Dubrovnik Dubrovnik's appeal lies in the old town of Stari Grad, with its marble-paved squares, steep cobbled streets, tall houses, convents, churches, palaces, fountains and museums, all cut from the same light-coloured stone. Although Dubrovnik was heavily shelled in 1991, it has been largely restored. Dubrovnik's city walls were built between the 13th and 16th centuries, and are still intact today. Arguably the finest city walls in the world, they are 25m (82ft) high, with 16 towers. You can't beat the view, and a walk along the walls will probably be the highlight of your visit to Dubrovnik Dubrovnik has a remarkable history. An independent, merchant republic for 700 years (abolished by Napoleon in 1806), it traded with Turkey and India in the East (with a consul in Goa, India) and had trade representatives in Africa (Cape Verde Islands). It even had diplomatic relations with the English court in the middle ages. (There is a letter from Elizabeth I on display in the City Museum in Dubrovnik). Its status was such that powerful and rich Venice was envious of this Croatian-Slav city. The old town was completed in the 13th century and remains virtually unchanged to the present day. Tall ramparts surround it and there are only two entrances to the old town which lead to the Stradun, the city's promenade. One of the greatest pleasures for many visitors is to have a drink in one of the nearby cafes and watch the world go by, whilst they themselves are being watched by the city patron, St. Blaise, or Sveti Vlaho as the locals call him. In 1991/2, the Serbs shelled the city causing considerable damage, but thanks to local effort and international aid, the old town has been restored to its former beauty. (Read more) More information on the area: http://www.dubrovnik-area.com/eng.asp http://www.visit-croatia.co.uk/dubrovnik/ Dubrovnik © by Darko Zubrinic, Zagreb (1995) The territory of the famous Republic of Dubrovnik (Ragusa), though somehow disconnected from the main part of Croatia, was able to keep balance with great forces, which always had respect for its economic wellbeing and culture, and it remained free due to its numerous diplomatic and economic relations. This earliest Croatian city-state had as many as 85 consulates in various seaports throughout the Mediterranean, and diplomatic representatives in Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, Vienna, Paris and London. Dubrovnik was especially flourishing from the 15th to the 18th century, and was the chief rival to Venice. In the 16th century Dubrovnik had a fleet of 200 larger ships, which grew to 300 in the 18th century. Around 1780 the ships from Dubrovnik were sailed to New York, Baltimore etc. The English word ARGOSY (= Ragusin ship; Ragusa = Dubrovnik) soon after the first Dubrovnik ships arrived in England in 1510, became synonymous with a large, rich cargo ship. It is strange that "The World Book Dictionary", an important American dictionary of the English language, claims for "argosy" to be an "Italian (!) Ragusea (ship) of Ragusa, an Italian port (!) which traded extensively with England in the 1500's". See its 1995 edition, Vol. I, p. 110. An Italian naval historian Bartolomeo Crescentio, author of "La Nautica Mediterranea", 1602, Rome, states that the Ragusans were the best builders of galleons in the Mediterranean and that the Argosy was a galleon of Ragusa. On the front sail of a drawing of a Ragusan galleon appearing in that book is the coat of arms of Dubrovnik, and the back sail has the Croatian checkered arms. The Dubrovnik galleon Argosy is mentioned in two Shakespeare's plays: "Merchant of Venice" and "Taming the Shrew". The white flag of Dubrovnik contains a figure of Sv. Vlaho (St. Blais, St. Blasius, Armenian martyr from 3/4 centuries), patron of the City. Also other flags were in use on Dubrovnik ships, like the one with significant inscription LIBERTAS, or     LI BER TAS The famous Columbus crew in 1492 had at least two Ragusan mariners: Martin de Araguis, Pedro de Arague. The Ragusan name can be found in numerous places of the New World. Why? See Croatian mariners in the New World. Literature written in Croatian flourished in Dubrovnik. In the first place we should mention Marin Drzic (1508-1567), who is one of the most outstanding names of the European Renaissance literature, a predecessor to Moliére's comedy and Shakespeare's drama (Moliére 1622-1673, Shakespeare 1564-1616). It was observed long ago that Marin Drzic handled themes and motifs that appeared 50 years later in the works of Shakespeare. Also Shakespeare's The Tempest has its source in the old Croatian chronicle from the 12th century, known as the Chronicle of Father Dukljanin. Its Italian translation was published in 1601, a decade before The Tempest was composed (see [Mardesic], p. 151). One of the greatest Croatian poets was Ivan Gundulic (1589-1638), who wrote the well known and endeared patriotic verses in Croatian language: Oh beautiful, oh dear, oh sweet liberty, the gift that Allmighty God gave us, the cause of truth and all our glory, the only adornment of Dubrava; Neither all the silver and gold, nor the human lives can match your pure beauty!   The word LIBERTAS is written on the flag of the famous city of Dubrovnik and its freedom loving people. In 1272 Dubrovnik had its first statute (in eight books) and urban planning. The seventh book of the Statute contains exclusively regulations concerning Maritime Law, which is the oldest such document in the world. Among other things, the statute sais If a slave is embarked on a Dubrovnik ship - he must be considered as a free man. In 1296 Dubrovnik had a sewerage. In 1377 Dubrovnik had the first quarantene in Europe. The first European pharmacy that has been working continuously till these days was opened there in 1317. Among the oldest ones (from 1355) is also the pharmacy of Zagreb, in which a grandson of Dante was a pharmacist. According to some documents the pharmacy in the city of Trogir goes back as early as 1271. Dubrovnik's 1395 Insurance Law is the oldest in Europe. It had all aspects of contemporary maritime insurance. This law is three centuries older than Lloyd's insurance, London, which dates from the end of 17th century. An organized production of soap started in 1417. The first hospital (Domus Christi) in Dubrovnik was opened in 1347. The Dubrovnik Senat recognized it as the hospital in 