View source for Dubrovnik

{{Short description|Coastal city in southern Croatia}}
{{About|the city in Croatia||Dubrovnik (disambiguation)|and|Ragusa (disambiguation){{!}}Ragusa}}
{{EngvarB|date=November 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Dubrovnik
| official_name      = {{lang|hr|Grad Dubrovnik}}<br />City of Dubrovnik
| other_name         = 
| settlement_type    = [[List of cities and towns in Croatia|City]]
| image_skyline      = {{multiple image
| border = infobox
| perrow = 1/2/2/2/1
| total_width = 260
| align = center
| caption_align = center
| image1 = The walls of the fortress and View of the old city. panorama.jpg
| caption1 = Old town of Dubrovnik
| image2 = Dubrovnik (28).JPG
| caption2 = [[Dubrovnik Cathedral]]
| image3 = Rector's palace 20180820.jpg
| caption3 = [[Rector's Palace, Dubrovnik|Rector's Palace]]
| image4 = Dubrovnik D81 4055 (38627453362).jpg
| caption4 = [[Dubrovnik Walls]]
| image5 = Dubrovnik, palazzo sponza 01.JPG
| caption5 = [[Sponza Palace]]
| image6 = Dubrovnik (20914149644).jpg
| caption6 = [[Stradun (street)|Stradun]]
| image7 = 
| caption7 = 
| image8 = 
| caption8 =  
}}
| image_flag         = St. Blaise - National Flag of the Ragusan Republic.png
| flag_size          = 135px
| image_seal         = 
| seal_size          = 
| image_shield       = Dubrovnik grb.svg
| shield_size        = 70px
| nicknames          = "Pearl of the Adriatic", "{{lang|la|Thesaurum mundi|i=no}}"<ref>{{cite web |last=Ward |first=Terry |title=12 Dreamy End-of-Year Escapes to Start Planning Now |url=https://traveler.marriott.com/hotel-experiences/end-of-year-vacation/ |website=Marriott Bonvoy Traveler |publisher=Marriott International |date=2022-12-15 |access-date=2025-04-16}}</ref>
| motto              = 
| mapframe = yes
| mapframe-zoom = 9
| mapframe-wikidata = yes
| mapframe-stroke-width = 1
| map_caption        = 
| pushpin_map        = Croatia#Europe
| pushpin_mapsize    = 
| pushpin_map_caption = The location of Dubrovnik within Croatia
| coordinates        = {{coord|42|38|25|N|18|06|30|E|region:HR|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = {{flag|Croatia}}
| subdivision_type1  = [[Regions of Croatia|Region]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Dalmatia]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[Counties of Croatia|County]]
| subdivision_name2  = {{flag|Dubrovnik-Neretva}}
| established_title  = <!-- Settled -->
| established_date   = 
| established_title2 = <!-- Incorporated (town) -->
| established_date2  = 
| established_title3 = <!-- Incorporated (city) -->
| established_date3  = 
| government_type    = [[Mayor–council government|Mayor-Council]]
| leader_title       = Mayor
| leader_name        = [[Mato Franković]] ([[Croatian Democratic Union|HDZ]])
| leader_title1      = City Council
| leader_name1       = {{Collapsible list
|title   = 21 members
|frame_style= border: none; padding: 0;
 |list_style=text-align:left;display:none;
 |1     =• [[Croatian Democratic Union|HDZ]] (7)
 |2     =• [[We Can! (Croatia)|SJG! – Možemo!]] (3)
 |3     =• [[Dubrovnik Democratic Assembly|DDS]] (3)
 |4     =• [[Independent politician|Independent]] (2)
 |5     =• [[Dubrovnik Party|Dustra]] (2)
 |6     =• [[Social Democratic Party of Croatia|SDP]] (2)
 |7     =• [[Bridge of Independent Lists|MOST]] (1)
 |8     =• [[Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats|HNS]] (1)
}}
| unit_pref          = metric
| area_footnotes     = <ref>{{Cite Q|Q119585703|mode=cs1}}</ref>
| area_total_km2     = 142.6
| area_land_km2      = <!--See table @ Template:Infobox Settlement for details on automatic unit conversion-->
| area_urban_km2     = 12.1
| elevation_footnotes = <!--for references: use tags-->
| elevation_m        = 3
| population_footnotes = <ref name="Census 2021">{{Croatian Census 2021|S}}</ref>
| population_as_of   = 2021
| population_total   = 41562
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_urban   = 26922
| population_density_urban_km2 = auto
| population_metro   = 65808
| population_demonym = Dubrovčanin ([[Croatian language|hr]], male) <br />Dubrovčanka ([[Croatian language|hr]], female) <br />Dubrovkinja (local, female)<ref>[https://hjp.znanje.hr/index.php?show=search_by_id&id=fF9vXRA%3D&keyword=Dubrov%C4%8Danin Dubrovčanin] Hrvatski jezični portal</ref>
| timezone           = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| timezone_DST       = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset         = +1
| utc_offset_DST     = +2
| postal_code_type   = Postal code
| postal_code        = HR-20 000
| area_code          = +385 20
| registration_plate = [[Vehicle registration plates of Croatia|DU]]
| blank_name         = [[Patron saint]]
| blank_info         = [[Saint Blaise]]
| website            = {{URL|dubrovnik.hr}}
| footnotes          = {{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
| child         = yes
| official_name = Old City of Dubrovnik
| criteria      = {{UNESCO WHS type|(i)(iii)(iv)}}(i)(iii)(iv)
| ID            = 95
| year          = 1979
| area          = {{convert|96.7|ha|acre|abbr=on}}
}}
}}

'''Dubrovnik''',{{efn|{{IPA|hr|dǔbroːʋniːk|lang|Hr-Dubrovnik.oga}},<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hjp.znanje.hr/index.php?show=search_by_id&id=fF9vXRI%3D |title=Dùbrōvnīk |work=Hrvatski jezični portal |language=hr |access-date=6 March 2017}}</ref> {{IPAc-en|UK|d|(|j|)|ʊ|ˈ|b|r|ɒ|v|n|ɪ|k}} {{respell|dyuu|BROV|nik}}, {{IPAc-en|US|d|uː|ˈ|-}} {{respell|doo|-}};<ref>{{cite EPD|18|Dubrovnik|page=151}}</ref>}} historically known as '''Ragusa''',{{efn|{{IPA|it|raˈɡuːza|lang|it-Ragusa.ogg}}}} is a city in southern [[Dalmatia]], [[Croatia]], by the [[Adriatic Sea]]. It is one of the most prominent [[tourist destination]]s in the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]], a [[Port|seaport]] and the centre of the [[Dubrovnik-Neretva County]]. In 2021, its total population was 41,562.<ref name=2021Census>{{cite web |title=Cultural diversity: Census Information on country of birth, year of arrival, ancestry, language and religion |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/cultural-diversity-census/latest-release#cite-window2 |date=9 October 2022 |publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics}}</ref> Recognizing its outstanding medieval architecture and fortifications, [[UNESCO]] inscribed the Old City of Dubrovnik as a [[World Heritage Site]] in 1979.<ref>{{cite web |title = Old City of Dubrovnik |url = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/95 |website = UNESCO World Heritage Centre |publisher = United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization |access-date = 22 May 2021}}</ref>

The city probably dates to the 7th century, when the town known as {{Lang|la|Ragusa}} was founded by refugees from [[Epidaurum]] ({{Lang|it|[[Cavtat|Ragusa Vecchia]]}}). It was under [[protectorate]] of the [[Byzantine Empire]] and later the sovereignty of the [[Republic of Venice]]. Between the 14th and 19th centuries, Dubrovnik ruled itself as a [[Free state (polity)|free state]]. Its prosperity was historically based on [[trade|maritime trade]]; as the capital of the maritime [[Republic of Ragusa]], it achieved a high level of development, particularly during the 15th and 16th centuries, as it became notable for its wealth and skilled [[diplomacy]].

The city was almost destroyed in a [[1667 Dubrovnik earthquake|devastating earthquake]] in 1667. During the [[Napoleonic Wars]], Dubrovnik was occupied by the [[First French Empire|French Empire]] forces, and then the Republic of Ragusa was abolished and incorporated into the [[Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)|Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy]] and later into the [[Illyrian Provinces]] of France. In the early 19th to early 20th century, Dubrovnik was part of the [[Kingdom of Dalmatia]] within the [[Austrian Empire]]. Dubrovnik became part of the [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]] immediately upon [[Creation of Yugoslavia|its creation]], and it was incorporated into its [[Zeta Banovina]] in 1929, before becoming part of the [[Banovina of Croatia]] upon [[Cvetković–Maček Agreement|its creation in 1939]]. During [[World War II in Yugoslavia|World War II]], it was part of the [[Axis powers|Axis]] [[List of World War II puppet states|puppet state]] [[Independent State of Croatia]], before being reincorporated into [[Socialist Republic of Croatia]] in [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]].

In 1991, during the [[Croatian War of Independence]], Dubrovnik was [[Siege of Dubrovnik|besieged]] by the [[Yugoslav People's Army]] for seven months and suffered significant damage from shelling. After undergoing repair and restoration works in the 1990s and early 2000s, it reemerged as one of the Mediterranean's top [[tourist destination]]s, as well as a popular [[filming location]]. Often called "The Queen of the [[Adriatic]]",<ref>{{cite book |last1=Leier |first1=Manfred |title=100 Most Beautiful Cities of the World |date=2002 |publisher=Rebo International b.v. |location=The Netherlands |isbn=978-90-366-14856 |page=36,37 |edition=1st |url=https://www.jesenski-turk.hr/en/100-most-beautiful-cities-of-the-world-a-journey-across-five-continents |access-date=18 June 2024 |ref=Queen of Adriatic |quote="Queen of Adriatic"}}</ref> Dubrovnik is one of the most popular destinations in the [[Adriatic]] and in [[Europe]].

==Names==
The names ''Dubrovnik'' and ''Ragusa'' co-existed for several centuries.<ref>{{cite book|title=Handbook to the Mediterranean - Its Cities, Coasts and Islands|year=1890|page=322|publisher=J. Murray}}</ref> ''Ragusa'', recorded in various forms since at least the 10th century (in [[Latin]], [[Dalmatian language|Dalmatian]], [[Italian language|Italian]]; in {{langx|vec|Raguxa}}), remained the official name of the [[Republic of Ragusa]] until 1808, and of the city within the [[Kingdom of Dalmatia]] until 1918, while ''Dubrovnik'', first recorded in the late 12th century, was in widespread use by the late 16th or early 17th century.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Oleh Havrylyshyn |author2=Nora Srzentić |title=Institutions Always 'Mattered': Explaining Prosperity in Mediaeval Ragusa (Dubrovnik) |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |date=10 December 2014 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-WSpBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA59 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170610162719/https://books.google.com/books?id=-WSpBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA59 |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 June 2017 |page=59 |isbn=9781137339782 }}</ref>

The name ''Dubrovnik'' of the Adriatic city is first recorded in the [[Charter of Ban Kulin]] (1189).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://leksikon.muzej-marindrzic.eu/bosna/ |title=Bosna |work=Leksikon Marina Držića |year=2017 |publisher=[[Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography]] and House of Marin Držić |language=hr |access-date=2 March 2017 }}</ref> The most common explanation for the origin is from a [[Proto-Slavic]] word {{wikt-lang|sla-x-proto|*dǫbъ}} meaning 'oak', and the term {{lang|cu-Latn|dubrovnik}} referring to 'oak wood' or 'oak forest', as {{wt|sla-pro|dǫbrava}} means 'oakwood', 'forest'.{{sfn|Kravar|1994|p=77}}

The historical name ''Ragusa'' is recorded in the Greek form {{lang|grc|Ῥαούσιν}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|Rhaousin}}, Latinized {{lang|la|Ragusium}}) in the 10th century. It was recorded in various forms in the medieval period, ''Rausia'', ''Lavusa'', ''Labusa'', ''Raugia'', ''Rachusa''. Various attempts have been made to etymologize the name. Suggestions include derivation from Greek {{wikt-lang|grc|ῥάξ}}, {{lang|grc|ῥαγός}} "grape"; from Greek {{lang|grc|ῥώξ}}, {{lang|grc|ῥωγός}} "narrow passage"; Greek {{lang|grc|ῥωγάς}} "ragged (of rocks)", {{lang|grc|ῥαγή}} ({{lang|grc|ῥαγάς}}) "fissure"; from the name of the Epirote tribe of the ''Rhogoi'', from an unidentified [[Illyrian language|Illyrian]] substrate. A connection to the name of [[Ragusa, Italy|Sicilian Ragusa]] has also been proposed. It has been proposed by [[Vladimir Orel|V. Orel]] that the [[Proto-Albanian language|Proto-Albanian]] *''rāguša'' of Albanian ''[[wiktionary:rrush|rrush]]'' 'grape' is related to ''Ragusa'' or the source of the name. Putanec (1993) gives a review of etymological suggestion, and favours an explanation of the name as pre-Greek ("[[Pelasgians#Language|Pelasgian]]"), from a root cognate to Greek {{lang|grc|ῥαγή}} "fissure", with a suffix ''-ussa'' also found in the Greek name of [[Brač]], ''Elaphousa''.<ref name="Putanec">{{cite journal|first=Valentin|last=Putanec|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/69329|title=Naziv Labusedum iz 11. st. za grad Dubrovnik|journal=Rasprave|publisher=[[Institute of Croatian Language and Linguistics]]|date=June 1993|volume=19|language=hr|pages=289–301|format=PDF|access-date=2 March 2017}}</ref> The name of the city in the native [[Dalmatian language]], now extinct, was {{lang|dlm|Ragusa}}, as shown by a 1325 letter in Dalmatian.<ref>Bartoli M. G. Il Dalmatico: Resti di un'antica lingua romanza parlata da Veglia a Ragusa e sua collocazione nella Romània appennino-balcanica / A cura di Aldo Duro. Rome: Instituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, 2000. pp. 1—350. (Biblioteca dell'Enciclopedia: lingua e letteratura). {{isbn|978-6-00-000371-5}}.</ref> In Albanian, the city was historically referred to as ''[[wikt:Rush|Rush]]'' ({{lang-sq-definite|Rushi}}), from Latin ''Ragusium.''<ref>Mansaku, Seit (1982). Studime Filologjike. Tirana: Qendra e Studimeve Albanologjike. fq. 110</ref>

The classical explanation of the name is due to [[Constantine VII]]'s ''[[De Administrando Imperio]]'' (10th century). According to this account, Ragusa ({{lang|grc|Ῥαούσιν}}) is the foundation of the refugees from [[Epidaurum]] ([[Ragusa Vecchia]]), a Greek city situated some {{cvt|15|km|0}} to the south of Ragusa, when that city was destroyed in the Slavic incursions of the 7th century. The name is explained as a corruption of a [[Dalmatae]]/[[Romance languages|Romance]] word ''Lausa'', the name of the rocky island on which the city was built (connected by Constantine to Greek {{lang|grc|λᾶας}} "rock, stone").{{sfn|Kravar|1994|p=78}}

==History==

=== Origins ===

[[File:Vistaderagusa1667.jpg|thumb|Painting of Ragusa from 1667]]
[[File:Territory of the Republic of Ragusa early 18th century.png|thumb|Territory of the [[Republic of Ragusa]] in the early 18th century. Cropped from a map by French cartographer [[Nicolas de Fer]] titled ''Le Golfe de Venise'' (etc.). Circa 1716.]]

