Dubrovnik (Italian Ragusa), town in southeastern Croatia, located on the Dalmatian coast of the Adriatic Sea (an arm of the Mediterranean Sea). A historic and picturesque town, Dubrovnik has long been known as a major tourist resort. The town faces the sea at the foot of rugged limestone mountains and is notable for its medieval double walls and fortifications and historical buildings including one of the oldest pharmacies in Europe (founded in 1317). Dubrovnik has harbor facilities in the suburb of Gruz. Silk and leather are manufactured in Dubrovnik, and exports include foodstuffs and timber.
The town was founded in the 7th century on a site called Ragusium by the Romans. It was under the protection of the Byzantine Empire between 867 and 1205, of Venice until 1358, of Hungary until 1526, and of the Ottoman Empire until 1806, but it governed itself as an independent republic. In the 16th century, Dubrovnik had one of the greatest merchant fleets in the Mediterranean, and it remained the chief cultural center for the South Slavs until the 19th century. Napoleon I of France abolished the city-republic of Dubrovnik in 1808, and the 1815Congress of Vienna gave the town to Austria. By the terms of the Treaty of Rapallo, signed in 1920 following World War I, the town became part of the newly created Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia). During World War II (1939-1945), Dubrovnik was occupied by the Italians and the Germans. When Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, Serbian militias laid siege to and bombarded Dubrovnik, destroying many sites of historical importance. A large number of residents were forced to flee, and the tourism industry was virtually eliminated. In the mid-1990s many Dubrovnik residents returned to their homes and began to rebuild damaged infrastructure and facilities. Since then, the tourism industry has largely revived. Population (1991) 49,728.
