Dubrovnik

Founded in the 7th century AD by Roman refugees, it became an important trading republic in the Middle Ages which connected Latin and Slavic worlds. From its establishment the town was under the protection of the Byzantine Empire. After the Crusades Dubrovnik came under the sovereignty of Venice (1205-1358), and by the Peace Treaty of Zadar[?] in 1358 it became part of the Hungarian-Croatian Kingdom[?]. Having been granted the entire self-government, bound to pay only a tribute to the king and providing assistance with its fleet, Dubrovnik started its life as a free state that reached its peak in the 15th and 16th centuries. In 1526 Dubrovnik acknowledged the supremacy of the Turkish Sultan (annual tribute was paid to the Sultan). A crisis of Mediterranean shipping and especially a catastrophic earthquake on the April 6, 1667. that killed over 5000 citizens, including the Rector, leveling most of the public buildings, ruined the well-being of the Republic. With great effort the Republic recovered a bit, but still remained a shadow of the former Republic.

In 1806, Dubrovnik surrendered to French forces, as that was the only way to cut a month's long siege by the Russian-Montenegrin fleets (during which 3000 cannon balls fell on the city). The French lifted the Russian-Montenegrin fleets and saved Dubrovnik for the time being. The French army, led by Napoleon, entered Dubrovnik in 1806. In 1808 Marshal Marmot abolished the Dubrovnik Republic (the name was in use from the 15th century). In 1815., by the resolution of Congress of Vienna, Dubrovnik was annexed to Austria (later Austria-Hungary), and remained annexed until 1918. when it became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia from 1929). At the very beginning of the World War II Dubrovnik was first part of the Independent State of Croatia. From April 1941 until September 1943 Dubrovnik was occupied by the Italian army and after that it was occupied by Germans. In October 1944 Partisans liberated Dubrovnik from the Germans. In 1945 Dubrovnik became part of the Federative People's Republic of Yugoslavia (FNRJ). During the war following Croatia's independence declaration in 1991 the city was attacked and under siege from October 1991 until May 1992. The old city was shelled on the December 6 1991 and some acient buildings suffered damage, which has since been repaired.