1540. It was shelled and seriously damaged during the Greater Serbian aggression in 1991-1995. Slave trade in the Republic of Dubrovnik was forbidden in 1418 (in the British Empire in 1833). The first orphanage was founded in 1432. Dubrovnik had the oldest arboretum in Europe - Trsteno, founded in 1498, with many rare plants. It was seriously damaged during the Greater Serbian aggression in 1991-1995. Also precious forests around Dubrovnik were burnt down during the aggression, for example a large part of the imposing hill of Srdj above the City. Luciano Pavarotti & Friends: Together for the Children of Bosnia (Modena, Italy, 1995), with participation of Croatian singer Nenad Bach, New York, with his tune Can We Go Higher?. Bono, singer from U2, recites the famous Gundulic's verses O lijepa, o draga, o slatka slobodo from the 17th century in Croatian language (= Oh beautiful, oh dear, oh sweet liberty) in the song entitled Miss Sarajevo, sang by Pavarotti In 1497, a German pilgrim Arnold von Harff wrote in his travel book a short list of 56 Croatian words, as he heard them when talking to citizens of Dubrovnik, with explanation in German. In the 16th century a German pilgrim Konrad von Grünemberg wrote that Dubrovnik is "the most important city in Croatian Kingdom" (die kunglich hobstat in Croattien). In 1506 an English Sir Richard Guylforde wrote that "Dubrovnik is in Sclavonia or Dalmatia, which is a province in Kingdom of Croatia." See [Raukar], pp. 360-362. The beauty of remains of numerous Croatian stone monuments with interlace ornaments found in Dubrovnik and its environs is truly amazing. For example, only in the church of St. Peter the Great (crkva sv. Petra Velikog), the remains of which are hidden under the floor of The Luka Sorkocevic Art School in Dubrovnik, about two hundred fragments with interlaced patterns were found! See [Early Medieval Sculpture in Durbovnik].   Some other Croatian monuments with interlace ornaments can be seen here, and also in Boka kotorska. Very old and valuable is the Dubrovnik Missal from 12th century, now kept in the Bodleian Library in Oxford. Written in Latin, in Beneventan script, it contains prayers and some chants unique in Europe. See [Menalo, pp. 34-35]. Luka Sorkocevic (1734-1789), whose beautiful symphonies are performed throughout the world, lived in Dubrovnik. His two sisters were the first women-composers in Croatia. Here is a detail from the Dubrovnik polyptich by Lovro Dobricevic from 1466, representing an angel playing portative, a small portable organ. Ivan Mane Jarnovic (1740-1804) was an outstanding Croatian violinist and composer of the 18th century, probably from Dubrovnik. He had a true European career - playing, composing and conducting in France (Paris), Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Scandinavian countries, England. Also played the first violin in the orchestra of the Russian empress Katarina II. Jarnovic composed about 50 chamber instrumental pieces, 22 violin concerts (17 preserved), and is known for having introduced the romanza as a slow movement into the structure of the violin concert. His life is described in a novel Jarnowick by G. Desnoisterres - Le Brisoys, Paris 1844, and in a collection Scènes de la vie d'artiste by P. Smith (Une leçon de Jarnovic, Paris, 1844). Let us mention the name of Dobric Dobricevic (Boninus de Boninis de Ragusia), Ragusan born on the island of Lastovo, 1454-1528, who worked as a typographer in Venice, Verona, Brescia. His last years he spent as the dean of the Cathedral church in Treviso. His bilingual (Latin - Italian) editions of "Aesopus moralisatus, Dante's "Cantica" and "Commedia del Divino" were printed first in Brescia in 1487, and then also in Lyon, France. We know of about 50 of his editions, the greatest number belonging to the period of 1483-1491 that he spent in Brescia - about 40. Croatia is in possession of 19 of his editions in 30 copies. The greatest number of his editions is in possession of the British Museum, London (22). The first printed Croatian Cyrillic book was The Book of Hours (or the Dubrovnik breviary, or Oficje) published in Venice in 1512, prepared by Franjo Ratkovic from Dubrovnik. One copy is held in Paris in Bibliothèque Nationale. There is also another copy in the Codrington Library at All Souls College, Oxford (q.14.9); it was probably part of the founding bequest of Christopher Codrington in 1710. It is, admittedly, slightly less complete than the Paris copy, lacking 19 leaves. Many thanks to prof. Ralph Cleminson (University of Portsmouth, UK) for information about the Oxford copy. Bonifacije Drkolica (known also as Darcoliza, Drakolica, Drkolicic, Ragusinus, Stjepovic etc.), born on the island of Lopud near Dubrovnik in the beginning of 16th century, started his career as a Franciscan and continued his study of philosophy in Paris. In Rome he met many famous persons, including the future pope Sixto V, whose roots are Croatian on his fathers side. Since 1550 he was appointed the apostolic guardian in Jerusalem, and apostolic vicar of the Holly Land, which meant that he was responsible for all Catholics on the Near East. With his diplomatic skills, having visited several times Constantinople and once Persia, he managed to renew all sanctuaries in Palestina. He renewed the basilica of St. Grave, and was the first after St. Hellena, mother of tsar Constanine, to enter and examine the St. Grave, about which he made a written report. Since 1561. he is apostolic visitator in Hungary, Poland and Russia. In 1564. he was appointed the Ston bishop (Ston is a lovely town near Dubrovnik). He was also in mission of Pope Pio IV in Russia at Tsar Ivan Grozny, and in Spain at King Phillip II. His book Liber de perenni cultu Terrae Sanctae (Venice 1573, 2nd edition in 1875) dedicated to pilgrims, is important for the study of situation in Palestina in his time. He also published his speech held at the Trident council, in the booklet Liber de ortu clerricorum in ecclesia (Venice, 1573). For more details see [Zoric]. Nikola Sorgoevic from Dubrovnik wrote an important book about navigation, shipbuilding, and tides, published in 1574. Didak Izaija Cohen, known under pseudonyms Dydacus Pyrrhus Lusitanus and Iacobus Flavius Eborensis, was a renowned Portugese physician and poet of the Jewish origin. He lived in Dubrovnik from 1558 until his death in 1599, i.e. for more than 40 