Dubrovnik was inhabited by the [[Illyrians|Illyrian tribe]] of [[Pleraei]] in ancient times.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/brill-s-new-pauly/pleraei-e928040 |title=Brill's New Pauly Encyclopedia |access-date=December 6, 2023}}</ref> According to [[Constantine Porphyrogenitus]]'s ''[[De Administrando Imperio]]'' ({{circa}} 950), Ragusa was founded in the 7th century, named after a "rocky island" called ''Lausa'', by refugees from [[Epidaurum]] ([[Ragusa Vecchia]]), a Roman city situated some {{Cvt|15|km}} to the south, when that city was destroyed by Slavs fighting with the Avars.<ref>{{cite book | title= Povijest Dubrovnika do 1808, Knjiga Prva |author=Vinko Foretić|year=1980 |publisher=Delo |location=Ljubljana |chapter=Uvod |page=5 }}</ref> It was one of the [[Dalmatian city-states]].

Excavations in 2007 revealed a [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] basilica from the 8th century and parts of the [[defensive wall|city walls]].
The size of the old basilica clearly indicates that there was quite a large settlement at the time.
There is also evidence for the presence of a settlement in the pre-Christian era, most notably the finding of ancient coins from the 3rd and 2nd century BC, as well as archeological fragments from the 1st century BC in the area of the old City port.<ref>[http://www.unidu.hr/datoteke/172izb/ZBORNIK.pdf ZBORNIK.indd<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401014216/http://www.unidu.hr/datoteke/172izb/ZBORNIK.pdf |date=2016-04-01 }} (2009) {{page needed|date=February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.zzpudnz.hr/Portals/0/1_DNZ/_10_POVIJESNI_PRIKAZ.pdf?ver=LmpUPdcwYdBqWYOCEXNP3w%3d%3d |title=Povijesni pregled razvoja područja DNŽ |last= Nodari |first=Maja |date=January 2017 |website=zzpudnz.hr |access-date=December 6, 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Žile |first1=Ivica |date=December 22, 2000 |title=Arheološki nalazi unutar perimetra povijesne jezgre grada Dubrovnika |url=https://hrcak.srce.hr/5510 |journal=Opvscvla Archaeologica |volume=23-24 |issue=579 |pages=338 |access-date=December 6, 2023}}</ref>

Antun Ničetić, in his 1996 book ''{{lang|hr|Povijest dubrovačke luke}}'' ({{lang|en|"History of the Port of Dubrovnik"}}), expounds the theory that Dubrovnik was established by Greek sailors,{{citation needed|date=March 2017}} as a station halfway between the two Greek settlements of [[Budva]] and [[Korčula]], {{convert|95|nmi|km mi}} apart from each of them.

===Republic of Ragusa===

{{Main|Republic of Ragusa}}

[[File:Ragusa, Onofrio Fountain, Dalmatia, Austro-Hungary-LCCN2002710795.jpg|thumb|A 1900 [[photochrom]] of the Big Onofrio's fountain (1438)]]
[[File:Ariel overview of Lazzarettos of Dubrovnik in Croatia (48613209237) (cropped).jpg|alt=Ariel overview of Lazareti of Dubrovnik|thumb|upright=1.3|Aerial view of [[Lazzarettos of Dubrovnik|Lazareti complex]]]]

After the fall of the [[Ostrogothic Kingdom]], the town came under the [[protectorate|protection]] of the [[Byzantine Empire]]. In the 12th and 13th centuries, Dubrovnik grew into an oligarchic republic. After the [[Crusades]], Dubrovnik came under the sovereignty of [[Republic of Venice|Venice]] (1205–1358), which would give its institutions to the Dalmatian city. In 1240 Ragusa purchased the island of [[Lastovo]] from [[Stefan Uroš I]], king of [[Serbia]], who had rights over the island as ruler of parts of [[Zachlumia]].{{sfn|Harris|2003|loc=chapter "Territorial expansion"}} After a fire destroyed most of the city on the night of August 16, 1296, a new urban plan was developed.{{sfn|Harris|2003|p=289}}<ref>Piers Letcher, Robin McKelvie, Jenny McKelvie (2007), ''Dubrovnik, 2nd: The Bradt City Guide'', p. 7, Bradt Travel Guides. {{ISBN|978-1-84162-191-3}}</ref><ref>''Dubrovnik'', page 25, Volume 581 of Variorum collected studies series, Bariša Krekić, [[Variorum]], 1997. {{ISBN|978-0-86078-631-3}}</ref> By the [[Treaty of Zadar|Peace Treaty of Zadar]] in 1358, Dubrovnik achieved relative independence as a vassal-state of the [[Kingdom of Hungary]]. 

Between the 14th century and 1808, Dubrovnik ruled itself as a [[free state (government)|free state]], although it was a tributary from 1382 to 1804 of the [[Ottoman Empire]] and paid an annual tribute to its sultan.<ref>Pitcher, Donald Edgar. ''An Historical Geography of the Ottoman Empire'', Leiden: Brill, 1968, p. 70</ref> The Republic reached its peak in the 15th and 16th centuries, when its [[thalassocracy]] rivalled that of the [[Republic of Venice]] and other Italian maritime republics.

There are also signs of a long established [[Albanians|Albanian]] population in the Ragusan hinterlands since at least the Medieval period.<ref>[http://www.promacedonia.org/en/nm/kosovo.html  Origins: Serbs, Albanians and Vlachs Chapter 2 in Noel Malcolm's Kosovo, a short history (Macmilan, London, 1998, p. 22-40)]</ref> And a Ragusan document dating to 1285 states: "I heard a voice crying in the mountains in [[Albanian language|Albanian]]" (Audivi unam vocem clamantem in monte in lingua albanesca).<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kapović |first1=Mate |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8i0lDwAAQBAJ |title=The Indo-European Languages |last2=Ramat |first2=Anna Giacalone |last3=Ramat |first3=Paolo |date=2017-01-20 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-39153-1 |pages=554 |language=en}}</ref>

For centuries, Dubrovnik was an ally of [[Ancona]], the other Adriatic [[maritime republic]] rival of Venice, which was itself the [[Ottoman Empire]]'s chief rival for control of the Adriatic. This alliance enabled the two towns set on opposite sides of the Adriatic to resist attempts by the Venetians to make the Adriatic a "Venetian Bay", also controlling directly or indirectly all the Adriatic ports. Ancona and Dubrovnik developed an alternative trade route to the Venetian (Venice–[[Austria]]–[[Germany]]): starting in Dubrovnik it went on to Ancona, through [[Florence]] and ended in [[Flanders]]. Ragusa was an important base for the traffic of the [[Balkan slave trade]], from which slaves were transported from the Balkans across the Adriatic Sea to the [[Aegean Sea]],<ref name="auto">The Cambridge World History of Slavery: Volume 2, AD 500–AD 1420. (2021). (n.p.): Cambridge University Press. p. 117-120</ref> from which they were sold on to either [[slavery in Spain]] in the West or [[slavery in Egypt]] in the South.<ref name="auto"/>

The Republic of Ragusa received its own Statutes as early as 1272, which, among other things, codified Roman practice and local customs. The Statutes included prescriptions for [[Urban planning|town planning]] and the regulation of quarantine (for sanitary reasons).<ref>{{cite book|publisher=Naprijed, Naklada|location=Zagreb|title=The Croatian Adriatic Tourist Guide|page=354|date=July 1999|editor-last=Radovinovic|editor-first=Radovan|isbn=953-178-097-8}}</ref>

The Republic was an early adopter of what are now regarded as modern laws and institutions: a medical service was introduced in 1301, with the first [[pharmacy]], still operating to this day, being opened in 1317. An [[almshouse]] was opened in 1347, and the first quarantine hospital (Lazarete) was established in 1377. [[Slave trading]] ([[Balkan slave trade]]) was abolished in 1418, and an [[orphanage]] opened in 1432. A {{convert|20|km|0|abbr=on}} [[water supply network|water supply system]], instead of a cistern, was constructed in 1438 by the Neapolitan architect and engineer Onofrio della Cava. He completed the aqueduct with two public fountains. He also built a number of mills along one of its branches.

The city was ruled by the local [[aristocracy]] which was of Latin-Dalmatian extraction and formed two [[city council]]s. As usual for the time, they maintained a strict system of [[social class]]es. The republic abolished the [[History of slavery|slave trade]] early in the 15th century and valued liberty highly. The city successfully balanced its sovereignty between the interests of Venice and the [[Ottoman Empire]] for centuries.

[[Latin]] was originally used in official documents of the Republic. [[Italian language|Italian]] came to use in the early 15th century. A variant of the Dalmatian language was among the spoken ones, and was influenced by [[Croatian language|Croatian]] and Italian. The presence of Croatian in everyday speech increased in the late 13th century, and in literary works in the mid-15th century.{{sfn|Harris|2003|p=247}} In the coming decades, Dubrovnik became a cradle of [[Croatian literature]].{{sfn|Harris|2003|pp=249, 260}}

The economic wealth of the Republic was partially the result of the land it developed, but especially of seafaring trade. With the help of skilled diplomacy, Dubrovnik merchants travelled lands freely and the city had a huge fleet of [[Cargo ship|merchant ships]] (known as [[wikt:argosy|argosy]]) that travelled all over the world. From these travels they founded some settlements, from India (cf. [[Ragusan trade with India]]) to America, and brought parts of their culture and flora home with them. One of its keys to success was not conquering, but trading and sailing under a white flag with the {{langx|la|Libertas}} word (freedom) prominently featured on it. The flag was adopted when slave trading was abolished in 1418.

In search of Indian spices and textiles, merchants from Dubrovnik arrived in Goa, India, and settled in what is now called Gandauli. The people of Dubrovnik arrived in the Portuguese colony of Goa between 1530 and 1535, and after that they founded their own colony, Sao Braz, named after the patron saint of Dubrovnik, St. Blaise. The church was built around 1563 and was a replica of the original church of St. Blaise in Dubrovnik. About 12,000 inhabitants lived in São Braz and was a thriving colony until the 1570s when trade between Croats and Indians declined.<ref>{{Cite web |last=croatiaweek |date=2018-05-27 |title=The Croats of Goa, India |url=https://www.croatiaweek.com/the-croats-of-goa-india/?fbclid=IwY2xjawG73jdleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHRiA5j6ARsXK8T2wB088COi3DaPzee6NI8q-qGvywYDHFOX-auCgEwLofA_aem_O1uAK8hQDz4yyPdcc9Nvmw |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=Croatia Week |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bačan |first=Danijel |date=2023-06-23 |title=Was Dubrovnik a Colonial Power? |url=https://3seaseurope.com/dubrovnik-republic-ragusa-colonial-power-colonies/?fbclid=IwY2xjawG73lVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHR03PmouRa3mmLia76ZGUX8VNbdRpl8S2a7isYaIUdVmvUHOWL3dqliDdA_aem_iqZW2pYqaGPFlTZnttTVOQ |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=3 Seas Europe |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=CROATIANS IN SOUTH AFRICA AND AT GOA IN INDIA, 1508 |url=https://www.croatia.org/crown/croatians/www.croatians.com/DISCOVERY-GOA-S%20AFRICA.htm?fbclid=IwY2xjawG73o1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHU6HBp6puiN2VxlYHnr6UKcpkyGHDR2mitKhZbu8hDqoTzdsTSS61BaVNw_aem_61MQHtJMqPByTNmbSIm86g |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=www.croatia.org}}</ref> 

Many [[Converso]]s, Jews from Spain and [[Portugal]] who converted to Christianity, were attracted to the city. In May 1544, a ship landed there filled exclusively with Portuguese refugees, as Balthasar de Faria reported to King John. During this time one of the most famous cannon and bell founders of his time worked in the city: [[Ivan Rabljanin]] (also known as Magister Johannes Baptista Arbensis de la Tolle). By 1571 Dubrovnik had sold its protection over some Christian settlements in other parts of the Ottoman Empire to France and [[Venice]]. At that time there was also a colony of Dubrovnik in [[Fes]] in Morocco. The bishop of Dubrovnik was a [[Cardinal protector]] in 1571, at that time there were only 16 other countries which had Cardinal protectors.

