it was believed. This is confirmed by excavations carried out in 1980s and 1990s.

The city of Ragusa/Dubrovnik was based on maritime trade, and in the 15th and 16th century it became the only eastern Adriatic city-state to rival Venice.

Supported by its wealth and skilled diplomacy, the Dubrovnik achieved a remarkable level of development during the 15th and 18th century. In the 16th century Dubrovnik had a fleet of 200 larger ships, which grew to 300 in the 18th century. Around 1780 the ships from Dubrovnik sailed to New York, Baltimore and all over the world.

Dubrovnik was an important birth place of the development of the Croatian language and literature. Many notable poets, playwrigherts, painters, mathematicians, physicists and other scholars were living in dubrovnik.

The Republic of Dubrovnik (Ragusa) was the first state who accepted the United States of America as a sovereign state.

The city Dubrovnik offers tourists many museums and galleries, which contain the jewels of the Croatian heritage. The pearl of the Adriatic sea is one of the most attractive and famous cities of the Mediterranean.

You will find in the old town beautiful Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque churches, monasteries, palaces and fountains, which all cut from the same light-coloured stone.

The oldest European pharmacy, dating from 1317 is located at Little Brothers church in Dubrovnik.