years. He devoted some of his verses to the beauty of Dubrovnik. Another famous Jew exiled from Portugal who found refuge in Dubrovnik (1556-1558) was Amatus Lusitanus (Juan Rodriguez), a leading European physician of the 16th century. When Dominko Zlataric, a 16th century Croatian writer in Dubrovnik, translated Electra from the Greek original to Croatian (not via the Italian translation), he approximated the Hellenic spirit by Christianizing it, according to the measure and spirit of his own time. As he wrote himself, he made his Electra Croatian. He dedicated some of his translations into Croatian ("u hrvatski izlozene") to Juraj Zrinski, son of the Sziget hero Nikola Subic Zrinski. Zlataric's teacher and later a close friend was the above mentioned Dydacus Pyrrhus. André Vaillant, a famous French specialist for Slavic languages, defended his thesis entitled La langue de Dominko Zlataric, poéte ragusain de la fin du XVIe siècle in 1926. That same year he published Les Piesni razlike de Zlataric. Vice Bune (1559-1612), a Dubrovnik merchant born on the island of Lopud, diplomat and high state official of Spanish kings, for some time occupied the position of viceroy in Mexico. He had important diplomatic missions for the Dubrovnik Republic on the courts of Naples, Milano and Madrid. The first cofee-house in England was opened in London in the 17th century by a native of Dubrovnik, a certain Pasque Rosee (probably distorted form of Raguseo). In 1983 at North Stoneham, England (a few kilometers from Southampton), a stone slab was uncovered under a boarded floor near the choir stall in the Church of North Stoneham (6 feet 8 inches by 3 feet 8 inches). It contains emblems of St Mathew, St Luke, St Mark and St John. Carved around the edge of the stone is the inscription: "The Guild of the Slavonians (Croats) in the year 1491." It is very probable that the stone was initially in Southampton in a chapel that belonged to the Guild of Croatian mariners there. One of the earliest Croatian mariners in Southampton is Blasius de Jar' from Zadar, mentioned already in 1396, while in the 15th century there are many other Croatians in Venetian galleys: from Dubrovnik, Zadar, Split, Zagreb, Kotor, Budva, Bar. Moreover, according to collected data from that period we know that a great part of the staff in Venetian galleys was composed of the Croats. See [Eterovich], p. 21, and Lovorka Coralic: Hrvatska bratovstina u juznoj Engleskoj (XV.-XVI.st.), Marulic, 1998, No1, p.53-59. It is little known that there existed Old Dubrovnik (Stari grad Dubrovnik), which refers to a Bosnian town north of Sarajevo. It had disappeared after the fall of Bosnia under the Turks in 1463. This town in Middle Bosnia was founded by merchants from the famous Dubrovnik. A 1288 muniment has been found (a part of Acta Croatica), written in the Glagolitic Script, which mentions Stipan from old Dubrovnik, the glagolitic bishop of Modrus in Lika, see [Modrus, p. 112]. It was found by Franjo Glavinic near Trsat in Rijeka. Even today there is a town in the Kosovo region near Pristina, called Janjevo, whose citizens are old descendants of Dubrovnik merchants. They have uninterrupted, documented history of seven centuries. According to 1991 recension there were still about 4,000 Croatian Catholics there, while after Greater Serbian policy of ethnical cleansing only 320 of them were left in very difficult conditions. It is little known that there was the Society of Dalmatians in England already in 1590. Personal information by Adam S. Eterovich. It is interesting that the Dubrovnik merchants had their settlement in the city of Gvendolin in India in the 16th century, where they built the Church of St. Blase in 1653, which exists even today. In Goa in India there existed a strong Dubrovnik colony around the Church of St. Blase. In 1540 there arived St. Francis Xaver on his mission to India, and later to Japan. One of the most outstanding Dubrovnik mathematicians, physicists and astronomers of the 17th century was Stjepan Gradic (1613-1683), who was a Director of the Vatican Library. Some of his experimental results are cited by Jacob Bernoulli, and his tractate about navigation incited Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz to discuss the problem of steering ships using helms. Gradic's book Disserationes physisco-mathematicae quatour was published in Amsterdam in 1680. He died in Rome, where according to his last wish he was burried in the Croatian church of St. Jerome. Gjuro Baglivi (born in Dubrovnik, 1668-1707) was a professor of anatomy and theoretical medicine in Rome (Sapienza) already at the age of 28, and the Pope's physician. He developed a theory that living fibre was the anatomical and physiological element of all pathological processes (fibral pathology). He also had some essential discoveries in the fine structure of muscles. His collected works written in the Latin language had more than 20 editions, translated into Italian, French, German and English. Acadé Française accepted him as "membre d'honneur". Baglivi was also a member of the Royal Society in London and of the Accademia dell'Arcadia. His Ragusan colleague Anselme Banduri (1675-1743) became a famous antique numismatist in Paris, and entered Académie des Inscriptions et Médailles. Gjuro Dubrovcanin (Gjuro de Ragusa) published his "Epistolae Mathematicae" in Paris in 1680. The greatest and most famous Croatian philosopher and scientist Rudjer Boskovic (Boscovich, 1711-1787), was born in Dubrovnik, where he was educated in the Jesuit Collegium. He was a member of the Royal Society of London, a member of St.Petersbug Academy, "membre correspondant" of the French Academie Royale des Sciences, a member of the Accademia dell'Arcadia, a professor at many European universities. Very delicate work on repairing the cupola of St. Peter's church in the Vatican (diameter: 42m) was entrusted to R. Boskovic, a proof that he was a leading European authority for static computations and civil engineering of that time. Upon the request of Austrian Empress Maria Theresia, Boskovic was solving the problem of stability of Royal Library (now National Library) in Vienna. Portrait of Boskovic by the English painter Edge Pine (London, 1760). He was also the founder of the astronomical observatory in Brera near Milan. In 1773 a charter granted by Louis XV made him a French subject. Soon he was appointed by Louis