(CNN) — Lord Byron referred to as it the Pearl of the Adriatic when he handed by means of on his Grand Tour within the early nineteenth century.
Quick ahead 200 years and the mighty walled metropolis of Dubrovnik nonetheless stands as an emblem of energy and stability in a area that has seen its fair proportion of upheaval and darkness.
Now, it’s making ready itself for the return of holiday makers after greater than a yr of pandemic-enforced closures. Having endured the depredations of overtourism, its individuals and companies are plotting a extra sustainable future that locations historical past and custom of town on the forefront, with out compromising its sheer magnificence.
Whereas the Covid nightmares of 2020 and 2021 would possibly beforehand have been unimaginable to so many, Dubrovnik has an extended and storied previous with regards to coping with extremely infectious illnesses.
In 1377, when town was on the heart of the maritime republic of Ragusa, its rulers decreed that sailors, retailers and merchants arriving from areas the place the plague had been rampant must be despatched to devoted quarantine amenities.
Ready for the pandemic
Dubrovnik’s Outdated City skims the Adriatic shoreline.
DENIS LOVROVIC/AFP by way of Getty Picture
“Nearly 800 years in the past we knew every thing about quarantine,” says Ivan Vukovic, one among Dubrovnik’s main tour guides. Vukovic explains that arrivals from areas with excessive caseloads have been initially despatched to the small islands Mrkan and Bobara, simply off the coast, the place they might spend a month in isolation.
By the seventeenth century, officers had constructed the now well-known Lazarettos of Dubrovnik, hulking, prison-like amenities the place many arrivals have been remoted in a bid to stop widespread an infection. All of it sounds painfully acquainted to today of lodge quarantine, albeit with out the luxuries of a correct mattress and web entry.
Vukovic explains that the Republic of Ragusa’s location between east and west meant sailors and merchants would come to Dubrovnik from all around the world.
“Solely the individuals who got here from contaminated areas or suspicious areas [had to quarantine],” he says, in an echo of what number of international locations now guard their borders. “When you acquired a plague outbreak occurring within the Center East, all these vacationers could be remoted contained in the Lazarettos.”
Vukovic provides that there’s documentary proof of well being certificates and even social distancing. “Within the Center Ages they knew learn how to hint the illness… They knew learn how to hint the contacts who had been concerned, and so they knew concerning the an infection.
Dubrovnik’s Franciscan friary was considering up modern methods to restrict infections again within the Center Ages.
“In terms of [Covid-19], we are literally treating it [with] the principles of the Center Ages. Historical past repeats itself.”
Additional reminders of Dubrovnik’s medical historical past could be discovered on the Franciscan friary, proper within the coronary heart of town. Its pharmacy dates again to 1317, the oldest of its form nonetheless functioning in Europe and key to Dubrovnik’s capacity to outlive the worst of the plague.
Friars devised sensible methods to dispense their potions, with attracts and partitions used to protect sufferers and pharmacists. Funds could be dropped right into a devoted field and left for 10 days in a bid to stop an infection. A 14th-century type of contactless cost.
Whereas pandemic reminders abound, Dubrovnik isn’t only a place to be taught classes about an infection management we may all have completed with in early 2020. It is a place deeply pleased with its Croatian traditions and one which is utilizing them to heal wounds and get previous the trauma of the occasions which rocked this a part of the world within the Nineties.
Secret dances
Defending centuries-old magnificence and custom is a part of Dubrovnik’s identification.
The centuries-old Linđo dance stays on the heart of life right here, as Jelica Čučević explains.
“Even in the present day, within the current time, there isn’t any form of festivity or opening of any form of pageant with out a Linđo dance. Linđo must be there… it’s part of a practice for hundreds of years, you recognize? It’s part of the enjoyment. It’s part of life, in order that’s essential.”
Čučević has been dancing the Linđo since 1980 and in the present day is a part of the Linđo Folklore Ensemble, which showcases these difficult strikes to the vacationers who come to discover Dubrovnik and its previous. Naturally, those that take it significantly must put on conventional costume to completely expertise its joys.
