Dubrovnik region, Pearl of the Adriatic The Dubrovnik poet Luko Paljetak once said, “The second most beautiful place in the world, after your hometown, is unquestionably Dubrovnik. If you were born in Dubrovnik, then you are doubly favoured; for you Dubrovnik is the most beautiful city in the world twice over.” When the coat of arms with the picture of St. Vlaho (St. Blaise), the patron saint of the town, first saw the light of the day in the 14th century, together with the flag that reads “Libertas”, liberty became the main motto of Dubrovnik.

The winding streets, small shops, and open-air cafes of the breathtakingly beautiful old part of the town are the main characteristics of Dubrovnik. Many of the buildings were included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Register and are hence under special protection. The town is at its most exciting during the time of the Dubrovnik Summer Games, held from the 10th of July to 25th of August every year since 1950. In this period, the entire city, with its picturesque squares and churches, unique acoustics and beautiful palaces, becomes a cultural stage.

Dubrovnik was truly built to man’s measure, a measure in which every one could find enough space for themselves in the community, preserving the fundamental town slogan for centuries, about caring for the public good by setting aside the private good. Therefore, Dubrovnik is a true prototype of a town-community, a town that has, in contrast to the literary utopian dreams, to a large extent achieved the ideal of a type of urban democracy. Its walls and fancy fountains, the Rector’s Palace and the Sponza Palace, the Franciscan and the Dominican monasteries, the pharmacy from the 14th century, and the bronze statues – the “greens” that still sound the bell of transience on the town clock, all bear witness to this today.

Dubrovnik still lives a rich cultural life, especially in the summer, when the Summer Theatre and Musical Festival takes place, and the international Art Workshop Lazareti is also active in town. Dubrovnik however, is also its surroundings, the romantic Lokrum and the towns of the Dubrovnik County, Cavtat that rose from the ashes of Epidaurum and Konavle with its miniature settlements, picturesque costumes and customs. Dubrovnik is also Prevlaka all the way to the cape of Oštro, the most southern continental point of the Croatian Adriatic. All this limited space used to be a part of the universe of which Dubrovnik was the capital, but which was also the town’s measure.

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