XV to a very prestigeous position and became the Director of Naval Optics of the French Navy in Paris (Optique Militaire de la Marine Royale de France). He left to his adoptive country an achromatic telescope and micrometre. Boskovic spent nine years in France, and became a good friend to many outstanding scientist, like the mathematician Clairaut, Lalande, Buffon. When D'Alembert took him for Italian, he hastened to correct him. Boskovic stayed 7 months in England and met many famous scientists there: James Bradley (famous astronomer), George Parker (president of the Royal Academy), Samuel Johnson (Lexicographer), Edmund Burke (philosopher and political writer), Joshua Reynolds (the first president of the Royal Academy of Arts), and others. It is interesting that in England he designed a telescope filled with water in all its components, which was implemented at the Greenwich observatory in 1871, that is, 84 years after his death. He also met Benjmanin Franklin, who showed him some of his electrical experiments, see an article by Branko Franolic. Boskovic was also a brilliant Croatian Latinist poet. He wrote an extensive scientific epic De solis et lunae defectibus (On Solar nad Lunar Eclipse) published in London in 1760. It contains 5570 Latin verses, and was dedicated to the Royal Society of England whose memeber he was. In the title one can read "Father r. Boskovic, of the Jesuit Order", although at that time it was forbidden for Jesuits to live and work in England. The epic was written in the manner of Roman classics, in dactilus hexameter. For more information see Latin as literary language among the Croats When Charles Burney, a well known English musicologist, met Boskovic in Milan, he wrote: ...if all Jesuits were like this father, who uses the higher science and the work of mind to advance science for the happiness of mankind, then it were to be wished that this society were as durable as is this world. Boskovic was burried in the church of S. Maria Podone in Milano. French astronomer Joseph-Jerome de Lalande wrote the following lines in his book Voyage en Italie: Le plus grand mathématicen que l'aie connu à Rome est M. Boscovich, alors jésuite: il est né à Raguse en 1711, mais il vint à Rome étant encore fort jeune, et après avoir longtemps professé les mathématiques au collège romain il fut fait professeur à Milan et ensuite à Pavie; mais l'on voyait avec peine des talents supérieurs comme les siens, concentrés dans cette derniére ville; non seulement il n'y a personne en Italie dont les ouvrages soient aussi célàbres dans toute l'Europe que les siens, mais je ne connais pas de géomètre plus spirituel et plus profond que lui. Sa mesure de la terre, son beau traité sur la loi de la pesanteur, ses découvertes sur la lumière et sur diverses parties de la physisque, de l'astronomie, de la géométrie, son poème sur les éclipses, imprimé à Londres, à Venise et à Paris, peuvent doner une idée du nombre et de l'étendue de ses talents; mais il faut l'avoir connu particulérement, pour savoir combien il a de génie, combien son caractère est aimable, sa conversation intéressante, et ses idées sublimes dans tout les genres. En 1773, il a été appelé en France et naturalisé Français. Il est actuellement [1784] à Bassano, occupé à faire imprimer ses nouveaux ouvrages, en cinq volumes. William Thompson-Kelvin, the English physicist (19/20 centuries), once expressed his opinion that his atomic theory is a pure "Boskovicianism." Still earlier, Sir Humphry Dady, professor of physics and chemistry at the Royal Institution in London from 1802 till 1827, mentioned the name of Boskovic on several occasions in his Diary (Commonplace Book), accepting his atomistic theory. The diary is kept in the archives of the Royal Insitution in London. With his theory of forces R. Boskovic was a forerunner of modern physics for almost two centuries. It was described in his most important book Theoria Philosophiae naturalis (Vienna 1758, Venice 1763, London 1922, American edition in 1966). Werner Heisenberg (Nobel prize for physics in 1932) wrote the following: Among scientists from the 18th century Boskovic occupies outstanding place as a theologian, philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer. His "Theoria philosophiae naturalis" announced hypotheses which were confirmed only in the course of last fifty years. Indeed, see his graph of regions attractive and repelling forces between material points (elementary particles), the closest region being repelling, tending to infinity (nuclear force!; see here; published in his Dissertationes de lumine pars secunda, 1748), and the farthest region is repelling, corresponding to gravitational force: This graph was since 1763 called the Boskovic curve (curva Boscovichiana). Robert Marsh, the author of Physics and Poets, credits Boskovic with the idea of FIELD. Faraday and others took the idea from him, see here. He was the first to apply probability to the theory of errors. Laplace and Gauss acknowledged their indebtedness to his work which led to the Legendre principle of least squares in statistics (stating that the best fitting line is the one with the smallest sum of squared residuals). He was also very active in astronomy and diplomacy. A great many letters sent to his sister and two brothers written in Croatian witness that he did not neglect his mother tongue. So in one of his letters he wrote that in one of Europan cities he saw soldiers - "our Croats" (nase Hrvate). He also wrote poetry. Most of his manuscripts are kept in the special Boskovic Archives in the Rare Books library in Berkeley, University of California, USA: altogether 180 items and including 66 scientific treatises, plus rich correspondence comprising over 2,000 letters, among others with Euler, D'Alambert, Lagrange, Laplace, Jacobi and Bernoulli; he had intense correspondence with his friend Voltaire. Some of his books, articles and letters, together with other documents, are kept in the famous Franciscan monastery (Samostan Male Brace) in Dubrovnik. Its library possesses 30,000 volumes, 22 incunabula, 1,500 valuable handwritten documents. It was severely damaged in the aggression in 1991/92 (shelled by the Serbian Army - 37 direct hits). Rugjer Boskovic, at Catholic Encyclopedia Branko Franolic: Scientists honoured by the Royal Society Nensi Brailo: LIBROCIDE: DESTRUCTION OF LIBRARIES IN CROATIA, 1991-1995 The