Culture and Monuments of Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik is at the top of cultural relevance in Europe, which was recognised by UNESCO in 1979, when it was included in the list of protected world cultural heritage. As the turbulent history full of upheavals, battles for land, and defence of the city went by, there was a parallel history written – the one which does not have swords, galleys and guns, but pens, brushes, strings, keys, vocal chords, and theatre stages.

Dubrovnik, Croatia and Europe are indebted to the creative people who wrote that side of history because they wrote some of the most beautiful stories about the city.

Dubrovnik has been pervaded several times by a wave of creativity which brought blossoming of culture, science and literature. One of the most influential persons of Dubrovnik cultural history is certainly Ivan Gundulić, who, with his many works, especially the drama Dubravka, established the conviction about the freedom and beauty of his city and people, which cannot be bought with money. It is freedom that is one of the most recognisable Dubrovnik symbols. When we hear the word “Libertas,” the natural association is Dubrovnik and the epochal work by Gundulić. Numerous greats have passed through Dubrovnik and left their traces here. Let us not forget the legend of Croatian literature Marin Držić, whose works can be read even today as a sharp and always current social criticism, and the founder of Dubrovnik painting school during the Renaissance, Nikola Božidarević, scientists Ruder Bošković and Marin Getaldić, and many others.

The magnificent walls surrounding the city on all four sides contain a respectable collection of heritage and renowned cultural monuments, towers, forts, churches, monasteries, squares and streets, ports, old schools and museums, galleries, and it is all inherited by current citizens and lovers of romantic and inspirational past times.