Dubrovnik Map .:. A Freeman’s View

Dubrovnik Map .:. A Freeman’s View
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Dubrovnik The ‘Pearl of the Adriatic’, situated on the Dalmatian coast, became an important Mediterranean sea power from the 13th century onwards. Although severely damaged by an earthquake in 1667, Dubrovnik managed to preserve its beautiful Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque churches, monasteries, palaces and fountains. Damaged again in the 1990s by armed conflict, it is now the focus of a major restoration programme co-ordinated by UNESCO.

In 1991, the American Institute of Architects condemned the bombardment of the city’s buildings. The Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, in conjunction with UNESCO, found that, of the 824 buildings in the Old Town, 563 (or 68.33 percent) had been hit by projectiles during the siege. Of these 563, nine buildings had been completely destroyed by one of several major fires that occurred during the siege. In 1993, the Institute for the Rehabilitation of Dubrovnik and UNESCO estimated the total cost for restoring public, private, and religious buildings, streets, squares, fountains, ramparts, gates, and bridges at $9,657,578.By the end of 1999, over $7,000,000 had been spent on restoration. It is a testament to the resilience of the ancient walls that more buildings in the old town were not destroyed during the bombardment; the ancient walls in fact were more effective at resisting modern weaponry than contemporary structures in the city’s periphery