Dubrovnik, Croatia
War seemed a long way away as we walked around the city walls of Dubrovnik this morning at the end of a stroll through the town that calls itself “the Pearl of the Adriatic.” On one side, we looked out over sailboats criss-crossing the glistening blue sea; on the other, the red tiled roofs of this medieval city and laughing people thronging the Stradun, Dubrovnik's main street. It was hard to imagine a foreign invasion—except by tourists.
Yet less than two decades ago, these same walls served to protect the city when it came under siege from Serbian and Montenegrin forces stationed on the nearby hills. The narrow alleyways of Dubrovnik turned into a fiery inferno as shells rained down from above, destroying rooftops and shattering the walls of Baroque churches and Renaissance palaces. The siege of Dubrovnik lasted seven months, from November 1991 to May 1992, eventually ending with a Croatian army offensive.
Today, at least 80 per cent of the rooftops of Dubrovnik are new, one indication of the scale of destruction. But the city itself seems virtually undamaged, apart from the pockmarked facade of the cathedral, caused by shrapnel blasts from exploding shells. The cloister of the Dominican monastery offers a welcome respite from the urban bustle of the Stradun—and a wonderful venue for the a capella “klapa” performance that we enjoyed in the evening.
Previously known as Ragusa, Dubrovnik was an independent city-republic for over 400 years, poised precariously between Venice and the Ottoman Turks. The noblemen who ruled Dubrovnik mastered the art of international diplomacy, balancing one great power off against another, paying tribute when necessary from revenues earned from the production of salt. The city's independence was not extinguished until 1808, when Napoleon's armies occupied Dubrovnik and Russian and Montenegrin forces laid waste to the surrounding hills.
During our morning walk through the town, we stopped in front of the Rector's Palace, which served as the seat of government for Ragusa during its golden age. Our Croatian guides explained that the people of Dubrovnik introduced their own system of checks and balances, long before Jefferson and Madison, electing their rectors for terms of one month only, in order to prevent any leader from becoming too powerful. The rector served as the representative of the city, but was unable to take any decision of importance without the agreement of the noble families who effectively ruled Ragusa.
Some of us stayed in town for dinner, while others returned to the Panorama after the klapa performance. After dinner, we set sail southwards to a new country, Montenegro, after four days in Croatia.
