Once part of the city state of Venice and then for several hundred years an independent trading rival of Venice (until Napoleon showed up) Dubrovnik, the jewel of Croatia, is once again rivaling Venice - this time as an Adriatic cruise ship and tourist destination. There’s a new cruise ship terminal a few miles away from the UNESCO World Heritage listed old walled city and we’re told that in 2017, cruise ships delivered one million tourists to the city. 

On our day in Dubrovnik (we anchor just out in the bay and are shuttled in by tender to the old harbour) there’s just two cruise ships in port but by mid-morning, the old city’s streets and alleyways, city walls and museums are wall-to-wall (literally!)with tourists. Like Venice, there are still a few hardy souls who make the old walled city their home, but living in a tourist Disneyland is either attractive enough or affordable enough for a diminishing number of people. 

Dubrovnik has suffered two major disasters in its 1300 year history. The first, a 7+ earthquake in 1667 destroyed much of the old city. The second, between September 30 and December 31, 1991 when Dubrovnik was besieged and shelled by combined Serbian and Montenegrin forces. Fighting in the surrounding area continued until a final ceasefire in July 1992. Thousands were killed or injured and the town suffered much damage. Most of the war damage has been repaired (although bullet, mortar and shrapnel scars are still evident in places) and the old city of Dubrovnik has largely been restored. The most evident reminder of the war damage is seen on the roofs of the buildings in the old city. More than 80% of the original roof tiles were destroyed or had to be replaced with the result that the old terra-cotta coloured tiles are few and far between - most to be seen now are new red tiles



Croatia has been a member of the EU since 2013 and despite on-going economic woes and fragile governments, it together with Slovenia are the most prosperous and stable parts of the former Yugoslavia. Relations with neighbours, so very recently enemies, are now peaceful and largely cooperative and hopefully will remain that way for a very long time to come....