The Walls of Dubrovnik (Croatian: Dubrovačke gradske zidine) are a series of defensive stone walls surrounding the city of Dubrovnik in southern Croatia. Ramparts were built in the outlying areas of the city, including the mountain slopes as part of a set of statues from 1272. The existing city walls were constructed mainly during the 13th–17th centuries. The walls run an uninterrupted course of approximately 1,940 metres (6,360 ft) in length, encircling most of the old city, and reach a maximum height of about 25 metres (82 ft).
Refugees from destroyed towns such as Epidaurus fled to what would become the defensive settlement of Dubrovnik (also known later as Ragusa) which would become a haven of refuge with the construction of its town walls. The walls were reinforced by three circular and 14 quadrangular towers, five bastions (bulwarks), two angular fortifications and the large St. John's Fortress. Land walls were additionally reinforced by one larger bastion and nine smaller semicircular ones, like the casemate Fort Bokar, the oldest preserved fort of that kind in Europe. The moat that ran around the outside section of the city walls, which were armed by more than 120 cannons, provided superb city defense capabilities. (Full article...)
Image 2Ban Josip Jelačić at the opening of the first Croatian civic Parliament (Sabor) whose deputies were elected on 5 June 1848. In earlier Sabors, members represented feudal estates rather than citizens. The Croatian tricolor flag can also be seen in the background. Dragutin Weingärtner, 1885. (from History of Croatia)
Image 3Croatians in a caffe bar on Petar Preradović Square, also known as "Flowers Square" (Cvjetni trg), in Zagreb (from Culture of Croatia)
Image 19On January 1, 2023, Croatia joined the eurozone, replacing Croatian kuna with euro as its national currency. (from Croatia)
Image 20The 1835 issue of the magazine Danicza, with lyrics of what would later become the Croatian national anthem "Lijepa naša domovino" ("Our Beautiful Homeland"). (from History of Croatia)
Image 25Marko Marulić (18 August 1450 – 5 January 1524), Croatian poet, lawyer, judge, and Renaissance humanist who coined the term "psychology". He is the national poet of Croatia. (from Croatia)
Image 28Croatian borders similar to those established with the Peace of Karlowitz in 1699. Although the peace treaty meant relief from Ottoman pressure, Croatia lost the compactness of its territory. (from History of Croatia)
Image 30"Remnants of the Remnants" (Reliquiae Reliquiarum), shown on this map in yellow, represent the territory under the jurisdiction of Croatian-Slavonian Sabor at the height of the Ottoman advance (from History of Croatia)
Image 34Croatia became the 28th EU member country on 1 July 2013. (from Croatia)
Image 35Cardinal Aloysius Stepinac with the Croatian communist leader Vladimir Bakarić at the celebration of May Day, shortly before Stepinac was arrested and convicted by the communists (from Croatia)
Image 52Medieval Croatia (dark green) south of Gvozd Mountain shown in relation to medieval Slavonia (green) spanning between Sava and Drava rivers. (from History of Croatia)
Image 53Bora is a dry, cold wind which blows from the mainland out to sea, whose gusts can reach hurricane strength, particularly in the channel below Velebit, largest mountain range in Croatia. On the picture: the northern part of the Velebit channel. (from Croatia)
Image 58Ban Josip Jelačić at the opening of the first modern Croatian Parliament (Sabor), June 5, 1848. The Croatian tricolour flag can be seen in the background. (from Croatia)
Image 78One of the seats of 14th-century magnate Paul Šubić, in Bribir. Paul held the hereditary titles of the Ban of Croatia and Lord of Bosnia. Croatian historians sometimes refer to Paul as "the uncrowned king of Croatia". (from History of Croatia)
Image 80A map of 10th-century Croatian counties (županije), as they were mentioned in De Administrando Imperio. The counties marked in blue, represent the territories governed by the Croatian Ban. (from History of Croatia)
Image 81The assassination of Croatian MPs in the National Assembly in Belgrade was one of the events which greatly damaged relations between Serbs and Croats in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. (from History of Croatia)
Zdenko Blažeković (23 September 1915 – 12 January 1947) was a Croatian fascist official who held several posts in the World War IIUstaše regime in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH). He was the student commissar at the Ustaše University Centre (USS), leader of the male Ustaše Youth organisation and a sports commissioner in the NDH.
Born in the town of Bihać, he graduated from high school in Osijek before applying to join a polytechnic college in Zagreb to become a builder. He was a member of various Croatian cultural and athletic organizations during his youth and even played as goalkeeper for Hajduk Osijek and HAŠKfootball clubs. (Full article...)
The motorway consists of two traffic lanes and an emergency lane in each driving direction separated by a central reservation. All intersections of the A1 motorway are grade separated. As the route traverses rugged mountainous and coastal terrain, it has required 376 bridges, viaducts, tunnels and other similar structures in sections completed , including the two longest tunnels in Croatia and two bridges comprising spans of 200 meters (660 ft) or more. There are 33 exits and 26 rest areas operating along the route. As the motorway is tolled using a ticket system and vehicle classification in Croatia, each exit includes a toll plaza. (Full article...)
Human heads on the external part belong to unknown individuals, but it is commonly speculated that Juraj Dalmatinac made them after the local residents of Šibenik at the time.