Dubrovnik: cultural cradle of the Adriatic

Cruise Travel, May-June, 2005 by Jim Kerr

A light drizzle fell on the ancient cobbled streets and tile roofs; but despite the inclement weather, the people of Dubrovnik wore smiles on their faces. At first, we thought perhaps it was just because it was Sunday in this Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea, as churchgoers socialized at the doors of the Church of St. Blaise, and children, carrying candles and dressed in white communion attire, laughed under umbrellas, their proud parents parading behind.

But there were also smiles in the shops, and a bit later in the market behind the cathedral where women in black and men in denim and tweed jackets sold everything from fresh vegetables and olive oil to handmade jewelry. Waiters in sidewalk cafes smiled too, as patrons drank coffee under protective awnings, and a traditionally clad sidewalk artist. whose paintings and crafts were set up outside the Dominican Monastery, happily posed for a photo.

It was May 2004. I was here once before, in the late 1980s on a cruise from Nice to Venice, but it wasn't like this. People then seemed glum and reticent. They did not want to pose for pictures, and at one point in a cafe, a waiter brusquely instructed one of our group not to sit on a wall, but to take his place in a chair where he belonged, The residents seemed standoffish to foreigners, despite the city's economic dependence on tourism. At the time, more than 90 ships were calling during the peak summer months, and there was no shortage of tourists, including hundreds of cruise-ship passengers, wandering around the old city.

Nevertheless, the mood in Dubrovnik--which has been invaded. conquered, and divided numerous times in its 1,300-year history--was dark, although I did not perceive why at the time. I was shocked, in late 1991, to read news accounts of the civil war raging in the region, and the senseless shelling of Dubrovnik during an eight-month siege by the federal army of Serbia. Visitors stopped coming to the region: cruise ship calls dropped to zero.

But now, more than a decade since hostilities ended in the early 1990s, tourism has risen steadily to the point where Dubrovnik is once again one of the most popular vacation spots on the Adriatic, with dozens of cruise ships calling every week in season. A traditional summer festival from July 10 to August 25, with music, drama, folklore performances and concerts, draws large crowds to the city's terraces and squares as well as to churches and palaces. Folklore shows and a cappella concerts organized by the Dubrovnik Tourist Board entertain visitors every weekend from early May to late October. And throughout the area. I noted on my latest visit, peace has brought a new, revitalized hospitality--the kind of open pride and welcome--which seemed absent during my first visit.

The best-known attraction in Dubrovnik known as Ragusa until 1918 is its majestic medieval stone wall, which circles the city uninterrupted for more than a mile. Built between the 13th and 16th centuries, it's one of the best preserved in the world, and strolling along it, admiring the scenery both outside and inside the Old Town, is one of the most popular cruise-ship excursions. The wall has two round towers. 14 square towers, two corner fortifications, and a fortress. The views are spectacular, and it's the best way to gain a perspective on all that has gone on here for the past 1,000 years.

Founded around AD 700 by refugees from Greece, the city and its environs became the most important independent city-state on the Adriatic after Venice which controlled it from 1205 to 1358. Dubrovnik's history is very complex, especially by U.S. standards and its population, which now numbers about 50,000, has clung tenaciously to independent thought, a spiritual identity. and a connection to the past while keeping pace with contemporary life. The Turks dominated the area in the 16th century, and Russian-Montenegrin ships bombarded it until Napoleon stepped in and "saved" it in 1806. The Italians and Germans occupied Dubrovnik during World War II, and in 1945 it became part of the Federative People's Republic of Yugoslavia under the rule of Josip "Tito Brozovitch. In 1963, when Tito divided Yugoslavia into six republics, it became the Socialist Republic of Croatia.

Dubrovnik lies at the southern tip of the Dalmatian coast, which runs for more than 780 miles on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. An archipelago of large, high islands lies just off the coast where deep, protected passages make the area ideal for cruising. There are more than 1,000 smaller islands, and the warm currents, along with many reefs, make the waters a great place for swimming and snorkeling. To the east, the high, rugged Dinaric Alps form a 5,000- to 6,000-foot barrier separating Dalmatia from Bosnia, but the distance between the two lessens dramatically at Dubrovnik. The barrage of shells lobbed into the city by the Serbs damaged a large percentage of the town's distinctive clay-tile roofs, but while you can see the patchwork effort of repairs, all have been restored, thanks to extensive work costing around $4 million. Other city treasures, such as the Franciscan Monastery, the Church of St. Blaise, and Dominican Monastery, have also been repaired.