names of Rudjer Boskovic and Marin Getaldic (Ghetaldus) appear on an extensive list of the Chronology of Mathematics, where you can find additional biographical sources related to Bosskovic held in the USA and UK. One of the greatest English 20th century novlists Aldous Huxley, in Antic Hay (1923) mentions Boskovic, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Händel. Rudjer Boskovic, Gelehrter und Diplomat, by Kresimir Veselic, Hagen, Germany Rudjer Boskovic, numerous links Cornelia Wright (1757-1837), an English writer, in her "Authobiography'' left us important information about Raymund Kunic (Croatian latinist and grecist), whom she met in Rome. She also met Rugjer Boskovic in Paris, whom she admired as a "matehmatician and astronomer and as a good Latin poet who like many of his countrymen had the gift of composing Latin verse with facility''. It is very likely due to her acquaintance with Kunic that the first translation of a Croatian poem into English arose (a poem by Ignjat Gjurgjevic, translated into English from its Latin translation). During the French occupation in 1808 the Republic of Dubrovnik was abolished, although the Senat refused such a decision with indignation. On the other hand, it is interesting to mention René Bruère Desrivaux (1736-1817), a French consul in Dubrovnik about 30 years earlier, who declared: j'aime les Ragusins comme les Francais. His son, born probably in Tours or Lyon, has been completely "ragusinated," and became a ragusin poet - Marko Bruerovic (~1765-1823). In 1793 he was engaged for 4 years in diplomatic work in Bosnia (Travnik) as commercial attaché. He also helped Jewish merchants in Sarajevo. His wife was Katarina Hodic, a Bosnian Croat who gave him two children. See [Dolbeau], p 38. The name of Katarina is very frequent among the Croats in central Bosnia. This is related to the last Bosnian Queen Katarina. Antun Sorkocevic (Compte de Sorgo, 1775-1841), a good friend of Marko Bruerovic, was the last ambassador of his native Republic of Ragusa in France, where he spent 35 years. Author of numerous publications, he became member of Académie Celtique (1806), Société des Antiquaries (1828). Among other books he published "Mémoire sur la langue et les moeurs des peuples slaves", "Fragments sur l'histoire et la littérature de la République de Raguse et sur la langue slave", translated Ivan Gundulic'es Osman (Osman, poéme illyrien en vingt chants) in 1838. Antonia Gertruda Pusic (1805-1883), outstanding Portugese poetess and writer, is the daughter of Antun Pusic (Pushich) (1760-1838), the Croat from Dubrovnik, doctor of literature and science, officer of the Dubrovnik navy. The city of Dubrovnik endured a great many attacks in its history. Only during the Serbian Nemanjic dynasty (1168-1371) the Serbs performed 15 unsuccessful attempts to occupy Dubrovnik: in 1172, 1196, 1215, 1228, 1252, 1253, 1254, 1265-1268, 1275, 1301, 1302, 1317, 1318, 1325, 1328. The greatest tragedies in the history of Dubrovnik were the earthquake and the fire in 1667, and the well known Greater Serbian aggression in 1991/92. The population of the Dubrovnik region was 82.4% Croatian before the aggression, with only 6.7% Serbs. The Dominican convent from 14th century is one of the most beautiful architectural masterpieces of the city. Very famous are paintings by Nikola Bozidarevic (16th century), especially the one in which Sv. Vlaho holds the model of the city in his hands. During the French occupation of the City in the beginning of 19th century the convent served as a stable for horses! The philosophical and medical works of Ibn-Sina (Avicenna, 980-1037) are a part of the rich collection of our oldest libraries. The Dominican Library, founded in 13th century in Dubrovnik, possesses one of the oldest Latin translations of Avicenna's works on metaphysics and logic and a tractate of St. Thomas Aquinus - Concordantie super Physiceu (14th century). It was one of the biggest European libraries in the period between the 15th and the 17th century. Now it possesses 16,000 volumes, 240 incunabula and important archives (shelled by the Serbian army in 1991/92 - 25 direct hits). Barbarian rapsody (from the presentation by prof.dr. Enver Sehovic, University of Zagreb) Bernard Shaw: Those who seek paradise on Earth should come to Dubrovnik and see Dubrovnik. The most famous street in Dubrovnik is the Stradun street (shelled in 1991 during Greater Serbian agression): The city state of Dubrovnik unanimously decreed that the Jews should have a permanent living quarter in the city. The Ghetto was formed in 1546. In the city there is a street called Zudioska ulica (Jewish street). It is not widely known that Dubrovnik has the second oldest Jewish synagogue in Europe (shelled by the Serbian army in 1991/92). Here we would like to stress that only half a dozen of the 2000 Jews in Croatia have chosen to emigrate to Isreal since the Serbain aggression began. To be more precise, the Dubrovnik synagogue represents the oldest Sephardic synagogue in Europe, and the second oldest among Ashkenazi and Sephardic synagogues in Europe. The oldest Jewish cemetery on the territory of former Yugoslavia was in the town of Cernik, near Nova Gradiska in Slavonia. The cemetery has been totally destroyed by the Serbs in 1991. When German Gestapo entered Dubrovnik in 1941, the annals ("Pinkes") of the Jewish Sephardic community were confiscated. This represents irreparable loss for the Jewish and Croatian culture. The annals described the history of the community and the city itself over a very long period, starting with 1600. Saving the famous Sarajevo Haggadah (Jewish Bible) from German Nazis in 1941. The Inter-University Center in Dubrovnik hosted thousands of scholars from all over the world since its foundation in 1970. In 1991 it was completely destroyed during Greater Serbian agression. In a fire caused by misiles fired at the building dissapeared the valuable library with collection of 25,000 volumes of books and 205 periodicals. See [Wounded Libraries in Croatia, p. 48]. See destructed Dubrovnik roofs: roof1 and roof2. Recommended literature: Robin Harris: Dubrovnik: A History, Saqi Books, 2003 (550 pp.) Some photos are taken from the web page Dubrovnik, été 2003 with permition (photos by Gwendolyn Prakash - Notre conclusion sur cette ville : Si d'aventure un week-end vous ne savez quoi faire, prenez un aller/retour par avion et visitez la sans hésitaion, vous ne serez pas déçus !). Konavle   To the east of Dubrovnik is the region of Konavle. Its eastmost part is the cape of Ostra (rt Ostra, also imprecisely called "Prevlaka"), which is an interesting stretching about 2,5 km long and several hundred meters wide. This area was in possession of the Dubrovnik Republic since the first half of 15th century, when it was bought from Bosnian dignitaries in 1419 and 1426. As such it is a part of Croatia (also during the ex-Yugoslav communist period).   