Our ship anchored off Dubrovnik at 7:00 a.m. and at 8:00 a.m. we gathered in the theater to hear a lecture by Miso Mihocevic, actor and patron of the arts,who served in the army during 1990's war with the Yugoslav army. It was a moving and emotional presentation on the bombing and devastation of Dubrovnik. At 9:00 we were "tendered" into the port. The tenders were small boats used for quick transport. It only took a few minutes as we were still close to the port. The tenders ran until midnight so we had the whole day in Dubrovnik.
Dubrovnik is a beautiful city whose walls and ramparts were built in the 10th century and modified in the 13th. They are 6,363 ft. long and 82ft. high in some parts. One can walk the entire circle of the walls, which Bob and I did later in the day.
The city was founded by exiles from Epdaurum which had been destroyed by the Avars, It came under Venetian rule in 1205 for 150 years. With the defeat of the Venetians in 1358 by Hungary's Louis I, it fell to him. However, the city bought its freedom 24 years later and became the independent republic of Ragusa. It then flourished as a great power and cultural center. The end of the Republic came under Napoleon in 1808. In 1815, at the Congress of Vienna, Croatia supported the expansionist aspirations of Austria, which annexed all of the Istrian and Dalmatian territories which had belonged to Venice as well as the republic of Dubrovnik. Dubrovnik and all of what is now Croatia became part of Yugoslavia after WWI. Several countries in Yugoslavia began to secede in 1990 which caused a devastating war. Today Yugoslavia no longer exists and the countries are Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia.
The city was relentlessly shelled from the fall of 1991 until May of 1992 by Yugoslav troops. Over 2,000 bombs and missiles fell on the town and damaged some of the most significant sites and over half the homes. UNESCO and the EU have helped rebuild the town and today one can see very little damage.
In the morning we had a guide who took us through the Dominican Monastery, the Rector's Palace, and the Dubrovnik Synagogue. The monastery was established as early as 1225 and completed in the 14th century. It now contains fascinating paintings, artifacts, and jewelry from the rich history of Dubrovnik. The Rector's Palace served as the seat of the Rector of Dubrovnik between he 14th century and 1805. It also housed an armory, the watch house and a prison. The synagogue is the only one in Dubrovnik and has about 45 members. Most were killed during WWII.
Miso Mihocevic
Dubrovnik seen from our ship
Tenders going back and forth from our ship
Dominican Monastery
Inside Rector's Palace
Inside Rector's Palace
Rector's Palace
St. Blaise Cathedral adjacent to Rector's Palace
St. Blaise Cathedral
After our tour we were free for the rest of the day. Although Croatia is part of the European Union, they do not use the euro for their monetary system. They use the kuna. Most of us did not have kunas so our guides gave each of us 150 kunas (about $21.00) to use for lunch or whatever we wanted. We decided to go back to our ship for lunch and return to walk the wall and use our kunas for the cable car up the mountain.
Cable car
Dubrovnik from above
On the city wall
View from the city wall
City wall view
City wall view
City wall view
City wall view
City wall view
Dinner in the evening with friends we have met
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