Katfish Kapers: June 2018

The small city of Dubrovnik could be called the engine that powers Croatia.

It's a cool little town of 42,000 nestled on the stunning Adriatic coast (across from the east coast of Italy). As you would expect from this part of the world, Dubrovnik has an interesting and violent history (not all of the strife was way in the past). Much of it's popularity is due to the charm of the Old Town section.

Old Town

In 1979 Dubrovnik joined the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites. 12 years later, after the breakup of Yugoslavia, the Serbian soldiers did their best to try blow the place off the face of the planet.

This plaque mounted on a city wall is chilling. The shelling lasted 9 months. If you click on the map you will be able to see all the artillery strikes Dubrovnik endured. It's extensive. 56% of the buildings were damaged and 115 people were killed

All thanks to this jerk - Slobodan Milošević
By NATO - This file has been extracted from another file: Signing the Dayton Agreement Milosevic Tudjman Izetbegovic.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47737267

Is it possible that this hair style turns people into murderers?
(John Gotti)

This thug is Pavle Strugar. He's the general that was in charge of the shelling of Dubrovnik. After the war he was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to 7 years in prison.

Not to be confused with this guy
(Ernest Borgnine)

But Dubrovnik persevered and today they are rewarded (or cursed, depending on your point of view) with one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world.

Traveling by sea to reach Dubrovnik is a reward just by itself. Croatia has more than 1,000 islands.

The Old Town section of Dubrovnik is Croatia's crowning jewel. Tourism represents a significant part of the Croatian economy. If you're used to old European cities you'll notice that Dubrovnik doesn't quite fit the mold. That's because, by European standards, Dubrovnik isn't all that old (it came into being in the 7th century). In one single night in 1296 the whole place burned to the ground. To add insult to injury, in 1667 a massive earthquake leveled the place (again). For the most part, Dubrovnik existed as a seafaring port competing with the Venetians. When reading about the history of Dubrovnik you begin to realize that their greatest asset was actually highly skilled diplomacy. Instead of trying to conquer the Mediterranean they instead strove (successfully) just to be a major trading partner. In fact, during the American revolution Croatia was one of the first countries to recognize the US. That being said, what's it like today? In a word - cool.

Note the marble street

Less slippery when wet than I expected

At some point, during one the reconstruction phases, the government made the smart decision to try to preserve the original look of the city. Part of that policy meant that ALL of the utilities were placed underground (you also don't see any satellite dishes) .

None of this eyesore crap

You also don't find a mix of new architecture and old. All the buildings match (the effect is simply charming). Old Town is not a flat port. The hills add considerable character to the ambiance.

You can find bars and restaurants scattered throughout the hills

Entering Old Town from seaward means passing through the main gate.

Stole this picture from the web as my shots of it were clogged with tourists (like me)

The moat this drawbridge crosses has been filled in (the alligators were sent to a sanctuary).

Chain fell off (I hate it when that happens on my bike).

The town clock is super cool and was built in 1390 (54 years after the very first public clock in the world appeared in Milan).

The clock is a little over 100' tall, but isn't the one built in 1390. Due to earthquakes the old one threatened to fall over and was rebuilt in 1928.

Not sure I would have added the digital part

One of the features of the clock is to depict the current phase of the moon

The clock bell makes a lovely BONG, as well it should (it weighs 4,000 pounds and is considered priceless). Dubrovnik was the home of Ivan Rabljanin (a famous, talented, bell and cannon maker). The two bronze bell bashers are also quite famous. They're named Maro and Baro.

The Maro and Baro you see working hard today are actually replicas. The originals are in a museum. In 1991 a couple of artillery shells came very close to taking the whole clock out.

Surrounding old town is a massive stone wall over a mile in length and up to 80' tall. The wall was constructed during the 14th and 15th centuries. In those days a wall protecting your city was a good idea. The quality of the stone construction was so good that it has managed to survive several earthquakes but was never breached in battle. Today, for $20 you can walk the ramparts.