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| Early morning arrival of Dubrovnik pilot boat |
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| Facade of one of many antique buildings |
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| Dubrovnik Harbour, just outside the old town's wall |
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| Basilica in Dubrovnik |
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| Dalmatian Lady embroidering souvenir items |
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| Ancient staircase in an open air plaza |
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| Locals treated pedetrian traffic to classical and folkcloric music |
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| Bistros, cafes, restaurants in every alley serving the most varied and delicious sea food |
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| Stone carved adornment |
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| Orlando, Saint Roland, a nephew of Charlemagne, who saved the city from invasion |
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| Allegedly the oldest Synagoge in Europe |
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| Skyline of Dubrovnik's main street |
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| Souvenir dolls in ethnic costume |
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| Typical rosetta in a cathedral window |
Dubrovnik goes back a long time, allegedly to the Neolithic age, but present 'old town' refers to a 7th century settlement by the name of Lausa at the foot of Mount Dubrava (oak forest). Then the town was called Ragusa until the end of WWI when the Turkish name dubro venedik (good Venice) was adopted.
Many historic personages play important roles in the city's history. Somewhere around 800 A.D. a nephew of Charlemagne, namely Knight Roland (Orlando) defended Dubrovnik from the Saracens, and executed a notorious pirate named Spucente. Now Orlando is eternalized in a stone statue on the main square, and infamous Spucente, looking pretty ugly and mean, occupies a place on one of the entry portals to the old town.
King RIchard the Lionhearted found shelter here during a perfect storm when he returned fromthe Crusades in 1192. He built a church in gratitude for the life saving hospitality. The church was destroyed in 1667, but the Dalmation people promptly rebuilt it.
St. Blaise is said to have saved DUbrovnik from the Venetians in the 10th century. Statues of St Blaise are fund all over town, as well as on the main altar of St. Blaise's Church.
Old town is protected by an immense wall, construction started in the 12th century, and lasted for 500 years. With it's length of about 6500 feet, it's thickness of 20 feet, and a height of 80 feet, it kept Dalmations employed for numerous generations.
The Sephardic Synagoue, an unassuming building squeezed between like buildings in one of the many narrow alleys, is one of the oldest in the world. The Jewish community has shrunk to a fraction of its former size, though.