It is important to note that in the Konavle region a very old remain of Croatian glagolitic inscription on the marble plate was discovered in 1990's (Konvale Glagolitic fragment), dating from the year 1060, that is, from 11th century (see [Fucic] and [Kapetanic, Zagar]). Also some stecak tombstones bearing Croatian cyrillic inscriptions, have a few glagolitic letters. See [Kapetanic, Konavoski epigraficki spomenici]. As shown by dr. Agnezija Pantelic, well known Kiev and Sinai folia, written in the Glagolitic script, were used in the Dubrovnik bishopric by the end of 11th century (see [O Kijevskim i Sinajskim...]. It is of interest to stress that Glagolitic monuments carved in stone exist only among the Croats (in today's Croatia and parts of BiH), nowhere else. The region of Konavle, occupied by the Yugoslav (Serbian and Montenegrin) army in 1991/92, served as a basis for ferocious attacks on the city of Dubrovnik. The lovely town of Cilipi near the Dubrovnik airport was devastated to the point that no house was left with a roof, and the Cilipi church was destroyed. By aggressive and primitive intrigues (claiming that borders of states in ex-Yugoslav federation were only administrative) and pseudohistory, the Yugoslav and Montenegrin official institutions and diplomacy are trying in vain to question Croatian jurisdiction over this territory. For more details see [Macan]. Literature about Konavle: Forgery on the Origins of the Population of Konavle - Historical Pseudo-Science on Dubrovnik, Niko Kapetanic and Nenad Vekaric, Dubrovnik, 1997 Niko Kapetanic, Nenad Vekaric: Stanovnistvo Konavala 1, 2, summary, HAZU, Dubrovnik 1991, ISBN 953-154-311-9, ISBN 953-154-313-5 Konavoski rodovi 1, 2, HAZU, Zagreb - Dubrovnik 2001, 2002, ISBN 953-154-373-9, ISBN 953-154-374-7 Niko Kapetanic: Konavoski epigraficki spomenici iz vremena Dubrovacke Republike, HAZU, Zagreb - Dubrovnik 2000, ISBN 953-154-442-5 Konvale u proslosti, sadasnjosti i buducnosti 1, 2, Zbornik radova sa znanstvenog skupa odrzanog u Cavtatu; 1998, 1999, Dubrovnik, ISBN 953-154-314-3, ISBN 953-154-315-1 Zdenko Zeravica, Ljiljana Kovacic: KONAVLE, srednjovjekoval groblja, medieval cemetries, Dubrovnik, Dubrovacki muzeji, Arheoloski muzej, 2002., ISBN 953-7037-01-0 Konavle by Pero Pusic Dalmatia Boka kotorska The region of Boka kotorska is situated on the south-east of Dubrovnik and Konavle, along the Adriatic coast from Herceg Novi to very near the town of Bar. It was named after the town of Kotor, which is placed in a fascinating fjord. Boka kotorska was annexed to Montenegro in 1945. At that time it was populated mostly by Croatian Catholics (Bokelji). Now the ethnic situation in this region is entirely different, especially after 1991. The Bokelj's had a very strong fleet, which counted as many as 300 ships in the 18th century. Boka was a rival to Dubrovnik and Venice. It is worth mentioning that one of the Bokeljs - Matej Zmajevic or Matija Zmajevic (1680-1735) - was the admiral of Baltic navy and the ship-builder of the famous Russian tsar Peter I the Great, and for whom he built a fleet in Voronez. Matej Zmajevic had great successes in maritime battles against Sweden, and for this reason he was decoreated with the order of Aleksandar Nevski. Zmajevic was burried with greatest military honours in the Catholic church in Moscow. Peter the Great sent some of his young officers (bolyars) to the town of Perast in Boka in order to study maritime sciences there. Boka kotorska region is under protection of UNESCO, due to its very rich Croatian cultural heritage. The region around the town of Kotor is situated in probably the most beautiful fjord in Europe. In 1979 there was an earthquake that destroyed or seriously damaged numerous cultural monuments. Very important historical source for early Croatian history is Libellus Gothorum, a chronicle from 12th century known in Croatia as Ljetopis popa Dukljanina. It was written by Archbishop Grgur of Bar, born in Zadar, and Bar is a coastal town near Boka kotorska. The chronicle represents the oldest historiographic work of Croatian Middle Ages. It is interesting that Tripun Kotoran, a Kotor goldsmith, worked on the court of Ivan Grozny in Moscow in 1476. One of the earliest Croatian typographers was Andrija Paltasic (~1450-1500), born in the town of Kotor. He was one of the best Venetian typographers around 1480, who printed more than 40 incunabula, among them the Bible in Italian language. We also mention by the way that a very old missal from 12th century - the Kotor missal, is held in St. Petersburg, Russia. Nikola Modruski (Lat. name Nicolaus Machinensis, Italian name Nicolo di Cattaro, ~1427-1480), born in Boka kotorska, was bishop of Modrus in Lika, Pope's representative at the court of Stjepan Tomasevic in Bosnia, and on the court of the Hungarian king Matijas Corvin in Budim, his huge library was left to the newly founded Vatican library (founded by Pope Sixto IV). In 1478/79 he wrote a treatise in defense of the Glagolitic Script which he sent from Rome to the Modrus bishopric. It is regarded to be the first polemic treatise in the history of Croatian literature, and it was written in the Glagolitic Script. Buried in in the church of Sta Maria del popolo in Rome. Sea-captain Krsto Corko, born in Perast, was Spanish Marquis and Governor of Ballearic Islands in the second half of the 17th century. The first baloonist in Croatia was Karlo Mrazovic, who performed two baloon flights in Zagreb with his own baloons in 1789 and 1790. He was born in Boka kotorska. See [Croatia - Europe, III, Barok i prosvjetiteljstvo, p. 426, the article by Vladimir Muljevic]. Captain Petar Zelalic (Zhelalich), 18th century, born in Boka kotorska, was a member of Order of Maltese Knights. He became famous after his ship defeated a huge Turkish ship called "The Ottoman Crown." In 1782 Krsto Mazarevic from the