DUBROVNIK DIGEST

Fascinating facts about Dubrovnik

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·  At the time of the Dubrovnik Republic an order was in force that dictated that when the southerly jugo wind was blowing, no important political decisons could be made. This was due to the fact that many believed the low air pressure caused by the wind made people depressed and irritable.

 

 ·  The only person to have had a statue raised in their honour by Dubrovnik was the sailor, Miho Pracat. He left his entire fortune to good causes. The Republic didn't raise statues in honour of anyone other than saints and other supernatural beings believingit that no individual was greater than the city. The statue of this noble citizen was placed in the courtyard of Knezev Dvor (Rector's Palace) where it remains today. The statue is visible in the sixth episode of the second season of Game of Thrones in a scene featuring the Spice King, set in the city of Qarth.  

 

 · In the 15th Century, Dubrovnik had a population of around 40,000 (at that time this covered an area from Prevlaka, south of the city, to Orebic north of the city) and was one of the largest cities in Europe. By comparison, London had a population of 50,000 at that time, Florence around 100,000. 

 

 · The Dubrovnik Republic was among the first to recognise the independence of the United States of America. Some historians state that Dubrovnik was the first state to do so.

 

 · Dubrovnik had some colonies, interestingly, one of those was in a village called Gandaulim, in Old Goa, India. The Church of St. Blaise still stands there today.

 

 · Giovanni Angelo Medici from Milan was the Archbishop of Dubrovnik from 1545 to 1553 and in 1560 was elected Pope, choosing the papal name of Pope Pious IV.  

 

 · During the building of the Minceta tower in 1464, there was a short supply of stone and as such it was decreed that every visitor to the city must bring a stone with them in accordance with their body's constitution.

 

 · At the Arc de Triomphe in Paris it is recalled how General Marmont brought the Dubrovnik Republic to an end on 31 January 1808 and named his general the 'Dubrovnik Duke'.

 

 · Just like the Greek Illyrians, Dubrovnik has its own humanistic story of its history and origin, named Raguseida. Written in the 15th Century, the book didn't come from historical fact, but from mythology.

 

·  On the panel built into the west wall of the porch of Rector's Palace is the inscription that the Greek god of medicine and protector of physicians, Asclepius (Eskalup) was born in Dubrovnik. Most probably this fact is not correct, and instaed the two are incorrectly connected due to the Roman name for Cavtat being Epidarus.

 

 ·  From 4 April 1911 until the start of World War One, a canon was fired from the Lovrijenac fortress every day to mark midday.

 

 ·  From the end of Venetian rule in Dubrovnik and the departing of their last rector in 1358, all the way through to the end of the Dubrovnik Republic in 1808, Dubrovnik elected 5,366 rectors. The majority of those slept in the rector's bedroom which was located above the gunpowder store. On two occasions explosions occurred that damaged the Rector's Palace. The gunpowder store was sunsequently moved to another location. 

 

 ·  On the Italian island of Sicily exists a city with the same Italian name as Dubrovnik – Ragusa.That is not where the similarities end as both cities are UNESCO world heritage sites. Both Dubrovnik and Ragusa were hit by catastrophic earthquakes in the 17th Century, just decades apart.

 

 ·   The majority of Dubrovnik citizens that follow football support Hajduk Split. In honour of the club's 100th birthday in 2011, at 19:11 hours, flares were lit on the city walls by dozens of supporters, lighting up Dubrovnik from afar.