THE FALL OF YUGOSLAVIA AND THE WAR IN DUBROVNIK

It is hard to believe that only 27 years ago almost the entire old town you’ll be visiting during your stay was in flames and ruins, not because of natural causes but because of the war. For centuries, Dubrovnik was an independent city state, self-sufficient, successful, wealthy and socially oriented, from today’s perspective almost hard to believe such country existed, especially in the medieval context. The independence was put to an end by Napoleon’s troops, after his military defeat, ex Republic of Ragusa was blended into vast Austro-Hungarian Empire all the way until the World War I. Overpowered and in a dead end, Dubrovnik with the rest of Croatia morphed into Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Yugoslavia that is familiar to the rest of the world came to the scene after the World War II and lasted until 1991. Unfortunately, in stead of splitting up in a peaceful manner by shaking hands, a bloody war commenced in the heart of Europe, in everybody’s sight. Croatia was ambushed and attacked by our neighbors from Serbia and Montenegro. Why was it so? What was the impact? Did Croatia recover? Find out the answers to all these questions and many more. The tour will be hosted by an experienced guide, knowledgeable about the historic, previous and current events. Until today, these subjects are difficult and perhaps leave a bitter taste in one’s mouth after listening to all what took place back then, but this is a fantastic way to learn from someone else’s example what the consequences of war are.