Dubrovnik was a tributary state of the Ottoman Empire at one time. From this, they gained benefits such as access to the [[Black Sea]], paid less customs duties (they however needed to make tribute payments) and had the diplomatic support of the Turks in trade disputes against the [[Venetian Republic|Venetians]]. This status also allowed increased trade with the inland regions through the Balkan overland trade which made merchants from Dubrovnik to build up a strong network unequaled with other Christian states.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Quataert |first1=Donald |url=http://archive.org/details/economicsocialhi0002unse_j7n1 |title=An economic and social history of the Ottoman Empire |last2=İnalcık |first2=Halil |publisher=Cambridge University Press |others=Internet Archive |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-521-57456-3 |location=New York |pages=511 |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Dubrovnik 1667.jpg|thumb|Dubrovnik before the earthquake in 1667|right]]

The Republic gradually declined due to a combination of a [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] shipping crisis and the catastrophic [[1667 Dubrovnik earthquake|earthquake of 1667]]<ref>Husebye, Eystein Sverre. [https://books.google.com/books?id=vwK4jhvjHQkC&dq=dubrovnik+earthquake+of+1667&pg=PA86 ''Earthquake Monitoring and Seismic Hazard Mitigation in Balkan Countries'']</ref> that killed over 5,000 citizens, levelled most of the public buildings and, consequently, negatively affected the [[Quality of life|well-being]] of the Republic. In 1699, the Republic was forced to sell [[Neum|two mainland patches of its territory]] to the Ottomans in order to avoid being caught in the clash with advancing Venetian forces. Today this strip of land belongs to [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] and is that country's only direct access to the Adriatic. A highlight of Dubrovnik's diplomacy was the involvement in the [[Diplomacy in the American Revolutionary War#Ragusa|American Revolution]].{{what|reason=What "involvement"?|date=July 2024}}<ref>[[Wayne S. Vucinich]] (ed.), ''Dubrovnik and the American Revolution: Francesco Favi's Letters,'' Ragusan Press, 1977.</ref>

=== Early modern period ===

[[File:Ragusa.png|thumb|left|upright=1.25|Territory of the Republic before 1808]]

On 27 May 1806, the forces of the [[First French Empire|Empire of France]] occupied the neutral [[Republic of Ragusa]]. Upon entering Ragusan territory without permission and approaching the capital, the French General [[Jacques Lauriston]] demanded that his troops be allowed to rest and be provided with food and drink in the city before continuing on to take possession of their holdings in the [[Bay of Kotor]]. However, this was a deception because as soon as they entered the city, they proceeded to occupy it in the name of Napoleon.{{sfn|Vojnović|2009|p=187–189}} Almost immediately after the beginning of the French occupation, Russian and Montenegrin troops entered Ragusan territory and began fighting the French army, raiding and pillaging everything along the way and culminating in [[Siege of Ragusa (1806)|a siege of the occupied city]] during which 3,000 cannonballs fell on it.{{sfn|Vojnović|2009|p=240–241,247}} In 1808 [[Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont|Marshal Marmont]] issued a proclamation abolishing the [[Republic of Ragusa]] and amalgamating its territory into the French Empire's client state, the [[Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)|Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy]]. Marmont claimed the newly created title of "Duke of Ragusa" ({{lang|fr|Duc de Raguse}}) and in 1810 Ragusa, together with [[Istria]] and [[Dalmatia]], went to the newly created French [[Illyrian Provinces]].

[[File:Ragusa, Jesuit Church and military hospital, Dalmatia, Austro-Hungary-LCCN2002710792.jpg|thumb|upright|Dubrovnik's former [[Collegium Ragusinum|Jesuit college]] and Jesuit stairs c. 1900]]
After seven years of French occupation, encouraged by the desertion of French soldiers after the failed [[French Invasion of Russia|invasion of Russia]] and the reentry of Austria in the [[War of the Sixth Coalition|war]], all the social classes of the Ragusan people rose up in a general insurrection, led by the patricians, against the Napoleonic invaders.{{sfn|Vojnović|2009|p=147}} On 18 June 1813, together with British forces they forced the surrender of the French garrison of the island of [[Šipan]], soon also the heavily fortified town of [[Ston]] and the island of [[Lopud]], after which the insurrection spread throughout the mainland, starting with [[Konavle]].{{sfn|Vojnović|2009|p=150–154}} They then [[Siege of Ragusa (1814)|laid siege to the occupied city]], helped by the British [[Royal Navy]], who had enjoyed [[Adriatic campaign of 1807–1814|unopposed domination over the Adriatic sea]], under the command of Captain [[William Hoste]], with his ships HMS ''Bacchante'' and {{HMS|Saracen|1812|6}}. Soon the population inside the city joined the insurrection.{{sfn|Vojnović|2009|p=191}} The [[Austrian Empire]] sent a force under General Todor Milutinović offering to help their Ragusan allies.{{sfn|Vojnović|2009|p=172–173}} However, as was soon shown, their intention was to in fact replace the French occupation of Ragusa with their own. Seducing one of the temporary governors of the Republic, [[Biagio Bernardo Caboga]], with promises of power and influence (which were later cut short and who died in ignominy, branded as a traitor by his people), they managed to convince him that the gate to the east was to be kept closed to the Ragusan forces and to let the Austrian forces enter the City from the west, without any Ragusan soldiers, once the French garrison of 500 troops under General [[Joseph Hélie Désiré Perruquet de Montrichard|Joseph de Montrichard]] had surrendered.{{sfn|Vojnović|2009|p=194}}

After this, the Flag of Saint Blaise was flown alongside the Austrian and British colors, but only for two days because, on 30 January, General Milutinović ordered Mayor Sabo Giorgi to lower it. Overwhelmed by a feeling of deep patriotic pride, Giorgi, the last Rector of the Republic, refused to do so "for the masses had hoisted it". Subsequent events proved that Austria took every possible opportunity to invade the entire coast of the eastern Adriatic, from Venice to [[Kotor]]. The Austrians did everything in their power to eliminate the Ragusa issue at the [[Congress of Vienna]]. Ragusan representative [[Miho Bona]], elected at the last meeting of the Major Council, was denied participation in the Congress, while Milutinović, prior to the final agreement of the allies, assumed complete control of the city.<ref name="Cosic2000">{{cite journal |title=Dubrovnik Under French Rule (1810–1814) |first=Stjepan |last=Ćosić |url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/file/12648 |format=PDF |journal=[[Dubrovnik Annals]] |year=2000 |issue=4 |pages=103–142 |access-date=11 September 2009}}</ref>{{rp|141–142}}

Regardless of the fact that the government of the Ragusan Republic never signed any capitulation nor relinquished its sovereignty, which according to the rules of [[Klemens von Metternich]] that Austria adopted for the Vienna Congress should have meant that the Republic would be restored, the Austrian Empire managed to convince the other allies to allow it to keep the territory of the Republic.{{sfn|Vojnović|2009|p=208–210}} While many smaller and less significant cities and former countries were permitted an audience, that right was refused to the representative of the Ragusan Republic.{{sfn|Vojnović|2009|p=270–272}} All of this was in blatant contradiction to the solemn treaties that the Austrian Emperors signed with the Republic: the first on 20 August 1684, in which [[Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor|Leopold I]] promises and guarantees inviolate liberty ("inviolatam libertatem") to the Republic, and the second in 1772, in which the Empress [[Maria Theresa]] promises protection and respect of the inviolability of the freedom and territory of the Republic.{{sfn|Vojnović|2009|p=217–218}}

===Languages===
[[File:Libertas.svg|thumb|right|The "Libertas" Flag of Dubrovnik]]
The [[official language]] until 1472 was [[Latin]]. As a consequence of the increasing migration of Slavic population from inland Dalmatia, the language spoken by much of the population was [[Croatian language|Croatian]], typically referred to in Dubrovnik's historical documents simply as "Slavic". To oppose the demographic change due to increased Slavic immigration from the Balkans, the native Romance population of Ragusa, which made up the oligarchic government of the Republic, tried to prohibit the use of any Slavic languages in official councils.<ref>{{cite book|author=J. Fine|title=When Ethnicity Didn't Matter|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wEF5oN5erE0C&q=When+ethnicity+did+not+matter|pages=155–156|isbn=978-0472025602|date=2010-02-05|publisher=University of Michigan Press }}</ref> Archeologists have also discovered medieval [[Glagolitic script|Glagolitic]] tablets near Dubrovnik, such as the [[inscription of Župa Dubrovačka]], indicating that the Glagolitic script was also likely once used in the city.

The [[Italian language]] as spoken in the republic was heavily influenced by the [[Venetian language]] and the [[Tuscan language|Tuscan dialect]]. Italian took root among the Dalmatian-speaking merchant upper classes, as a result of Venetian influence which strengthened the original Latin element of the population.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8QMEAAAAYAAJ|title= The Republic of Ragusa: an episode of the Turkish conquest|first= Luigi |last=Villari|page=370|publisher= J. M. Dent & Co. |location=London|year= 1904}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://xoomer.virgilio.it/histria/storiaecultura/testiedocumenti/tesiscaglioni/tesi.htm |title=La presenza italiana in Dalmazia, 1866–1943 |year=1996 |work=Tesi di Laurea |publisher=Facoltà di Scienze politiche – Università degli studi di Milano |last=Marzio |first=Scaglioni |archive-date=2010-09-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100914232053/http://xoomer.virgilio.it/histria/storiaecultura/testiedocumenti/tesiscaglioni/tesi.htm |access-date=2010-02-17 |language=it |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 14 July 1284 in Ragusa, the [[Albanian language]] was attested for the first time in history when a crime witness testified: "I heard a voice crying on the mountain in the Albanian language" ([[Latin language|Latin]]: ''Audivi unam vocem, clamantem in monte in lingua albanesca'').<ref>Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière Hammond (1976). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=O9saAAAAYAAJ Migrations and invasions in Greece and adjacent areas]''. Noyes Press. p. 57. {{ISBN|978-0-8155-5047-1}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=iLkWAQAAMAAJ ''Zeitschrift für Balkanologie''.] R. Trofenik. 1990. p. 102.</ref>

===Austrian rule===

[[File:Fran Gundulic2.JPG|thumb|left|Unveiling of the Gundulić monument in 1893]]
[[File:Stradun, a főutca a ferences kolostor és templom tornya felé nézve. Fortepan 86983.jpg|thumb|left|Dubrovnik's ''Stradun'' in 1910]]

When the [[Habsburg monarchy|Habsburg Empire]] annexed these provinces after the 1815 [[Congress of Vienna]], the new authorities implemented a bureaucratic administration, established the [[Kingdom of Dalmatia]], which had its own Sabor (Diet) or Parliament which is the oldest Croatian political institution based in the city of [[Zadar]], and political parties such as the [[Autonomist Party]] and the [[People's Party (Dalmatia)|People's Party]]. They introduced a series of modifications intended to slowly [[Centralized government|centralise]] the bureaucratic, tax, religious, educational, and trade structure. These steps largely failed, despite the intention of wanting to stimulate the economy. Once the personal, political and economic damage of [[Napoleonic Wars|the Napoleonic Wars]] had been overcome, new movements began to form in the region, calling for a political reorganisation of the Adriatic along national lines.{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}}

The combination of these two forces—a flawed Habsburg administrative system and new national movement claiming ethnicity as the founding block toward a community—posed a particularly perplexing problem: Dalmatia was a province ruled by the German-speaking [[Habsburg monarchy]], with bilingual (Croatian- and Italian-speaking) elites that dominated the general population consisting of a Slavic Catholic majority, as well as a [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Slavic Orthodox]] minority. 

In 1815, the former Dubrovnik government (its noble assembly) met for the last time in Ljetnikovac in [[Mokošica]]. Once again, extreme measures were taken to re-establish the Republic, but it was all in vain. After the fall of the Republic most of the aristocracy was recognised by the Austrian Empire.

In 1832, Baron [[Šišmundo Getaldić-Gundulić]] (''Sigismondo Ghetaldi-Gondola'') (1795–1860) was elected Mayor of Dubrovnik, serving for 13 years; the Austrian government granted him the title of "Baron".

[[Pucić (family)|Count Rafael Pucić]] (''Raffaele Pozza'') (1828–1890) was elected for first time Podestà of Dubrovnik in the year 1869 after this was re-elected in 1872, 1875, 1882, 1884) and elected twice into the Dalmatian Council, 1870, 1876. The victory of the Nationalists in [[Split, Croatia|Split]] in 1882 strongly affected in the areas of Korčula and Dubrovnik. It was greeted by the mayor (podestà) of Dubrovnik Rafael Pucić, the National Reading Club of Dubrovnik, the Workers Association of Dubrovnik and the review "Slovinac" as well as by the communities of Kuna and Orebić, the latter one getting the nationalist government even before Split.

[[File:Narrow-Gauge-Railway Dalmatinerbahn Station-Dubrovnik (2).jpg|thumb|Dubrovnik railway station]]

In 1901, the narrow-gauge ([[Bosnian-gauge railways|760 mm]]) railway line was opened primarily to connect the port city of Dubrovnik with the interior of Bosnia and Herzegovina and further into Europe.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oberegger2.org/ada/dalmatia.htm |title=A Short History of the Railways in Dalmatia |work= Helena Bunijevac (Railway Museum, Zagreb) |language=en |access-date=1 July 2024}}</ref> The line was operational from 1901 to 1976.<ref>{{cite book |last=Chester |first=Keith |date=2006 |title=Narrow Gauge Railways of Bosnia-Hercegovina, The |url=https://www.stenvalls.com/jarnvagar-railways/bocker/narrow-gauge-railways-of-bosnia-hercegovina |location= |publisher=Stenvalls |isbn=9172661666}}</ref>

In 1905, the Committee for establishing electric [[tram service]], headed by Luko Bunić was established. Other members of the Committee were Ivo Papi, Miho Papi, Artur Saraka, Mato Šarić, Antun Pugliesi, Mato Gracić, Ivo Degiulli, Ernest Katić and Antun Milić.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tramway in Dubrovnik |publisher=[[Croatian Post]] |url=https://www.posta.hr/print.aspx?id=3622&m=2138&p=-1 |work=posta.hr |access-date=2017-03-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170303051142/https://www.posta.hr/print.aspx?id=3622&m=2138&p=-1 |archive-date=2017-03-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Trams in Dubrovnik|The tram service in Dubrovnik]] existed from 1910 to 1970.