city of Kotor (in today's Montenegro) performed a flight in two balloons. Another outstanding Croat is captain Ivan Visin born in Prcanj in Boka. His travel around the world started in Antwerpen in 1852 (his ship "Splendido" was 30m long, 311 metric tons of cargo) and ended successfully in Trieste in 1859. He was only the sixth after Magellan to do a similar exploit. For his brave undertaking, which was of the historical importance, he had been decorated by a flag of honour Merito navali by the Austrian Emperor (in fact, Visin was the only one who ever obtained such an honour). The trophy is held in Prcanj. Visin also became the honorary citizen of Trieste. Antun Lukovic, descendant of an old Croatian family from Boka kotorska, was the chief engineer in the project of building the Suez Canal (1859-1869). The Bokelj Marine 809 (Bokeljska mornarica 809) is a confraternity whose aim is to preserve more than a thousand year's Croatian maritime tradition. In 809 the remains of St Tripun were brought by Croatian mariners from Asia Minor to Kotor. The Cathedral of St Tripun in Kotor is the oldest Croatian cathedral in this area built by Croats in 1166. It is worth mentioning that New Yugoslavia participated at the international maritime exhibition EXPO'98 in Lisabon, Portugal, with Croatian cultural and maritime heritage of Boka kotorska. This very old and rich heritage was presented as Yugoslav without even mentioning that it belongs to the Croats in Boka kotorska. One can say that the Croats had in fact two pavilions in Lisabon: one belonging to Republic of Croatia (generally considered as one of the most original pavillions on the exhibition), and the other hidden under the name of Yugoslavia. Yugoslav press (and even some Croatian!) used to add an innocent number 1 to 809, to obtain 1809, thus reducing the rich history of Croatian mariners in Boka kotorska for no less than 1000 years! A delegation of the Bokelj mariners from Boka kotorska participated with their traditional uniforms at the funeral of Stjepan Radic in Zagreb, after his assassination in the Yugoslav Parliament in Belgrade in 1929. Boka kotorska is also known as the Bay of Croatian saints. Out of six Croatian saints and blessed, three of them are from Boka kotorska: St Leopold Bogdan Mandic (1866-1942), blessed Ozana Kotorka (Kata Kosic, 1493-1565), blessed Gracija from Mul (1438-1508). St Leopold Bogdan Mandic (1866-1942, memorial day 30th July) was born in Herceg Novi in Boka kotorska, and died in Padova, Italy. Physically malformed and delicate, having height only 1m 35cm, with clumsy walk and stuttering, he developed tremendous spriritual strength. Althogh he wanted to be missionary in Eastern Europe, he spent almost all of his adult life in Italy, and lived in Padova from 1906 until the end of his life. He spent also one year in Italian prison during the WWI, since he did not want to renounce his Croatian nationality, see here. He dreamed unceasingly about going to Orient, but one day he gave Communion to a very good person. And, as he described: After finishing her thanksgiving, she came to me with this message: "Father, Jesus ordered me to say this to you: Your Orient is each of the souls you assist by hearing confessions." (see here). He became known as Apostle of Confession and Apostle of Unity. Here is the famous prayer of this forerunner of today's Ecumenism: O God, source of life and love, you gave Saint Leopold a tremendous compassion for sinners and a desire for church unity. Through his prayers, grant that we may acknowledge our need of forgiveness, show love to others, and strive to bring about a living unity among Christians. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen. Also the famous Pope Sixto V has Croatian roots from Boka kotorska on his father's side. Out of 38 churches existing in the Kotor region (annexed to Montenegro in 1945) 36 are Catholic and only 2 are Orthodox (one of them was a gift of the Croats in Boka kotorska). On the photo you can see two beautiful churches on islets in the Boka bay, belonging to the Croatian Catholic community in Montenegro, built in the first half of the 17th century (Sveti Juraj and Gospa od Skrpjela near the town of Perast). It is interesting that the Church of Gospa od Skrpjela (on the photo) is built on an artificial island! Each year a procession of Croatian Catholics encircles in numerous fishing boats the island of Gospa od Skrpjela and pilgrims throw pebbles around it. An important monument, showing uninterrupted presence of the Croats in Boka kotorska during many centuries, is the cathedral of St Tripun in the town of Kotor, built as early as 1166. As we have said, it represents the oldest known Croatian cathedral. Its ciborium is decorated with a beutiful interlace pattern which is even older than the church itself, and of the same type as numerous exotic interlace patterns found in many pre-Romanesque churches along the Croatian littoral. The town of Kotor has a surrounding wall which is about 5km long. The benedictine order is present in the region of Boka kotorska since the 9th century. Today this region has about a hundred of Catholic churches and chapels. The town of Perast had extremely difficult moments in 1654 when the attacks of the Turks were especially dangerous. Their brave and successful defence of Boka was the reason of the arrival of Petar Zrinski, a famous Croatian statesman, who also had numerous dramatic battles with the Turks. During his three day sojourn in Perast he presented his legendary sword to the town, as the sign of his recognition to their efforts to defend their homeland, and to stop the approach of the Ottoman Empire to Middle Europe. One of Croatian churches, given as a gift to Serbian Pravoslav Church in Kotor already in 1657 (during Venetian rule), was the church of St Luka in Kotor. The church itself is much older, and dates from 1195. Above the main entrance to the Church we can now read the following inscription "Serbian Pravoslav Church - 1195." This falsification that appeared in 1990's aims to "prove" that the Serbs built this church already in 1195. In 1995 the Serbs in Montenegro even "celebrated" 800th anniversary of this church which was Catholic until 1657, when it was given as a gift to Serbian Pravoslavs. One of the greatest Croatian Baroque painters is Tripo Kokolja (1661-1713), born in the town of Perast in Boka kotorska, whose