Dubrovnik is a port on the Adriatic coast in Croatia. It is a very small city with only 50,000 inhabitants, but it used to be a major trading port and is now one of the region's most attractive tourist locations.
The origin of Dubrovnik in unclear, but it is probably linked to the destruction of the Roman city of Epidaurum in the seventh century. Epidaurum was an important sea-trading city, which was badly damaged by an earthquake in the fourth century. In 614, the city was captured and destroyed by the Avars, and the survivors escaped to a small island near the coast called Laus. A new city (Ragusa) was established there. In the meantime, a new Croatian settlement appeared on the mainland opposite Ragusa. It was named Dubrovnik because of the oak trees in the area
(‘dubrava’ in the Croatian word for 'oak').
Links between the two communities became stronger, and the Latin and Croatian populations mixed. Over the years, the water which separated the two communities filled with sand from the sea and was eventually paved. This area is now more or less the main street of Dubrovnik.
The famous city walls were built in the twelfth century. Dubrovnik became a sea-trading city and was a rival to Venice. The Venetians invaded Dubrovnik in 1205 and the city was ruled by the Venetians for 150 years. In 1358, this domination ended.
The city was destroyed by an earthquake in 1667. The beautiful architecture of the city vanished completely. The Romanesque cathedral and Gothic and Renaissance palaces, churches and monasteries were all destroyed. The Sponza palace is the only building with its original shape and style but the city walls were not badly damaged.
The city was rebuilt in Baroque style. In the nineteenth century, it became part of the Austrian Empire and its trading importance diminished. In the late twentieth century, tourism offered a new start for a dynamic city.
Dubrovnik - jewel of the Adriatic coast in Croatia written by Cristina Nuta for FamousWhy.com
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by Cristina Nuta -