[[Čingrija|Pero Čingrija]] (1837–1921), one of the leaders of the People's Party in Dalmatia,<ref name="hrcak.srce.hr">{{Cite web|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/file/18700|title=Dvije pobjede don Ive Prodana na izborima za Carevinsko vijeće u Beču}}</ref> played the main role in the merger of the People's Party and the Party of Right into a single Croatian Party in 1905.

===Yugoslav period (1918–1991)===

[[File:ETH-BIB-Dubrovnik, Stadtplan-Dia 247-10256.tif|thumb|City plan of Dubrovnik in 1930s]]
[[File:Dubrovnik 1965, Kikötő. Fortepan 74331.jpg|thumb|Port of Dubrovnik in 1965]]

With [[Dissolution of Austria-Hungary|the fall]] of [[Austria-Hungary]] in 1918, the city was incorporated into the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later renamed to [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]]). Dubrovnik became one of the 33 [[Oblasts of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes|oblasts]] of the Kingdom. When Yugoslavia was divided among nine [[Banovinas of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia|banovinas]] in 1929, the city became part of the [[Zeta Banovina]]. In 1939, Dubrovnik became part of the [[Cvetković–Maček Agreement|newly created]] [[Banovina of Croatia]].

During the [[World War II in Yugoslavia]], Dubrovnik became part of the [[Axis powers|Axis]] [[List of World War II puppet states|puppet state]], [[Independent State of Croatia]] (NDH), occupied by the [[Italian Army]] first, and by the [[German Army (1935–1945)|German Army]] after 8 September 1943. There were clashes between Italian and German troops in Dubrovnik when the Germans took over.<ref name=":0" /> In October 1944, [[Yugoslav Partisans]] liberated Dubrovnik, arresting more than 300 citizens and executing 53 without trial; this event came to be known, after the small island on which it occurred, as the [[Daksa executions (1944)|Daksa executions]].{{cn|reason=The Daily Star is a trash-tier tabloid, definitely not a reliable source|date=April 2022}} Communist leadership during the next several years continued political prosecutions, which culminated on 12 April 1947 with the capture and imprisonment of more than 90 citizens of Dubrovnik.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hdpz.t-com.hr/broj236/Franic.htm |title=Otpor Hrvatske Mladeži U Dubrovniku 1944–1947 |language=hr |trans-title=Croatian Youth Resistance in Dubrovnik 1944–1947 |first=Augustin |last=Franić |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307124242/https://www.hdpz.t-com.hr/broj236/Franic.htm |archive-date=2012-03-07 |access-date=16 January 2012}}</ref> After the war the remaining members of [[Dalmatian Italians]] of Dubrovnik left Yugoslavia towards Italy ([[Istrian-Dalmatian exodus]]).<ref>{{cite book|author=E. White and J. Reinisch|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MJN9DAAAQBAJ&dq=dubrovnik+exodus+italians&pg=PA71|title=The Disentanglement of Populations: Migration, Expulsion and Displacement in Postwar Europe, 1944–49|year=2011|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK|access-date=16 February 2022|page=71| isbn=9780230297685 }}</ref>

Under communism Dubrovnik became part of [[Socialist Republic of Croatia|SR Croatia]] within [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|SFR Yugoslavia]]. After the World War II, the city started to attract crowds of tourists–even more after 1979, when the city joined the [[UNESCO]] list of [[World Heritage Site]]s. The growth of tourism also led to the decision to demilitarise the Dubrovnik Old Town. The income from tourism was pivotal in the post-war development of the city, including its airport.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dubrovnik-travel.net/history/|title=A Short overview of the history of Dubrovnik|website=Dubrovnik Travel}}</ref> The [[Dubrovnik Summer Festival]] was founded in 1950.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.efa-aef.eu/en/news/efa-festival-in-focus/dubrovnik-summer-festival|title=Festival in Focus: Dubrovnik Summer Festival|website=European Festivals Association|access-date=11 April 2020|archive-date=11 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411215401/https://www.efa-aef.eu/en/news/efa-festival-in-focus/dubrovnik-summer-festival/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Adriatic Highway]] (''Magistrala'') was opened in 1965 after a decade of works, connecting Dubrovnik with [[Rijeka]] along the whole coastline, and giving a boost to the tourist development of the Croatian Riviera.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.4074/S0338059915004039|title=The Informal Housing of Privatnici and the Question of Class Two Stories From The Post-Yugoslav Roadside|first1=Mišo|last1=Kapetanović|first2=Ivana|last2=Katurić|journal=Revue d'études comparatives Est-Ouest|year=2015|volume=46|issue=4|pages=61–91|via=Cairn.info}}</ref>

===Siege of Dubrovnik and its consequences===
{{Main|Siege of Dubrovnik}}
[[File:Balkans War 1991, Dubrovnik - Flickr - Peter Denton 丕特 . 天登 (3).jpg|thumb|right|upright|Stradun shelled during the [[Siege of Dubrovnik]] (1991)]]
In 1991, Croatia and [[Socialist Republic of Slovenia|Slovenia]], which at that time were republics within SFR Yugoslavia, declared their independence. The Socialist Republic of Croatia was renamed as the [[Croatia|Republic of Croatia]].

Despite the [[demilitarisation]] of the Old Town in early 1970s in an attempt to prevent it from ever becoming a casualty of war, following [[Independence of Croatia|Croatia's independence]] in 1991, [[Yugoslav People's Army]] (JNA)–by then composed primarily of [[Serbs]]–attacked the city. The new [[Government of Croatia|Croatian government]] set up a military outpost in the city itself. [[Socialist Republic of Montenegro|Montenegro]]–led by [[President of Montenegro|President]] [[Momir Bulatović]] and [[Prime Minister of Montenegro|Prime Minister]] [[Milo Đukanović]], who came to power in the [[Anti-bureaucratic revolution]] and were allied to [[Slobodan Milošević]] in [[Socialist Republic of Serbia|Serbia]]–declared that Dubrovnik should not remain in Croatia. At the time most residents of Dubrovnik had come to identify as [[Croats|Croatian]], with [[Serbs in Dubrovnik|Serbs]] accounting for 6.8 percent of the population.<ref name="yorku1">{{cite web|url=http://www.yorku.ca/soi/_Vol_5_1/_HTML/Pavlovic.html |title=Reckoning: The 1991 Siege of Dubrovnik and the Consequences of the 'War for Peace'|work=Yorku.ca |publisher=[[York University]] |author=Srđa Pavlović | access-date=2017-03-02}}</ref>

On 1 October 1991, Dubrovnik was attacked by the JNA resulting in [[Siege of Dubrovnik|a siege]] that lasted for seven months. The heaviest artillery attack was on 6 December with 19 people killed and 60 wounded. The number of casualties in the conflict, according to the [[Croatian Red Cross]], was 114 killed civilians, among them poet [[Milan Milišić]]. Foreign newspapers were criticised for placing heavier attention on the damage suffered by the Old Town than on human casualties.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Joseph|last=Pearson|title=Dubrovnik's Artistic Patrimony, and its Role in War Reporting (1991)|journal=European History Quarterly|volume=40|issue=2|pages=197–216|year=2010|doi=10.1177/0265691410358937|s2cid=144872875}}</ref> Nonetheless, the artillery attacks on Dubrovnik damaged 56% of its buildings to some degree, as the historic walled city, a [[List of World Heritage Sites in Croatia|UNESCO World Heritage Site]], sustained 650 hits by artillery rounds.<ref name="UNHCR-Dubrovnik-650">{{cite web|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees |url=http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,,CHRON,HRV,,469f387dc,0.html |title=Chronology for Serbs in Croatia |year=2004 |access-date=January 5, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324123228/http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,,CHRON,HRV,,469f387dc,0.html |archive-date=March 24, 2012 }}</ref> The [[Croatian Ground Army|Croatian Army]] lifted the siege in May 1992, and [[Operation Tiger (1992)|liberated Dubrovnik's surroundings]] by the end of October, but the danger of sudden attacks by the JNA lasted for another three years.<ref name="NYTimes-Dubrovnik-Artillery-17Aug95">{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/17/world/dubrovnik-finds-hint-of-deja-vu-in-serbian-artillery.html?ref=croatia |title=Dubrovnik Finds Hint of Deja Vu in Serbian Artillery |first=Raymond |last=Bonner |date=August 17, 1995 |access-date=December 18, 2010}}</ref>

Following the end of the [[Croatian War of Independence|war]], damage caused by the shelling of the Old Town was repaired. Adhering to UNESCO guidelines, repairs were performed in the original style. Most of the reconstruction work was done between 1995 and 1999.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zod.hr/lista.php?page=1&id=53&id_main=&napravi_order=#komentari |title=Pregled obnovljenih objekata |work=zod.hr |publisher=Institute for the Restoration of Dubrovnik |language=hr |access-date=13 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508013337/http://www.zod.hr/lista.php?page=1&id=53&id_main=&napravi_order= |archive-date=May 8, 2015 }}</ref> The inflicted damage can be seen on a chart near the city gate, showing all artillery hits during the siege, and is clearly visible from high points around the city in the form of the more brightly coloured new roofs.

The [[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]] (ICTY) issued indictments for JNA generals and officers involved in the bombing. General [[Pavle Strugar]], who coordinated the attack on the city, was sentenced to a seven-and-a-half-year prison term by the tribunal for his role in the attack.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/strugar/cis/en/cis_strugar_en.pdf|title=Case information sheet: 'Dubrovnik' (IT-01-42) Pavle Strugar|publisher=[[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]]|access-date=27 March 2015}}</ref>

===Post-war Dubrovnik in Republic of Croatia===
[[File:Defense.gov News Photo 960404-A-6594Y-010.jpg|200px|thumb|Wreckage of IFO-21 on a mountain near Dubrovnik]]
The [[1996 Croatia USAF CT-43 crash]], near [[Dubrovnik Airport]], killed everyone on a [[United States Air Force]] jet, including [[United States Secretary of Commerce]] [[Ron Brown]], ''[[The New York Times]]'' Frankfurt Bureau chief [[Nathaniel C. Nash]], and 33 other people.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Andrew Glass|title=Ron Brown dies in plane crash, April 3, 1996|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/04/ron-brown-dies-in-plane-crash-april-3-1996-236759|access-date=2021-04-08|website=Politico|date=2 April 2017 |language=en}}</ref>

In October 2023, Dubrovnik joined the European Network of Saint James Way Paths, with a 147-kilometer pilgrimage route "Camino Dubrovnik-[[Međugorje]]", expected to be open to visitors in May 2024.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thedubrovniktimes.com/news/dubrovnik/item/15601-dubrovnik-joins-european-network-of-saint-james-way-paths-with-camino-dubrovnik-medugorje-project|title=Dubrovnik Joins European Network of Saint James Way Paths with Camino Dubrovnik-Međugorje Project|last=Thomas|first=Mark|website=thedubrovniktimes.com|publisher=The Dubrovnik Times|date=17 October 2023|access-date=23 October 2023}}</ref>

== Geography ==
Dubrovnik is located in the southern tip of the [[Dalmatia]] region of [[Croatia]] in the [[Adriatic Sea]]. It is part of the [[Dubrovnik-Neretva County]] and borders the municipality of [[Dubrovačko Primorje]] to the north, more specifically the [[Majkovi]] village.

=== Islands ===
{{Main|Elaphiti Islands}}
[[File:Lopud Island (44399696484).jpg|thumb|right|[[Lopud Island]]]]
[[File:View of old city of Dubrovnik 02.jpg|thumb|right|[[Lokrum|Lokrum island]] behind Dubrovnik's old town]]
[[File:A view to the Koločep island in Croatia (48612714753).jpg|thumb|right|[[Koločep|Koločep island]]]]
There are several islands (part of the [[Elaphiti Islands]] archipelago) off the coast of Dubrovnik, including from north to south (the islands in bold are larger and populated, and most of the others are uninhabited):
* [[Olipa]]
* [[Tajan (Jakljan)|Tajan]]
* [[Mišnjak (Šipan)|Mišnjak]]
* [[Jakljan]]
* '''[[Šipan]]'''
* [[Crkvina (island)|Crkvina]]
* [[Kosmeč]]
* [[Ruda (island)|Ruda]]
* '''[[Lopud]]'''
* '''[[Koločep]]'''
* [[Daksa (island)|Daksa]]
* [[Grebeni (island)|Grebeni]]
* [[Sveti Andrija (Dubrovnik)|Sveti Andrija]]
Another island disputedly part of the [[Elaphiti Islands]] is:
* [[Lokrum]]

=== Climate ===
Dubrovnik has a [[hot-summer Mediterranean climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]]: ''Csa''), that is bordering closely on a [[humid subtropical climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]]: ''Cfa'').<ref>[https://www.koppen-map.com/ Köppen climate classification]</ref> Dubrovnik has hot, muggy, relatively dry summers and mild to cool wet winters. The [[Bora (wind)|bora wind]] blows cold gusts down the Adriatic coast between October and April, and thundery conditions are common year round, even in summer, when they interrupt the warm, sunny days. The air temperatures can slightly vary, depending on the area or region. Typically, in July and August daytime maximum temperatures reach {{convert|28|°C}}, and at night drop to approximately {{convert|23|°C}}. In spring and autumn, maximum temperatures are typically between {{convert|20|°C}} and {{convert|28|°C|0}}. Dubrovnik has the mildest winters of any Croatian city, with daytime temperatures around {{convert|13|°C}} in the coldest months. Snow in Dubrovnik is very rare.

