Day 3 - Welcome to Dubrovnik!

Dubrovnik, Croatia * Saturday, June 17, 2006

From the Navigator:
In the early hours of the morning, Golden Princess approached Dubrovnik sailing eastbound south of the Croatian Island of Mljet. The final approach to the port of Dubrovnik was made via the channel between the main land and Kolocep Island heading to the pilot station on a northwesterly course. After the pilot boarded, we completed the berth approach passing north of Daska Island. This afternoon once everyone is on board, we will let go our lines and thrust off our berth and set a westerly then southerly course to clear the harbour before setting a south-southeasterly course along the Croatian and Albanian coast towards Corfu via the Kerkyra Strait. After boarding the pilot, we will dock starboard side to the new breakwater berth.

An Overview of Dubrovnik

Of all the lovely towns along the Dalmatian coast, Dubrovnik may very well be the most picturesque. Beneath the frowning limestone mass of Mount Sergio, the brilliant white marble of the city's walls contrasts with the blue waters. You can tell that there is a story here, and what a story it is!

At its peak, Dubrovnik was a very successful competitor of Venice, and one of the most prosperous commercial powers in the world. But in spite f the rivalry with Venice, the origins of both cities were quite similar. The disintegration of the Roman Empire allowed barbarian tribes to raid and pillage settlements along the coast. Refugees and survivors fled to off-shore islands where they could better defend themselves, and found a new life in harmony with the sea.

Sometime around the year 639, the Avars sacked the Greco-Roman town of Epidaurum, not far from modern Cavtat. Fugitives found their way to a small rocky island, where others from Salona and nearby towns were attempting to preserve something of their former way of life. Their earliest fortifications were crude, and their ships were small, but they survived nicely. They called their new town "Ragusa" because it was founded on rocks.

At first, the Latin-speaking refugees ignored the Slavic people along the nearby shore, but in time they saw good reason to come to an understanding with them. By the 12th-century, the shallow creek dividing the island from the mainland was filled in and paved over. The broad thoroughfare or "stradone" which had been the old division now became the principal market street of the new city. Today it is called the Place. A new set of walls was constructed to enclose the combined settlements. The glittering and impermeable marble of the present battlements give mute testimony to the growing wealth of the city.

The old harbor was well-protected by nature and human ingenuity, and provided a secure base for an expanding commercial empire. Newer ships were designed and built from the excellent local timber of the mountainside. The Slavic name "Dubrovnik" means "well-wooded" and highlights the quality of the hardwood forests. Even from the earliest times, ships from Ragusa were constructed according to sound engineering principles and the strictest laws of safety. A first rate commercial fleet now reached out to an expanding circle of ports, trading lavish and exotic products. Using the word "argosy" to describe any rich merchant ship recalls the brilliance of Ragusa.

Although the city was still only about half a mile across, and never had any craving to gobble up foreign territory, it became a great maritime force in the Mediterranean. Its true wealth was in the skill of statesmen, sailors, and merchants who paid strict attention to commercial contracts and diplomatic neutrality. Even as great empires rose and fell around them, the Ragusans tended to business, and the steady growth of their commerce took care of the rest.

Clever agreements with the Normans in Sicily helped them avoid control by Byzantine and Venetian magistrates, and also opened the rich markets of southern Italy. During the 12th- and 13th-centuries, they gave lip service to Venice, but largely retained control of their own trade. By the 14-th century, they placed themselves under the protection of the Hungarian-Croatian Kingdom, and handled most of its overseas commerce. Only the extinction of the Hungarian monarchy by the Turks in 1526 broke this link. Dubrovnik flaunted the motto "Liberty cannot be sold for all the gold on the earth."

During its golden age, Ragusa's population was solidly Slavic, but it always remained a cosmopolitan city, open to cultural influences from everywhere. Their native language was Serbo-Croatian, but the architecture and institutions imitated the fashions of Italy. Civil magistrates were elected from about 200 noble families, just as they were in Venice. According to a statute book of 1272, power was shared among the Senate, Greater Council, and Lesser Council, all presided over by a Rector, who was elected for a very short term.

From the earliest times, slavery and torture were forbidden. Refugees were welcomed and embraced. The greatest treasures of Servian literature survived the turmoil of the middle ages because Ragusa was there to provide shelter for authors and their books. Education was given the highest value. Bonds of comradeship and patriotism thwarted even the slightest hint of revolution. In 1347, civic pride provided a home for the elderly poor at public expense. All in all, Ragusa seemed to be paradise in a very small place.

Living on this combination of wits and trade allowed the city even wider friendships. English King Richard the Lion Heart passed through in 1192, on his return from the crusades. He donated a large sum of money in thanksgiving for surviving a gale at sea; it was used to begin work on a new cathedral. The present street plan dates from 1296, when a huge fire devastated much of the old town. The Black Death struck down 7,000 citizens in 1348, including 110 nobles of the Great Council. This disaster induced tighter quarantine regulations on all ships. The same year saw reconstruction of the church of St. Blaise, patron of the city. Today's Baroque design came still later.

The Rector's Palace was built in the 11th-century, and later took on its Venetian Gothic and Renaissance character. But much of the city we see now took shape during the 14th-century; the old Sponza (customs house) is one conspicuous example. At opposite ends of the Place are impressive late Romanesque monasteries for the Dominican and Franciscan friars, each entrusted with watching an important gate. Near the Franciscan house is a 14th-century pharmacy, complete with scales and instruments.

By about 1600, Ragusa had more ships than ever, with a tonnage equal to that of Venice, and contacts as far afield as India and America. The city's diplomatic skill was so adept that many called it the Republic of Seven Flags, since it had no active adversaries. During this period of glory, art and literature flourished so resplendently that admirers spoke of the "South Slavonic Athens."

But in 1667, a terrible earthquake demolished the city. What was not flattened by the tremor was consumed by fire, including the Cathedral, many houses, and priceless books and art objects. Over 4,000 people were killed, more than half the population. The city survived only because of the many ships and citizens which were in foreign ports at the time. The Cathedral was rebuilt in 1713, and the other treasures restored as nearly as possible. But it was a nearly fatal blow for the former giant. So many of the old Latin families had been killed that the population was nearly 100% Slavic - the name Dubrovnik gradually replaced Ragusa.

The Republic was formally abolished by Napoleon in 1808, surviving its old rival Venice by a couple of years. It has been administered as part of Dalatia-Croatia ever since. For most of the 19th-century, it formed part of the Austrian empire, then passed to the new state of Yugoslavia after World War I. In 1991, the federal states of Yugoslavia broke apart in a brief but violent civil war which resulted in full independence for Croatia.

And now, an upper to a heavy story thus far:

• Food specialties - Croatian cuisine combines the Mediterranean and Continental styles and is reflective of the country's history and culture. Dishes include seafood and shellfish such as lobster, oysters, and mussels, turkey with mlinci (a fat-free dough), brodet (mixed fish and rice stew cooked in olive oil & vegetables), and orahnjaca (tasty dessert of flour, yeast, sugar and lots of ground walnuts formed into a roll).
• Drink specialties - Croatia is known for its grape-laden vineyards and its production of fine wines. Most famous are reds: Teran, Cabernet and Merlot; and whites: coastal Pinot Malvazija Kujunduuoa and white Muokat.
• Some useful words: Da (Yes), Ne (No), Molim (Please), Hvala (Thank you), Dobro jutro (Good morning), Gdje je (Where is the)

And what was the martini of the day, you ask? Blackjack Martini (Absolut Vodka, Chambord and Blue Curacao)