More than a thousand-year old history of Dubrovnik made it a cultural center of Europe. Initially a small community, the city flourished in no time and became the seat of the independent Dubrovnik Republic.
This ancient maritime town was at various times a vassal to the Romans, the Byzantines, the Venetians, the Ottomans, and Napoleon. The motto of the Republic evokes Dubrovnik’s long history of self-rule: “Liberty is not sold for all the gold in the world.”
Managed to preserve its beautiful Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque churches, monasteries, palaces and fountains, the City was in 1979 included in UNESCO World Heritage Site list. Dubrovnik was already a famous Mediterranean tourist destination, but its popularity has boosted considerably since Game of Thrones came to town. The average annual temperature is 18 degrees Celsius with around 260 sunny days. Roses, mimosas and violets blossom in the middle of winter, and irises, narcissuses and geraniums in early spring.
Having visited Dubrovnik, the Irish writer George Bernard Shaw wrote: “Those who search for paradise on earth should come and see Dubrovnik”.