Since records began in 1961, the highest temperature recorded at the local weather station at an elevation of {{convert|52|m|ft}} was {{convert|38.4|C|F}}, on 7 August 2012.<ref>{{cite web |date=2022-07-19 |author=DHMZ |title=Najviše izmjerene temperature zraka u Hrvatskoj za razdoblje od kada postoje mjerenja |url=https://meteo.hr/objave_najave_natjecaji.php?section=onn&param=objave&el=priopcenja&daj=najvise_temperature_zraka |website=Državni hidrometeorološki zavod}}</ref> The coldest temperature was {{convert|-7.0|C|F}}, on 14 January 1968.<ref>{{cite web |date=2022-01-21 |author=DHMZ |title=Najniže izmjerene temperature zraka u Hrvatskoj za razdoblje od kada postoje mjerenja |url=https://meteo.hr/objave_najave_natjecaji.php?section=onn&param=objave&el=priopcenja&daj=najnize_temperature_zraka |website=Državni hidrometeorološki zavod}}</ref>

{{Weather box|location=Dubrovnik (1971–2000, extremes 1961–2019)
|metric first=yes
|single line=yes
| Jan record high C = 18.4
| Feb record high C = 24.1
| Mar record high C = 26.8
| Apr record high C = 30.3
| May record high C = 32.9
| Jun record high C = 37.5
| Jul record high C = 37.9
| Aug record high C = 38.9
| Sep record high C = 34.8
| Oct record high C = 30.5
| Nov record high C = 25.4
| Dec record high C = 20.4
|year record high C = 
| Jan high C = 12.3
| Feb high C = 12.6
| Mar high C = 14.4
| Apr high C = 16.9
| May high C = 21.5
| Jun high C = 25.3
| Jul high C = 28.2
| Aug high C = 28.5
| Sep high C = 25.1
| Oct high C = 21.1
| Nov high C = 16.6
| Dec high C = 13.4
|year high C = 19.7
| Jan mean C = 9.2
| Feb mean C = 9.4
| Mar mean C = 11.1
| Apr mean C = 13.8
| May mean C = 18.3
| Jun mean C = 22.0
| Jul mean C = 24.6
| Aug mean C = 24.8
| Sep mean C = 21.4
| Oct mean C = 17.6
| Nov mean C = 13.3
| Dec mean C = 10.3
|year mean C = 16.3
| Jan low C = 6.6
| Feb low C = 6.8
| Mar low C = 8.4
| Apr low C = 11.0
| May low C = 15.3
| Jun low C = 18.9
| Jul low C = 21.4
| Aug low C = 21.6
| Sep low C = 18.4
| Oct low C = 14.9
| Nov low C = 10.7
| Dec low C = 7.8
|year low C = 13.5
| Jan record low C = -7.0
| Feb record low C = -5.2
| Mar record low C = -4.2
| Apr record low C = 1.6
| May record low C = 5.2
| Jun record low C = 10.0
| Jul record low C = 14.1
| Aug record low C = 14.1
| Sep record low C = 8.5
| Oct record low C = 4.5
| Nov record low C = -1.0
| Dec record low C = -6.0
|year record low C = -7.0
|precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation mm = 98.3
| Feb precipitation mm = 97.9
| Mar precipitation mm = 93.1
| Apr precipitation mm = 91.4
| May precipitation mm = 70.1
| Jun precipitation mm = 44.0
| Jul precipitation mm = 28.3
| Aug precipitation mm = 72.5
| Sep precipitation mm = 86.1
| Oct precipitation mm = 120.1
| Nov precipitation mm = 142.3
| Dec precipitation mm = 119.8
|year precipitation mm = 1064.0
|unit precipitation days = 0.1 mm
| Jan precipitation days = 11.2
| Feb precipitation days = 11.2
| Mar precipitation days = 11.2
| Apr precipitation days = 12.0
| May precipitation days = 9.4
| Jun precipitation days = 6.4
| Jul precipitation days = 4.7
| Aug precipitation days = 5.1
| Sep precipitation days = 7.2
| Oct precipitation days = 10.8
| Nov precipitation days = 12.4
| Dec precipitation days = 12.0
|year precipitation days = 113.6
| Jan humidity = 59.9
| Feb humidity = 58.4
| Mar humidity = 61.2
| Apr humidity = 64.2
| May humidity = 66.7
| Jun humidity = 63.8
| Jul humidity = 58.2
| Aug humidity = 59.2
| Sep humidity = 61.9
| Oct humidity = 62.2
| Nov humidity = 62.4
| Dec humidity = 60.3
|year humidity = 61.5
| Jan sun = 130.2
| Feb sun = 142.8
| Mar sun = 179.8
| Apr sun = 207.0
| May sun = 266.6
| Jun sun = 312.0
| Jul sun = 347.2
| Aug sun = 325.5
| Sep sun = 309.0
| Oct sun = 189.1
| Nov sun = 135.0
| Dec sun = 124.0
| source 1 = [[Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service]]<ref name= WMO >{{cite web
| url = http://klima.hr/k1/k1_2/dubrovnik.pdf
| title = Dubrovnik Climate Normals
| access-date = 14 January 2016
| publisher = Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service}}</ref><ref name=extremes>{{cite web
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231017081534/http://meteo.hr/klima_e.php?section=klima_podaci&param=k1&Grad=dubrovnik
| archive-date = 17 October 2023
| url = http://meteo.hr/klima_e.php?section=klima_podaci&param=k1&Grad=dubrovnik
| title = Monthly values and extremes: Values for Dubrovnik in 1961–2022 period
| language = hr
| access-date = 12 April 2024
| publisher = Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service}}</ref>
}}

{|style="width:100%;text-align:center;line-height:1.2em;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto" class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
|-
!Colspan=14|Climate data for Dubrovnik
|-
!Month
!Jan
!Feb
!Mar
!Apr
!May
!Jun
!Jul
!Aug
!Sep
!Oct
!Nov
!Dec
!style="border-left-width:medium"|Year
|-
!Average sea temperature °C (°F)
|style="background:#D3D3FF;color:#000000;"|14.1<br />(57.4)
|style="background:#D4D4FF;color:#000000;"|14.2<br />(57.6)
|style="background:#D8D8FF;color:#000000;"|14.4<br />(57.9)
|style="background:#EAEAFF;color:#000000;"|15.6<br />(60.1)
|style="background:#FFDD6E;color:#000000;"|18.7<br />(65.7)
|style="background:#FF8700;color:#000000;"|23.1<br />(73.6)
|style="background:#FF5800;color:#000000;"|25.5<br />(77.9)
|style="background:#FF5A00;color:#000000;"|25.4<br />(77.7)
|style="background:#FF6F00;color:#000000;"|24.3<br />(75.7)
|style="background:#FFB600;color:#000000;"|20.7<br />(69.3)
|style="background:#FFE799;color:#000000;"|18.2<br />(64.8)
|style="background:#EBEBFF;color:#000000;"|15.7<br />(60.3)
|style="background:#FFD447;color:#000000;border-left-width:medium"|19.2<br />(66.5)
|-
!Mean daily daylight hours
|style="background:#E9E900;color:#000000;"|9.0
|style="background:#F7F722;color:#000000;"|11.0
|style="background:#FFFF33;color:#000000;"|12.0
|style="background:#FFFF44;color:#000000;"|13.0
|style="background:#FFFF66;color:#000000;"|15.0
|style="background:#FFFF66;color:#000000;"|15.0
|style="background:#FFFF66;color:#000000;"|15.0
|style="background:#FFFF55;color:#000000;"|14.0
|style="background:#FFFF33;color:#000000;"|12.0
|style="background:#F7F722;color:#000000;"|11.0
|style="background:#F0F011;color:#000000;"|10.0
|style="background:#E9E900;color:#000000;"|9.0
|style="background:#FFFF35;color:#000000;border-left-width:medium"|12.2
|-
!Average [[Ultraviolet index]]
|style="background:#289500;color:#000000;"|1
|style="background:#289500;color:#000000;"|2
|style="background:#f7e400;color:#000000;"|4
|style="background:#f7e400;color:#000000;"|5
|style="background:#f85900;color:#000000;"|7
|style="background:#d8001d;color:#000000;"|8
|style="background:#d8001d;color:#000000;"|9
|style="background:#d8001d;color:#000000;"|8
|style="background:#f85900;color:#000000;"|6
|style="background:#f7e400;color:#000000;"|4
|style="background:#289500;color:#000000;"|2
|style="background:#289500;color:#000000;"|1
|style="background:#f7e400;color:#000000;border-left-width:medium"|4.8
|-
!Colspan=14 style="background:#f8f9fa;font-weight:normal;font-size:95%;"|Source: Weather Atlas<ref name="Weather Atlas">{{cite web |url=https://www.weather-atlas.com/en/croatia/dubrovnik-climate |title=Dubrovnik, Croatia – Monthly weather forecast and Climate data |publisher=Weather Atlas |access-date=3 February 2019 }}</ref>
|}

==Heritage==
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Old City of Dubrovnik
| native_name = Stari grad Dubrovnik
| native_language = Croatian
| image = Top-down aerial view of the historical center of Dubrovnik, Croatia (48612648048).jpg
| image_size = 250px
| caption = Top-down aerial view of old town Dubrovnik
| location = [[Dubrovnik-Neretva County]], Croatia
| coordinates = {{coord|42.6408|N|18.1100|E|region:HR|display=inline|zoom=19}}
| governing_body = 
| designation1 = WHS
| designation1_offname = 
| designation1_type = Cultural
| designation1_criteria = i, iii, iv
| designation1_date = [[List of World Heritage Sites by year of inscription#1979 (3rd session)|1979]] <small>(3rd [[World Heritage Committee|Session]])</small>
| designation1_number = [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/95 95]
| designation1_free1value = [[World Heritage Sites in Europe|Europe and North America]]
| designation1_free2name = Extension
| designation1_free2value = 1994
| designation1_free3name = Endangered
| designation1_free3value = 1991–1998
| designation2 = Croatia Cultural
| designation2_offname = Stari grad Dubrovnik
| designation2_date = 
| designation2_number = 
| designation3 = 
| designation3_offname = 
| designation3_date = 
| designation3_number = 
}}

The annual [[Dubrovnik Summer Festival]] is a 45-day-long cultural event with live plays, concerts and games. It has been awarded a Gold International Trophy for Quality (2007) by the Editorial Office in collaboration with the Trade Leaders Club.

The [[patron saint]] of the city is [[Saint Blaise|Sveti Vlaho (Saint Blaise)]], whose statues are seen around the city. He has an importance similar to that of [[Mark the Evangelist|St. Mark the Evangelist]] to Venice. One of the larger churches in the city is named after Saint Blaise.
February 3 is the feast of Sveti Vlaho. Every year the city of Dubrovnik celebrates the holiday with Mass, parades, and festivities that last for several days.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.tzdubrovnik.hr/clanak.shtml?clanak=890 |title=DUBROVNIK news |date=21 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021141211/http://web.tzdubrovnik.hr/clanak.shtml?clanak=890 |archive-date=2007-10-21 }}</ref>

The Old Town of Dubrovnik is depicted on the [[Obverse and reverse|reverse]] of the Croatian 50 [[Croatian kuna|kuna]] banknote, issued in 1993 and 2002.<ref name="banknotes1993">{{cite web | url=https://www.hnb.hr/en/currency/banknotes/denominations/50-kuna | title=50 kuna | date=31 January 2015 | work=hnb.hr | publisher=[[Croatian National Bank]] | access-date=6 March 2017 | archive-date=15 August 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170815164816/http://www.hnb.hr/en/currency/banknotes/denominations/50-kuna | url-status=dead }}</ref>

The city boasts many old buildings, such as the [[Trsteno|Arboretum Trsteno]], the oldest [[arboretum]] in the world, which dates back to before 1492. Also, the third-oldest European [[pharmacy]] and the oldest still in operation, having been founded in 1317, is in Dubrovnik, at the Franciscan monastery.<ref name=dbvonl15>{{cite web|url=http://www.dubrovnik-online.net/english/monuments.php |title=Monuments (1 to 5) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100714090903/http://www.dubrovnik-online.com/english/monuments.php |archive-date=2010-07-14 |access-date=2010-02-16 |publisher=Dubrovnik Online |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In history, many Conversos ([[Marrano]]s) were attracted to Dubrovnik, formerly a considerable seaport. In May 1544, a ship landed there filled exclusively with [[Portugal|Portuguese]] refugees, as Balthasar de Faria reported to King John. Another admirer of Dubrovnik, [[George Bernard Shaw]], visited the city in 1929 and said: "If you want to see heaven on earth, come to Dubrovnik."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tz-seget.hr/en/40/dubrovnik|title=TZ Seget – Dubrovnik|work=tz-seget.hr}}</ref>

In the bay of Dubrovnik is the {{convert|72|ha|adj=on}} wooded island of [[Lokrum]], where according to legend, [[Richard I of England|Richard the Lionheart, King of England]], was cast ashore after being [[shipwreck]]ed in 1192. The island includes a fortress, [[botanical garden]], [[monastery]] and [[Nude beach|naturist beach]].

Among the many tourist destinations are a few beaches. Banje, Dubrovnik's main public [[beach]], is home to the Eastwest Beach Club. There is also Copacabana Beach, a stony beach on the Lapad peninsula,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ue-4o37AficC&pg=PA57 |title=Frommer's Croatia |author=Karen Tormé Olson |author2=Sanja Bazulic Olson |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |year=2006 |pages=57–58 |isbn=0-7645-9898-8 |access-date=27 October 2009}}</ref> named after the popular beach in [[Copacabana (Rio de Janeiro)|Rio de Janeiro]].