works of art are held in the Church of Gospa od Skrpjela, and also in the Dominican church in Bol on the island of Brac, in Hvar on the island of Hvar, in Korcula on the island of Korcula (where he died), and in Dubrovnik. When a Russian travel-writer P.A. Tolstoy visited Boka in 1698, he noted that the local hills are also inhabited by the Croats. In the Boka kotorska churches there are important works of art of many outstanding Croatian artists, like Ivan Mestrovic, Antun Augustincic, Celestin Medovic, and other. According to official Montenegrin sources, 40% of real monumental property and 66% of movable monumental property of this republic is in the Boka kotorska region. This means that at least 50% of the entire monumental cultural heritage of Montenegro belongs to the Catholic church in Boka, i.e. to the Croats. And now Montenegro has less than 1% of Catholics. A result of the assimilation and systematic persecutions from the Serbs and Montenegrins in the Boka kotorska region was that the population of the Croats began to diminish rapidly since Yugoslavia was created in 1918, and especially after the aggression against Croatia in 1991. Let us illustrate only the "silent" ethnical cleansing in the ex-Yugoslav period (1918-1991). Namely, while in the period from 1910 (when the last Austro-Hungarian recension was held) to 1991 (the last ex-YU recension) the overall population in Boka kotorska doubled, on the other hand the number of Croats dropped in the same area three times. The towns of Kotor, Perast, Tivat, Dobrota, Prcanj, Herceg Novi and Budva had a Croatian majority in 1910. A large Catholic majority in 1910 had peninsula Vrmac and southern part of Spich (from Sutomore to the border between Boka kotorska and Montenegro near the town of Bar). For example, the number of Croats in Kotor dropped from 69% in 1910 to 7% in 1991; in Herceg Novi from 70% to 2%; in Tivat from 95% to 23%. In 1991 there were only 8% of Croats in Boka kotorska region, and today (after 1991-1995 Serbian and Montenegrin agression on Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina) even less. For example, 350 Croatian families had to leave their native town of Tivat in the period of 1991-1998. In June 1996 msgr. Ivo Gugic, bishop of Kotor, was cruelly killed (strangled by a wire). The name of the town of Dobrota in Kotor bay has interesting meaning: Goodness. In fact, the French bonté is even closer to the meaning of Croatian dobrota. And there is a family name - Dobrota, that can be found also among the Croats in Konavle region south of Dubrovnik. Vjenceslav Cizek (Gjenovici, Boka kotorska, 1928-2000) has passed away in Dortmund. He was born in a peasant-working class family, educated in Kumbor and Herceg-Novi, and studied philosophy in Sarajevo. For his political beliefs he was sentenced twice to a total of 17 years imprisonment, and due to savage prison tortures he became blind. After his release he lived in Germany. He became internationally known as the "captive of conscience." Vjenceslav Cizek was an exceptional lyricist and satirist of dictatorship. Unfortunately, his literary activity was interrupted by prison. Due to his blindness, he memorised poems while he was in prison using a special mnemonic technique. In his poems he writes about places of his youth - Boka and Konavle. In 1998 a new mosaic was exhibited in a Catholic chapel in the town of Budva in Boka kotorska, on the initiative of the Pravoslav Church in the city. This was done without knowledge of the Catholic Church. On the other hand, it is known that the Votive Icon of Our Lady existed on the same place from 1333 to 1949, when local yugoslav communists threw it out into the sea. Fortunately, the old Catholic icon was saved (though damaged), but it was not allowed to be placed where it had been for centuries. It is little known that until 1949 Bosnia - Herzegovina had another entrance to the Adriatic sea in the region of Sutorine (between Prevlaka peninsula nad Herceg Novi), which is today in Montenegro. Today quite unjustly the New Yugoslav state claims the right to Croatian Prevlaka. See [Macan] As confirmed by all partisan documents related to Boka kotorska and Montenegro during WW2, both regions are mentioned with clear distinction: Boka kotorska (which is defined as a coastal region from Herceg Novi to very near the town of Bar) and Montenegro. Since 1945 the name of Boka kotorska was simply erased. The name of Montenegrins (or Yugoslavs) was imposed to the Croats. Even today many Croats in Boka kotorska are hidden under the name of Yugoslavs (of Catholic faith). An outstanding Croatian intellectual born in 1919 in Boka kotorska was Luka Brajnovic, professor of Ethics of the University of Navarra, a former director of the Institute of Artes Liberales, a well known Spanish intellectual. Premio Brajnovic a la communication is a prestigeous Spanish award (500,000 pesets) established in his honor during his lifetime upon the initiative of newspapermen and lecturers from the University of Pamplon. For the reader who thinks that these claims are not sufficiently well grounded, I can offer a personal experience from the city of Zagreb, Croatia's capital. In 1971 a recension was held in the whole ex-Yugoslavia. At that time I was a 15 years old secondary school pupil. My math teacher "suggested" to everybody, in front of the whole class, to fill in the form as follows: "If I were on your place, I would fill in Yugoslav in the nationality section, and underline it three times." She was a daughter of a Serbian colonel in Zagreb. It was only many years later that I realized the meaning of this "suggestion." Trpimir Macan: Rt Ostra u povijesti i politici, Matica hrvatska, Zagreb 1998, ISBN 953-150-168-8 Dominik Mandic: Crvena Hrvatska, ZIRAL (Zajednica Izdanja Ranjeni Labud), Chicago-Rim, 1973 (see other Mandic's references related to history of Bosnia and Herzegovina) The history of Boka kotorska from Antiquity until 1918, Based on the text "Boka kotorska od najstarijih vremena do 1918" by Ankica and Josip Pecaric. Summarized and translated by Ivica Kresic, University of Chicago. Josip Pecaric: Kako su komunisti prodali Boku kotorsku Josip Pecaric: Borba za Boku kotorsku (basic reference) Agneza Szabo: Hrvati Boke kotorske u doba preporoda i bana Jelacica Dalmatia Hrvatsko gradjansko drustvo CG The city of Dubrovnik is under the protection of UNESCO since 1979.