Dubrovnik (Croatian: [dǔbroːʋniːk] ⓘ,[4] UK: /d(j)ʊˈbrɒvnɪk/ dyuu-BROV-nik, US: /duːˈ-/ doo-;[5] see notes on naming), historically known as Ragusa[6] (Italian: [raˈɡuːza] ⓘ), is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea.

[7] In 1979, the city of Dubrovnik was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in recognition of its outstanding medieval architecture and fortified old town.

In 1991, during the Croatian War of Independence, Dubrovnik was 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 re-emerged as one of the Mediterranean's top tourist destinations, as well as a popular filming location.

[29] And a Ragusan document dating to 1285 states: "I heard a voice crying in the mountains in Albanian" (Audivi unam vocem clamantem in monte in lingua albanesca).

[32] 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.

A 20 km (12 mi) water supply system, instead of a cistern, was constructed in 1438 by the Neapolitan architect and engineer Onofrio della Cava.

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 Venetians.

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.

[42] In 1808 Marshal Marmont issued a proclamation abolishing the Republic of Ragusa and amalgamating its territory into the French Empire's client state, the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy.

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 de Montrichard had surrendered.

[47] 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.

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.

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.

[citation needed] 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 Slavic Orthodox minority.

In 1901, the narrow-gauge (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.

[citation needed] 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.

[65] 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.

Despite the demilitarisation of the Old Town in early 1970s in an attempt to prevent it from ever becoming a casualty of war, following Croatia's independence in 1991, Yugoslav People's Army (JNA)–by then composed primarily of Serbs–attacked the city.

Montenegro–led by President Momir Bulatović and Prime Minister Milo Đukanović, who came to power in the Anti-bureaucratic revolution and were allied to Slobodan Milošević in Serbia–declared that Dubrovnik should not remain in Croatia.

[69] The Croatian Army lifted the siege in May 1992, and liberated Dubrovnik's surroundings by the end of October, but the danger of sudden attacks by the JNA lasted for another three years.

[73] In October 2023, Dubrovnik joined 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.

The 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.

"[81] In the bay of Dubrovnik is the 72-hectare (180-acre) wooded island of Lokrum, where according to legend, Richard the Lionheart, King of England, was cast ashore after being shipwrecked in 1192.

Exhibits include a 15th-century silver-gilt cross and silver thurible, an 18th-century crucifix from Jerusalem, a martyrology (1541) by Bemardin Gucetic and illuminated psalters.

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.

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,[citation needed][106] or run through Neum in Bosnia and Herzegovina and continue to Dubrovnik.

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

[114] 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.

[118] Named by Dubrovnik City Council:[119] Bjelovar, Bjelovar-BilogoraSlavonski Brod, Brod-PosavinaDubrovnik, Dubrovnik-NeretvaPazin, Istria Karlovac, KarlovacKoprivnica, Koprivnica-KriževciKrapina, Krapina-ZagorjeGospić, Lika-Senj Čakovec, MeđimurjeOsijek, Osijek-BaranjaPožega, Požega-SlavoniaRijeka, Primorje-Gorski Kotar Sisak, Sisak-MoslavinaSplit, Split-DalmatiaŠibenik, Šibenik-KninVaraždin, Varaždin Virovitica, Virovitica-PodravinaVukovar, Vukovar-SrijemZadar, ZadarZagreb, Zagreb