By 2018, the city had to take steps to reduce the excessive number of tourists, especially in the Old Town. One method to moderate the overcrowding was to stagger the arrival/departure times of cruise ships to spread the number of visitors more evenly during the week.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/news/has-dubrovnik-solved-over-crowding-from-cruise-lines/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/news/has-dubrovnik-solved-over-crowding-from-cruise-lines/ |archive-date=2022-01-11 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Has Dubrovnik solved the problem of overcrowding from cruise ships?|website=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=15 June 2018|last1=Lawrey|first1=Katherine}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 2023, Dubrovnik's mayor closed the terrace of a bar in Stradun for the nuisance it created for the neighborhood and announced a ban on wheeled luggage in the old town to limit noise on paved streets of the Old Town.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.newsendip.com/no-more-wheel-suitcases-in-dubrovnik-tourism-croatia/ | title=No more wheel suitcases in Dubrovnik - Newsendip | date=6 June 2023 }}</ref>

===Important monuments===
[[File:Rector's Palace Dubrovnik.jpg|thumb|left|200px|[[Rector's Palace]]]]
Few of Dubrovnik's Renaissance buildings survived the earthquake of 1667 but enough remained to give an idea of the city's architectural heritage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.croatiatraveller.com/southern_dalmatia/Dubrovnik/Dubrovnik_sights.htm |title=Dubrovnik Sights |publisher=Croatia Traveller |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100227091537/http://www.croatiatraveller.com/southern_dalmatia/Dubrovnik/Dubrovnik_sights.htm |archive-date=2010-02-27 |access-date=2010-02-16 |last=Oliver |first=Jeanne |url-status=dead }}</ref> The finest Renaissance highlight is the [[Sponza Palace]] which dates from the 16th century and is currently used to house the National Archives.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dubrovnikcity.com/dubrovnik/attractions/sponza_palace.htm |title=Sponza Palace |publisher=DubrovnikCity.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414012417/http://www.dubrovnikcity.com/dubrovnik/attractions/sponza_palace.htm |archive-date=2010-04-14 |access-date=2010-02-16 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Rector's Palace]] is a Gothic-Renaissance structure that displays finely carved capitals and an ornate staircase. It now houses a museum.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dubrovnikcity.com/dubrovnik/attractions/rectors_palace.htm |title=The Rector's Palace |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090527112425/http://www.dubrovnikcity.com/dubrovnik/attractions/rectors_palace.htm |archive-date=2009-05-27 |access-date=2010-02-16 |publisher=DubrovnikCity.com |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dubrovnik-guide.net/rector_palace.htm |title=The Rector's Palace |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611210820/http://dubrovnik-guide.net/rector_palace.htm |publisher=Dubrovnik Guide |archive-date=2010-06-11 |access-date=2010-02-16 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Its façade is depicted on the [[Obverse and reverse|reverse]] of the Croatian 50 [[Croatian kuna|kuna]] banknote, issued in 1993 and 2002.<ref name="banknotes1993"/> The [[St. Saviour Church, Dubrovnik|St. Saviour Church]] is another remnant of the Renaissance period, next to the much-visited [[Franciscan Church and Monastery (Dubrovnik)|Franciscan Church and Monastery]].<ref name="dbvonl15"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dubrovnik-guide.net/francisian.htm |title=Franciscan monastery |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611210754/http://dubrovnik-guide.net/francisian.htm |publisher=Dubrovnik Guide |archive-date=2010-06-11 |access-date=2010-02-16 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sacred-destinations.com/croatia/dubrovnik-franciscan-monastery.htm |title=Franciscan Friary, Dubrovnik |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100117091038/http://www.sacred-destinations.com/croatia/dubrovnik-franciscan-monastery.htm |archive-date=2010-01-17 |access-date=2010-02-16 |publisher=Sacred Destinations |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Franciscan monastery's library possesses 30,000 volumes, 216 incunabula, and 1,500 valuable handwritten documents. Exhibits include a 15th-century silver-gilt cross and silver [[thurible]], an 18th-century crucifix from Jerusalem, a [[martyrology]] (1541) by Bernardin Gučetić and illuminated [[psalter]]s.<ref name=dbvonl15/>

[[St Blaise's church]] was built in the 18th century in honour of Dubrovnik's patron saint. The baroque [[Dubrovnik Cathedral]] was built in the 18th century and houses relics of [[Saint Blaise]]. The city's Dominican Monastery resembles a fortress on the outside and the interior contains an art museum and a Gothic-Romanesque church.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sacred-destinations.com/croatia/dubrovnik-st-blaise-church.htm |title=Church of St. Blaise, Dubrovnik |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100120024503/http://www.sacred-destinations.com/croatia/dubrovnik-st-blaise-church.htm |archive-date=2010-01-20 |access-date=2010-02-16 |publisher=Sacred Destinations |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dubrovnik-online.net/english/monuments4.php |title=Monuments (16 to 20) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100714093315/http://www.dubrovnik-online.com/english/monuments4.php |archive-date=2010-07-14 |access-date=2010-02-16 |publisher=Dubrovnik Online |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Dominican monastery has a library with 216 [[incunable|incunabula]], illustrated manuscripts, an archive and an art collection.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sacred-destinations.com/croatia/dubrovnik-dominican-monastery.htm |title=Dominican Friary, Dubrovnik |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100102080947/http://sacred-destinations.com/croatia/dubrovnik-dominican-monastery.htm |archive-date=2010-01-02 |access-date=2010-02-16 |publisher=Sacred Destinations |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.croatiatraveller.com/southern_dalmatia/Dubrovnik/Dominican.htm |title=Dominican Monastery |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100104014716/http://croatiatraveller.com/southern_dalmatia/Dubrovnik/Dominican.htm |publisher=Croatia Traveller |last=Oliver |first=Jeanne |archive-date=2010-01-04 |access-date=2010-02-16 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dubrovnik-online.net/english/monuments5.php |title=Monuments (21 To 22) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090725060316/http://www.dubrovnik-online.com/english/monuments5.php |publisher=Dubrovnik Online |archive-date=2009-07-25 |access-date=2010-02-16 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:Dubrovnik - Croatia.jpg|thumb|left|[[Lovrijenac]] and Bokar fortifications]]
The Neapolitan architect and engineer [[Onofrio della Cava]] completed the aqueduct with two public fountains, both built in 1438. Close to the Pile Gate stands the Big Onofrio's Fountain in the middle of a small square. It may have been inspired by the former Romanesque baptistry of the former cathedral in Bunić Square. The sculptural elements were lost in the earthquake of 1667. Water jets gush out of the mouth of the sixteen [[Mascaron (architecture)|mascaron]]s. The Little Onofrio's Fountain stands at the eastern side of the Placa, supplying water to the market place in the Luža Square. The sculptures were made by the Milanese artist [[Pietro di Martino]] (who also sculpted the ornaments in the Rector's Palace and made a statue – now lost – for the Franciscan church).

[[File:Dubrovnik 211.jpg|right|thumb|[[St. Saviour Church, Dubrovnik|St. Saviour Church]] (left) and [[Franciscan friary, Dubrovnik|Franciscan church and Monastery]] (right)]]
The {{convert|31|m|ft|adj=mid|-high}} [[Dubrovnik Bell Tower]], built in 1444, is one of the symbols of the free city state of Ragusa. It was built by the local architects Grubačević, Utišenović and Radončić. It was rebuilt in 1929 as it had lost its stability through an earthquake and was in danger of falling. The brass face of the clock shows the phases of the moon. Two human figures strike the bell every hour. The tower stands next to the House of the Main Guard, also built in Gothic style. It was the residence of the admiral, commander-in-chief of the army. The Baroque portal was built between 1706 and 1708 by the Venetian architect [[Marino Gropelli]] (who also built St Blaise's church).

In 1418, the Republic of Ragusa, as Dubrovnik was then named, erected a statue of Roland (Ital. Orlando) as a symbol of loyalty to [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor|Sigismund of Luxembourg]] (1368–1437), King of Hungary and Croatia (as of 1387), Prince-Elector of Brandenburg (between 1378 and 1388 and again between 1411 and 1415), German King (as of 1411), King of Bohemia (as of 1419) and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (as of 1433), who helped by a successful war alliance against Venice to retain Ragusa's independence. It stands in the middle of Luža Square. Roland statues were typical symbols of city autonomy or independence, often erected under Sigismund in his Electorate of Brandenburg. In 1419 the sculptor [[Bonino of Milano]], with the help of local craftsmen, replaced the first Roland with the present Gothic statue. Its forearm was for a long time the unit of measure in Dubrovnik: one [[ell]] of Dubrovnik is equal to {{convert|51.2|cm|1|abbr=on}}.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Saint Blaise's Church, Dubrovnik - September 2017.jpg|[[St Blaise's Church|Saint Blaise's Church]]
File:Saint Ignatius Church, Dubrovnik - September 2017.jpg|Saint Ignatius Church, part of former Jesuit ''[[Collegium Ragusinum]]''
File:Cathedral of the Assumption, Dubrovnik 05.jpg|[[Dubrovnik Cathedral|Cathedral of the Assumption]]
Sponza Palace, Dubrovnik, Croatia - panoramio - Leszek Drabik.jpg|[[Sponza Palace]] and [[Stradun (street)|Stradun]] 
2011 Dubrownik, Stary port, mury miejskie i kościół Dominikanów (02).jpg|Old Port, [[Dubrovnik Walls|city walls]] and the Dominican church
Clock Tower of Dubrovnik 04.jpg|[[Dubrovnik Bell Tower]]
</gallery>

===Walls of Dubrovnik===

[[File:Casco viejo de Dubrovnik, Croacia, 2014-04-13, DD 18.JPG|thumb|right|[[Walls of Dubrovnik|Minčeta Tower]]]]

{{Main|Walls of Dubrovnik}}

A feature of Dubrovnik is its walls which run almost {{convert|2|km|mi|abbr=off}} around the city. The walls are {{convert|4|to(-)|6|m|ft|0|abbr=off}} thick on the landward side but are much thinner on the seaward side. The system of turrets and towers was intended to protect the vulnerable city. The walls of Dubrovnik have also been a popular filming location for the fictional city of King's Landing in the [[HBO]] television series, ''[[Game of Thrones]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.croatiatraveller.com/southern_dalmatia/Dubrovnik/Walls.htm |title=Dubrovnik's Walls |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100104014840/http://croatiatraveller.com/southern_dalmatia/Dubrovnik/Walls.htm |archive-date=2010-01-04 |access-date=2010-02-16 |publisher=Croatia Traveller |last=Oliver |first=Jeanne |url-status=dead }}</ref>
 
The walls have been visited by 1.3 million people in 2018.

==Demographics==
{{Historical populations
|title  = Historical populations<br /> of Dubrovnik
|shading     = off
|source = Naselja i stanovništvo Republike Hrvatske 1857–2001, DZS, Zagreb, 2005
|1880 |15666
|1890 |15329
|1900 |17384
|1910 |18396
|1921 |16719
|1931 |20420
|1948 |21778
|1953 |24296
|1961 |27793
|1971 |35628
|1981 |46025
|1991 |51597
|2001 |43770
|2011 |42615
|2021 |41562
}}
[[File:Dubrovnik-F.Tudjman-Bridge.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Franjo Tuđman Bridge (Dubrovnik)|Franjo Tuđman Bridge]] across the [[Rijeka Dubrovačka]] near Dubrovnik]]

The total population of the city is 41,562 (census 2021), in the following [[naselje|settlements]]:<ref name="census2011">{{Croatian Census 2011|S|19|0981}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Bosanka]], population 139
* [[Brsečine]], population 96
* [[Čajkovica]], population 160
* [[Čajkovići]], population 26
* [[Donje Obuljeno]], population 210
* [[Dubravica, Dubrovnik|Dubravica]], population 37
* '''Dubrovnik''', population 28,434
* [[Gornje Obuljeno]], population 124
* [[Gromača]], population 146
* [[Kliševo]], population 54
* [[Knežica, Croatia|Knežica]], population 133
* [[Koločep]], population 163
* [[Komolac]], population 320
* [[Lopud]], population 249
* [[Lozica, Croatia|Lozica]], population 146
* [[Ljubač, Dubrovnik-Neretva County|Ljubač]], population 69
* [[Mokošica]], population 1,924
* [[Mravinjac, Croatia|Mravinjac]], population 88
* [[Mrčevo, Dubrovnik-Neretva County|Mrčevo]], population 90
* [[Nova Mokošica]], population 6,016
* [[Orašac, Croatia|Orašac]], population 631
* [[Osojnik, Dubrovnik-Neretva County|Osojnik]], population 301
* [[Petrovo Selo (Dubrovnik)|Petrovo Selo]], population 23
* [[Pobrežje, Croatia|Pobrežje]], population 118
* [[Prijevor, Dubrovnik|Prijevor]], population 453
* [[Rožat]], population 340
* [[Suđurađ]], population 207
* [[Sustjepan]], population 323
* [[Šipanska Luka]], population 211
* [[Šumet]], population 176
* [[Trsteno]], population 222
* [[Zaton, Dubrovnik-Neretva County|Zaton]], population 985
{{div col end}}

The population was 42,615 in 2011,<ref name="census2011"/> down from 49,728 in 1991<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=207947
 |title=Encyclopedia, Dubrovnik
 |work=A&E Television Networks, History.com
 |publisher=Funk & Wagnalls' New Encyclopedia. World Almanac Education Group
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024083306/http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=207947
 |archive-date=2007-10-24
 |access-date=2010-02-14
 |url-status=dead
}}</ref>

In the 2011 census, 90.34% of the population identified as Croat, 3.52% as Bosniak, 2.73% as Serb and 0.4% as Albanian.<ref name=":1">{{Croatian Census 2011|E|19}}</ref>

{{Croatian population data graph |popisi=HRV |upisano=2022-06-04 |područje=City of Dubrovnik |p1857=14445 |p1869=13398 |p1880=15666 |p1890=15329 |p1900=17384 |p1910=18396 |p1921=16719 |p1931=20420 |p1948=21778 |p1953=24296 |p1961=27793 |p1971=35628 |p1981=46025 |p1991=51597 |p2001=43770 |p2011=42615 |p2021=41562}}

Throughout history, there was a significant [[Dalmatian Italians|Italian-speaking community]] in Dubrovnik. According to the Austrian censuses, there were 331 residents of the central settlement that used [[Italian language|Italian]] as their ''habitual language''<ref name="Seton">{{Cite book |last=Seton-Watson |first=Christopher |url=https://archive.org/details/italyfromliberal0000seto/page/353/mode/1up?q=habitual |title=Italy from Liberalism to Fascism, 1870–1925 |publisher=Methuen & Co |year=1967}}</ref> (4.6% of the total population) in 1890, and 409 (4.6%) in 1910.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Perselli |first=Guerrino |date=1993 |title=I Censimenti della popolazione dell'Istria, con Fiume e Trieste, e di alcune città della Dalmazia tra il 1850 e il 1936 - CRS |url=https://crsrv.org/editoria/etnia/i-censimenti-della-popolazione-dellistria-con-fiume-e-trieste-e-di-alcune-citta-della-dalmazia-tra-il-1850-e-il-1936/ |access-date=2025-07-14 |website=Centro di ricerche storiche Rovigno |language=it-IT}}</ref>  The commune as a whole had 356 (3.2%) Italian speakers in 1890, and 486 (3.4%) in 1910.<ref name=":02" /> In 2011, only 27 people declared themselves as Italians, corresponding to 0.06% of the total population.<ref name=":1" />

==Transport==

{{multiple image
| direction         = vertical
| align             = right
| width             = 220
| image1            = Bmibaby (G-TOYK), Dubrovnik Airport, August 2011 (03).JPG
| caption1          = [[Dubrovnik Airport]]
| image2            = Mein Schiff 6 TUI cruise.jpg
| caption2          = [[Gruž|Dubrovnik Port]]
| image3            = MANBusCRO.JPG
| caption3          = Dubrovnik public bus system
| image4            = Dubrovnik 07 2017 3734.jpg
| caption4          = Dubrovnik Cable car
| image5            = Croatia-01870 - Old Port (10091210236).jpg
| caption5          = Dubrovnik City Port
}}

===Airport===
Dubrovnik has its own [[Dubrovnik Airport|international airport]], located approximately {{convert|20|km|0|abbr=on}} southeast of Dubrovnik city centre, near [[Čilipi]]. Dubrovnik Airport is the [[List of the busiest airports in Croatia|third busiest airport in Croatia]] after [[Zagreb Airport|Zagreb]] and [[Split Airport|Split]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://centreforaviation.com/analysis/dubrovnik-airport-providing-essential--tourism-support-for-a-region-croatia-airlines-3rd-base-297773|title=Dubrovnik Airport: providing essential tourism support for a region. Croatia Airlines' 3rd base|date=22 August 2016|work=centreforaviation.com|access-date=15 March 2017}}</ref> In 2024, Dubrovnik Airport achieved a record number of arrivals with nearly 3 million tourists. It's the only airport in Croatia that has direct flights with [[United States]], more specifically with [[Newark Liberty International Airport]] in [[New York City]], although seasonal service.<ref>{{cite web |title=Letovi za New York krenuli tri tjedna ranije |url=https://www.dbv.hr/hr/letovi-za-new-york-krenuli-tri-tjedna-ranije/1515 |website=Dubrovnik Airport |access-date=27 July 2025 |language=Croatian |trans-title=Flights to New York departed three weeks early}}</ref>

===Port===
Main [[port]] in Dubrovnik is located in [[Gruž]] and it serves as transport for passenger traffic and tourists. As one of Croatia's most prominent ports, it handles a significant amounts of cruise ships, ferries, private yachts and cargo ships. Dubrovnik Port is connected with others islands and tows including [[Split, Croatia|Split]], [[Rijeka]], [[Komiža]], [[Korčula]], [[Sobra]], [[Pomena]], [[Lopud]] and [[Bari]] in [[Italy]]. There is a city harbour in old town of Dubrovnik, which connects Dubrovnik with [[Lokrum]] island.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dubrovnik Cruise Port |url=https://www.dubrovnik-travel.net/dubrovnik-cruise-port/ |website=dubrovnik-travel.net |access-date=27 July 2025}}</ref> 

===Buses===
Dubrovnik has a public bus system which connects the airport with the Dubrovnik old main [[bus station]] in [[Gruž]]. In addition, a network of modern, local buses connects all Dubrovnik neighbourhoods running frequently from dawn to midnight including the Municipality of Župa Dubrovnik, the Municipality of [[Konavle]], the Municipality of Dubrovnik Primorje, the Municipality of [[Ston]] and the Municipality of Orebić. However, Dubrovnik, unlike Croatia's other major centres, is not accessible by rail;<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.dubrovnik-online.net/english/transportation_rail.php |title=Transportation Rail |access-date=20 June 2009 |publisher=Dubrovnik Online}}</ref> until 1975 Dubrovnik was [[Croatian Railways#Dubrovnik and Ploče|connected]] to [[Mostar]] and [[Sarajevo]] by a [[narrow-gauge railway]] (760&nbsp;mm)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.penmorfa.com/JZ/dubrovnik2.html |title=Dubrovnik to Sarajevo 1965 |access-date=27 September 2011 |publisher=Charlie Lewis}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.penmorfa.com/JZ/jhorsford.html |title=Dubrovnik to Capljina in 1972 |access-date=27 September 2011 |publisher=Jim Horsford}}</ref> built during the [[Bosnia and Herzegovina (Austro-Hungarian condominium)|Austro-Hungarian rule of Bosnia]]. In addition to the railway transit, Dubrovnik had a [[Dubrovnik tram|train system]], which was in operation from 1910 to 1970.<ref>{{cite web |title=Trams in Dubrovnik |url=https://www.dubrovnik-travel.net/trams-dubrovnik/ |website=dubrovnik-travel.net |access-date=27 July 2025}}</ref>

===Cable car===
Dubrovnik has a cable car service from Old town to the top of [[Srđ]] mountain. The Dubrovnik Cable Car, known as "žičara" in Croatian, was first constructed in 1969. It was the first cable car in the [[Adriatic]] region and initially transported up to 15 people at a time. However, the cable car was severely damaged during the [[Croatian War of Independence]] in 1991 and ceased operations. After years of inactivity, the cable car underwent a complete restoration and reopened in 2010, offering modern and improved facilities to visitors.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dubrovnik cable car |url=https://tzdubrovnik.hr/get/news_kongresni/84023/experience_the_charming_cable_car_ride_to_srd_offering_spectacular_panoramic_views_of_dubrovnik.html |website=tzdubrovnik.hr |access-date=27 July 2025}}</ref>

===Highways and roads===
The [[A1 (Croatia)|A1]] highway, in use between [[Zagreb]] and [[Ploče]], is planned to be extended all the way to Dubrovnik. Because the area around the city is disconnected from the rest of Croatian territory, the highway will either cross the [[Pelješac Bridge]] whose construction was completed in 2022,{{cn|date=February 2023}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://crbc-croatia.com/en/2018/08/23/23-08-2018-2/|title=The examination of the seabed started|publisher=[[China Road and Bridge Corporation]]|date=23 August 2018|access-date=19 November 2018|archive-date=19 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119132842/https://crbc-croatia.com/en/2018/08/23/23-08-2018-2/|url-status=dead}}</ref> or run through [[Neum]] in [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] and continue to Dubrovnik.

==Education==
Dubrovnik has a number of higher educational institutions. These include the [[University of Dubrovnik]], the [[Dubrovnik International University|Libertas University]] ([[Dubrovnik International University]]), [[Rochester Institute of Technology Croatia]] (former [[American College of Management and Technology]]), a University Centre for Postgraduate Studies of the [[University of Zagreb]], and an Institute of History of the [[Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts]].

==Sports==
The city hosted the [[2025 World Men's Handball Championship]] at the new arena, along with the countries [[Denmark]] and [[Norway]].

Local football club [[NK GOŠK Dubrovnik]] has been playing in the third tier of the Croatian football pyramid for years.

Local waterpolo club [[VK Jug]] is among the most successful in Croatian history, with many of its players being members of the [[Croatia men's national water polo team|Croatia national water polo team]].

The local chapter of the [[Croatian Mountaineering Society|HPS]] is ''HPD "Orjen"'', which had 96 members in 1936 under the Đuro Orlić presidency. At the time, it also had a [[skiing|ski]] section, a [[caving]] section and a [[photography]] section.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=1936 |orig-date=1936-05-15 |first=Josip |last=Plaček |title="Orjen" — Dubrovnik |page=235 |magazine=Hrvatski planinar |issn=0354-0650 |volume=32 |issue=7–8 |url=https://www.hps.hr/hp-arhiva/193607.pdf |language=hr}}</ref> Membership fell to 87 in 1937.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=1937 |orig-date=1937-05-05 |first=Josip |last=Plaček |title=Izvještaj tajnika |pages=221–252 |magazine=Hrvatski planinar |issn=0354-0650 |volume=33 |issue=7–8 |url=https://www.hps.hr/hp-arhiva/193707.pdf |language=hr}}</ref>{{rp|241,244}} Membership rose to 90 in 1938.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=1938 |orig-date=1938-05-05 |first=Josip |last=Plaček |title=Izvještaj tajnika |pages=222–254 |magazine=Hrvatski planinar |issn=0354-0650 |volume=34 |issue=7–8 |url=https://www.hps.hr/hp-arhiva/193807.pdf |language=hr}}</ref>{{rp|241}}

==Twin towns and sister cities==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Croatia}}
Dubrovnik is [[twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with:<ref>{{cite web |title=Gradovi prijatelji|url=https://www.dubrovnik.hr/gradska-uprava/gradsko-vijece/gradovi-prijatelji|website=dubrovnik.hr|publisher=Dubrovnik|language=hr|access-date=2019-10-28}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* {{flagdeco|ITA}} [[Venice]], Italy
* {{flagdeco|GER}} [[Bad Homburg vor der Höhe]], Germany
* {{flagdeco|TUR}} [[Beyoğlu]], Turkey
* {{flagdeco|Montenegro}} [[Cetinje]], Montenegro
* {{flagdeco|Austria}} [[Graz]], Austria
* {{flagdeco|SWE}} [[Helsingborg Municipality|Helsingborg]], Sweden
* {{flagdeco|CRO}} [[Imotski]], Croatia
* {{flagdeco|USA}} [[Monterey, California|Monterey]], United States
* {{flagdeco|ITA}} [[Ragusa, Italy|Ragusa]], Italy
* {{flagdeco|ITA}} [[Ravenna]], Italy
* {{flagdeco|FRA}} [[Rueil-Malmaison]], France
* {{flagdeco|China}} [[Sanya]], China
* {{flagdeco|BIH}} [[Sarajevo]], Bosnia and Herzegovina
* {{flagdeco|ITA}} [[Sorrento]], Italy
* {{flagdeco|CRO}} [[Vukovar]], Croatia
{{div col end}}

==In popular culture==
[[File:Game of Thrones - Dubrovnik Quay.jpg|thumb|Location of Kings Landing from ''[[Game of Thrones]]'']]
[[Roger Corman]]'s 1964 war thriller ''[[The Secret Invasion]]'' is set in Dubrovnik and was filmed on location there.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Secret Invasion|url=https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-secret-invasion|access-date=2021-06-13|website=Time Out Worldwide|date=10 September 2012 |language=en}}</ref> Although the story is fiction the fighting between Italian and German troops depicted at the end is based on fact.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Shelah|first=Menachem|date=1991|title=The Occupation of Dubrovnik by Waffen SS Division 'Prinz Eugen' on 12 September 1943|journal=Mediterranean Historical Review|volume=6|pages=105–111|doi=10.1080/09518969108569605}}</ref>

The [[HBO]] series ''[[Game of Thrones]]'' used Dubrovnik as a [[filming location]], representing the cities of [[King's Landing (A Song of Ice and Fire)|King's Landing]] and [[Qarth]].<ref>[http://www.jaywaytravel.com/blog/2012/dubrovnik-game-of-thrones/ Dubrovnik in the spotlight] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130311124626/http://www.jaywaytravel.com/blog/2012/dubrovnik-game-of-thrones/ |date=2013-03-11 }}, jaywaytravel.com.</ref>

Parts of ''[[Star Wars: The Last Jedi]]'' were filmed in Dubrovnik in March 2016, in which Dubrovnik was used as the setting for the casino city of [[List of Star Wars planets and moons#Cantonica|Canto Bight]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.croatiaweek.com/video-star-wars-episode-viii-starts-shooting-in-dubrovnik-this-week/|title=[VIDEO] Star Wars Episode VIII Starts Shooting in Dubrovnik this Week|work=Croatia Week|date=8 March 2016|access-date=20 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/star-wars-bringing-global-prestige-for-dubrovnik-02-12-2016|title=Star Wars Adds Shine to Croatian 'Pearl' Dubrovnik|first=Sven|last=Milekic|publisher=Balkan Insight|date=15 February 2016|access-date=20 March 2016}}</ref>

Dubrovnik was one of the European sites used in the Bollywood movie ''[[Fan (2016 film)|Fan]]'' (2016), starring [[Shah Rukh Khan]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tsering |first=Lisa |date=April 18, 2016 |title='Fan': Film Review |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/fan-film-review-884589/ |access-date=June 5, 2024 |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]}}</ref>

In early 2017, ''[[Robin Hood (2018 film)|Robin Hood]]'' was filmed on locations in Dubrovnik.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nottinghampost.com/take-a-look-around-the-set-of-the-new-robin-hood-movie-being-filmed-in-dubrovnik/story-30016420-detail/story.html|title=Take a look around the set of the new Robin Hood movie being filmed in Dubrovnik|date=29 December 2016|work=[[Nottingham Post]]|access-date=6 March 2017}}{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In Kander and Ebb's song "Ring Them Bells", the protagonist, Shirley Devore, goes to Dubrovnik to look for a husband and meets her neighbor from New York.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ring Them Bells Lyrics|url=http://www.metrolyrics.com/ring-them-bells-lyrics-liza-minnelli.html|website=MetroLyrics|access-date=24 October 2017|archive-date=11 July 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180711152020/http://www.metrolyrics.com/ring-them-bells-lyrics-liza-minnelli.html }}</ref>

The text-based video game ''[[Quarantine Circular]]''<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-05-22-mike-bithell-follows-up-subsurface-circular-with-quarantine-circular | title=Mike Bithell follows up Subsurface Circular with Quarantine Circular | work=[[Eurogamer]] | first=Wesley | last=Yin-Poole | date=2018-05-22 | access-date=2018-05-22}}</ref> is set aboard a ship off the coast of Dubrovnik, and a few references to the city are made throughout the course of the game.

The [[Dubrovniks]] were an Australian Independent rock band formed in 1987. Often regarded as a 'Supergroup' due to the band members having played in various established bands such as [[Hoodoo Gurus]], [[Beasts of Bourbon]], and [[The Scientists]]. The band chose their name due to two members of the band [[Roddy Radalj]] (guitar vocals) and Boris Sujdovik (bass) being born in Dubrovnik.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia | last = McFarlane | first = Ian | author-link = Ian McFarlane | encyclopedia = [[Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop]] | title = Whammo Homepage | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040405231007/http://www.whammo.com.au/index.asp | url = http://www.whammo.com.au/index.asp | archive-date = 5 April 2004 | access-date = 4 May 2014 | year = 1999 | publisher = [[Allen & Unwin]] | location = [[St Leonards, New South Wales|St Leonards, NSW]] | isbn = 1-86508-072-1 }}</ref>

==Gallery==
[[File:1 dubrovnik pano - edit1.jpg|upright=3|center|thumb|Panoramic view of Dubrovnik]]
[[File:Dubrovnik Luftaufnahme.jpg|upright=3|center|thumb|Panorama of Dubrovnik during sunrise and island of [[Lokrum]]]]
[[File:Croatie, Dubrovnik, Vue du sommet du Mont Srd (46317674945).jpg|upright=3|center|thumb|Panoramic view of Dubrovnik from [[Srđ]] mountain]]

==Notable people==
* [[Franco Sacchetti]] (Ragusa, 1332 – [[San Miniato]], 1400), poet and novelist
* [[Benedetto Cotrugli]] (Ragusa, 1416 – [[L'Aquila]], 1469), humanist and economist.
* [[Bonino de Boninis]] ([[Lastovo]], Ragusa, 1454 – [[Treviso]], 1528), typographist and bookseller.
* [[Elio Lampridio Cerva]] (Ragusa, 1463 – 1520), humanist, poet and lexicographer of [[Latin language]]
* [[Marin Držić]] (Ragusa, 1508 – Venice, 1567), playwright, poet and dramaturge
* [[Marino Ghetaldi]] (Ragusa, 1568 – 1626), mathematician
* [[Aaron ben David Cohen of Ragusa|Aaron ben David Cohen]] (Ragusa, ~1580 - 1656), rabbi
* [[Giorgio Raguseo]] (Ragusa, 1580 – 1622), philosopher, theologian, and orator
* [[Rajmund Zamanja]] (Ragusa, 1587 – 1647), theologist, philosopher and linguist.
* [[Ivan Gundulić]] (Ragusa, 1589 – 1638), writer and poet
* [[Anselmo Banduri]] (Ragusa, 1671 – [[Paris]], 1743), [[numismatist]] and [[antiquarian]]
* [[Ruđer Josip Bošković]] (Dubrovnik, 1711 – Milan, 1787) physicist, astronomer, mathematician, philosopher, diplomat, poet, theologian
* [[Mato Vodopić]] (Dubrovnik, 1816), [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Dubrovnik|bishop of Dubrovnik]]
* [[Matija Ban]] (Dubrovnik, 1818), poet, dramatist, and playwright
* [[Medo Pucić]] (Dubrovnik, 1821), writer and politician
* [[Konstantin Vojnović]] (Dubrovnik, 1832), politician, university professor and rector in the [[Kingdom of Dalmatia]] and [[Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia]] of the [[Habsburg monarchy]]
* [[city of Ragusa (ship)|Nicola Primorac]] (Dubrovnik, 1840), tobacconist, who together with a sailor and a ship's steward sailed the tiny [[yawl]] ''[[City of Ragusa (ship)|City of Ragusa]]'' twice across the Atlantic in 1870 and 1871
* [[Ivo Vojnović]] (Dubrovnik, 1857), writer
* [[Milan Rešetar]] (Dubrovnik, 1860), philologist
* [[Trpimir Macan]] (Dubrovnik, 1935), historian and lexicographer
* [[Tereza Kesovija]] (Dubrovnik, 1938), pop-classical-chanson singer
* [[Dubravka Tomšič Srebotnjak]] (Dubrovnik, 1940), pianist
* [[Milo Hrnić]] (Dubrovnik, 1950 - 2023), pop singer
* [[Andro Knego]] (Dubrovnik, 1956), basketball player, Olympic and World champion
* [[Banu Alkan]] (Dubrovnik, 1958), female actor
* [[Dragan Andrić (water polo)|Dragan Andrić]] (Dubrovnik, 1962), water polo player, two-time Olympic champion
* [[Mario Kopić]] (Dubrovnik, 1965), philosopher
* [[Nikola Prkačin]] (Dubrovnik, 1975), basketball player
* [[Vlado Georgiev]] (Dubrovnik, 1976), pop singer, composer, and songwriter
* [[Frano Vićan]] (Dubrovnik, 1976), water polo player, Olympic, World and European champion
* [[Emir Spahić]] (Dubrovnik, 1980), football player
* [[Miho Bošković]] (Dubrovnik, 1983), water polo player, Olympic, World and European champion
* [[Nikša Dobud]] (Dubrovnik, 1985), water polo player, Olympic and World champion
* [[Lukša Andrić]] (Dubrovnik, 1985), basketball player
* [[Hrvoje Perić]] (Dubrovnik, 1985), basketball player
* [[Andro Bušlje]] (Dubrovnik, 1986), water polo player, Olympic, World and European champion
* [[Paulo Obradović]] (Dubrovnik, 1986), water polo player, Olympic and World champion
* [[Maro Joković]] (Dubrovnik, 1987), water polo player, Olympic, World and European champion
* [[Ante Tomić (basketball)|Ante Tomić]] (Dubrovnik, 1987), basketball player
* [[Andrija Prlainović]] (Dubrovnik, 1987), water polo player, Olympic, World and European champion
* [[Sandro Sukno]] (Dubrovnik, 1990), water polo player, Olympic and World champion
* [[Elvis Sarić]] (Dubrovnik, 1990), football player 
* [[Danijal Brković]] (Dubrovnik, 1991), football player<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 June 2024 |title=Danijal Brkovic Selected NISA Nation Player of the Week |url=https://nisanation.com/news/2024/06/19/danijal-brkovic-selected-nisa-nation-player-of-the-week |access-date=12 February 2025 |website=NISA Nation}}</ref> 
* [[Petra Dičak]] (Dubrovnik, 1995), beach handball player 
* [[Mario Hezonja]] (Dubrovnik, 1995), basketball player
* [[Alen Halilović]] (Dubrovnik, 1996), football player
* [[Ana Konjuh]] (Dubrovnik, 1997), tennis player

==Acknowledgements==
Dubrovnik was included in the [[Travel + Leisure]] ''25 Most Beautiful Cities in the World'' list, ranked 18th.<ref> Bauso, Anne Olivia: [https://www.travelandleisure.com/most-beautiful-cities-in-the-world-6931288 25 Most Beautiful Cities in the World] ''travelandleisure.com''. Travel and Leisure. Published January 8, 2023. Access date April 5, 2023. </ref>

===Honorary citizens===
Named by Dubrovnik City Council:<ref>[https://www.dubrovnik.hr/gradska-uprava/gradsko-vijece/dobitnici-nagrade-grada-dubrovnika Dobitnici Nagrade Grada Dubrovnika] ''dubrovnik.hr''. City of Dubrovnik official website. Access date April 6, 2023. </ref>
* [[Kathy Wilkes]] (1991-1992)
* [[Ivan Supek]] (1997)
* [[Pope]] [[John Paul II]] (2003)
* [[Christopher Patten]] (2004)
* [[Stjepan Mesić]] (2009)
* [[Ante Gotovina]] (2012)
* [[Francesco Cossiga]] (2023)<ref>Marijanović Ladašić, Dubravka: [https://dubrovacki.slobodnadalmacija.hr/dubrovnik/vijesti/hrvatska-i-svijet/nadbiskup-zelimir-puljic-i-ratni-gradonacelnik-poljanic-o-francescu-cossigi-bio-je-zaljubljen-u-nas-grad-zvao-je-beograd-pitao-kako-su-mogli-bombardirati-hrvatsku-veneciju-i-poslao-nam-brodom-hranu-i-vodu-1260566 Nadbiskup Želimir Puljić i ratni gradonačelnik Poljanić o Francescu Cossigi: ‘Bio je zaljubljen u naš grad. Zvao je Beograd, pitao ‘kako su mogli bombardirati hrvatsku Veneciju i poslao nam brodom hranu i vodu‘] ''dubrovacki.slobodnadalmacija.hr''. Dubrovački vjesnik. Published 30 January 2023. Access date 30 June 2023. </ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Croatia}}
* [[Dalmatia]]
* [[Dubrovnik chess set]]
* [[Lovrijenac]]
* [[List of World Heritage Sites in Croatia]]
* [[List of people from Dubrovnik]]
* [[Republic of Ragusa]]
* [[Tourism in Croatia]]
* [[Walls of Dubrovnik]]

==Notes==
{{notes}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |author=Peterjon Cresswell |author2=Ismay Atkins |author3=Lily Dunn |name-list-style=amp |title=Time Out Croatia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VZweAAAACAAJ |access-date=10 March 2010 |year=2006 |publisher=Time Out Group Ltd. & Ebury Publishing, [[Random House|Random House Ltd.]] |edition=First |location=London, Berkeley & Toronto |isbn=978-1-904978-70-1 }}
* {{cite book |first=Robin |last=Harris |title=Dubrovnik, A History |location=London |publisher=Saqi Books |year=2003 |isbn=0-86356-332-5 }}
* {{cite book |editor=Adriana Kremenjaš-Daničić |title=Roland's European Paths |location=Dubrovnik |publisher=Europski dom Dubrovnik |year=2006 |isbn=953-95338-0-5 }}
* {{Cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2716347.stm |title=Dubrovnik's Heritage Under Threat |author=Marko Kovac |work=[[BBC News Online]] |date=February 4, 2003 }}
* {{Cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2008/0718/1216073242375.html |title=The 'Pearl' loses its lustre |author=Frank McDonald |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] |date=July 18, 2008 |access-date=March 2, 2017 |archive-date=October 17, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017231819/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2008/0718/1216073242375.html |url-status=dead }}
* {{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/07/style/will-greed-tarnish-croatias-gem.html?_r=0 |title=Will greed tarnish Croatia's gem? |author=Joshua Wright |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 7, 2004 |access-date=March 2, 2017 }}
* {{cite book|last=Vojnović|first=Lujo|title=Pad Dubrovnika (1797.-1806.)|publisher=Fortuna|isbn=978-953-95981-9-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YhlJAQAAMAAJ|year=2009}}
* {{cite journal | url = https://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=233950 | language = hr | title = Oko toponima Ragusa za Dubrovnik | trans-title = About the place-name Ragusa for Dubrovnik | first = Miroslav | last = Kravar | pages = 77&ndash;87 | journal = Folia onomastica Croatica | issn = 1330-0695 | publisher = Linguistic Research Institute of the [[Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts]] | issue = 3 | year = 1994 | access-date = 2 October 2021 }}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{Citation |publisher = W.J. Adams |location = London |title = Bradshaw's Hand-Book to the Turkish Empire |volume=1: Turkey in Europe |date = c. 1872 |chapter= Ragusa |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=shMIAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA346 |title-link = Bradshaw's Guide }}
* {{Citation |publisher = [[Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington]] |series=Foreign Countries and British Colonies |location = London |title = Austria-Hungary |author = David Kay |date = 1880 |chapter=Principal Towns: Ragusa |hdl=2027/mdp.39015030647005 }}
* {{Cite book |publisher = [[Murray's Handbooks for Travellers|J. Murray]] |location = London |author = R. Lambert Playfair |author-link = Lambert Playfair |title = Handbook to the Mediterranean |edition=3rd |date = 1892 |chapter-url= https://archive.org/stream/handbooktomedit01firgoog#page/n45/mode/2up |chapter= Ragusa }}
* {{Cite book |title = Austria-Hungary, Including Dalmatia and Bosnia |publisher = Karl Baedeker |location=Leipzig |date = 1905 |oclc = 344268 |chapter-url= https://archive.org/stream/austriahungaryi00firgoog#page/n476/mode/2up |chapter= Ragusa }}
* {{Cite book |publisher = McClurg & Co |author = F. K. Hutchinson |location = Chicago |title = Motoring in the Balkans |url = https://archive.org/details/motoringinbalka00unkngoog |date = 1909 |oclc = 8647011 |chapter= Ragusa |ol = 13515412M }}
* {{cite book |editor=Trudy Ring |title=Southern Europe |series=International Dictionary of Historic Places |volume=3 |year= 1996 |publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn |oclc=31045650 |chapter=Dubrovnik }}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Dubrovnik}}
* {{official|http://www.dubrovnik.hr/}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051225201018/https://whc.unesco.org/PG.CFM?cid=31&id_site=95 UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Old City of Dubrovnik]
* [https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/172803/Dubrovnik/ Encyclopædia Britannica.com: Dubrovnik]
* {{cite EB1911|wstitle= Ragusa (Dalmatia) |volume= 22 | pages = 816&ndash;817 |short= 1}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQegEro5Bfo Youtube.com: Dubrovnik — digital video reconstruction] — ''by GRAIL at Washington University''.
* {{Wiktionary-inline}}
* {{Wikivoyage-inline}}

{{County seats of Croatia}}
{{Subdivisions of Dubrovnik-Neretva County}}
{{Dubrovnik municipality}}
{{Croatian cities}}
{{World Heritage Sites in Croatia}}
{{Illyrians}}
{{Repubbliche Marinare}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Dubrovnik| ]]<!--please leave the empty space as standard-->
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