Nevertheless, 30 years in the past the mere act of dancing the Linđo posed severe, life-threatening hazard for Dubrovnik’s residents. When the Yugoslav military laid siege to town from October 1991 to Might 1992, snipers picked off harmless victims strolling the streets. Assembly to bounce was difficult and close to unimaginable.
Jelica Čučević exhibits Richard Quest some conventional dance strikes.
“It was very harmful to stroll in that point by means of the streets, however one way or the other, in that point… we discovered a option to ship a secret message, you recognize, that we’re going to satisfy at two o’clock within the afternoon at a well known place,” says Čučević. She was, she says, younger and considerably fearless, as have been many different dancers, and refused to see their much-loved custom destroyed. Her energy and fortitude converse to a wider feeling of group in Dubrovnik.
“There’s a deeper connection that is part of our custom. These are our roots, so it’s essential to maintain them going from technology to technology.”
Ruined lodge
The seaside website of King’s Touchdown from “Recreation of Thrones” can also be dwelling to a vibrant and storied crusing tradition.
Whereas the outdated partitions of Dubrovnik betray little of that point, it doesn’t take lengthy to seek out monuments to that the majority difficult of durations within the metropolis’s historical past. And none are extra stark or fascinating than the Belvedere Resort.
This as soon as opulent location, set excessive on the cliffs above the azure waters of the bay, was dwelling to Croatian refugees who got here to Dubrovnik to flee the advance of Serbian troopers. It was destroyed throughout the brutal months of the siege and, within the 30 years since, has remained in that very same ruined state, a stark reminder of simply how a lot Dubrovnik suffered at the moment.
The Belvedere was solely open for six years earlier than the siege, however in that brief time had gained a fame as one among Europe’s best lodges.
“It was the perfect within the Adriatic, as I bear in mind it as a child,” says Ivan Vukovic. “It had every thing, from the out of doors swimming pools, you can go to the seaside, my mom went purchasing [there], my father went to the eating places along with his associates.”
As we speak, nature has recolonized the Belvedere, with mature bushes rising from the brickwork. The views from the one-time suites stay each bit as spectacular as they have been within the early Nineties, although. Yachts slip by, the horizon dotted with stunning islands, the water glowing in all its glory.
“It’s good to have it as a reminder how we acquired our personal nation, as an unbiased one from the ’90s, and likewise to see what was occurring right here, as a result of individuals need to be taught the errors,” says Vukovic.
An finish to overtourism?
Lockdowns gave locals an opportunity to reconnect with Dubrovnik. Now they’re able to remind vacationers why this Croatian metropolis known as the “Pearl of the Adriatic.”
UNESCO standing couldn’t shield Dubrovnik’s Outdated City from the eye of mortar shells and gunfire. However within the many years for the reason that warfare and independence, its spectacular partitions and fortifications have helped flip it into one among Europe’s hottest vacationer locations, to not point out the set for big-name TV exhibits similar to “Recreation Of Thrones.”
Pre-pandemic, locals have been battling the sheer numbers of individuals coming right here, pouring off cruise ships and inflicting main congestion.
Round one million cruise passengers have been arriving within the metropolis yearly, with as much as 9,000 a day submitting by means of the slim streets. In 2019, officers went to the intense lengths of putting an efficient ban on new eating places, closing 80% of memento stands and limiting cruise ships to simply two per day.
As summer time 2021 acquired underway although, all was quiet. And for restaurateur Darko Perojevic, the change of tempo, regardless of the challenges of Covid, has meant he’s been in a position to take pleasure in his dwelling within the coronary heart of town as soon as extra.
“I’d by no means depart the Outdated City, that is Dubrovnik!” he says, gesturing to the buildings which used to attract in so many guests. “The Outdated City is Dubrovnik. I imply, for those who go to different neighborhoods, to me that’s not… it could possibly be Break up, it could possibly be Zagreb or I don’t know… Oakland. it’s all the identical. What makes Dubrovnik is the Outdated City.”
Regardless of Perojevic’s Azur restaurant counting on vacationers and its standing to many as a residing museum, he’s eager to remind vacationers that it’s a spot the place individuals have roots.
“It’s additionally dwelling to individuals residing within the Outdated City like myself,” he says. “So I see this as my lounge.”
Locals have been reclaiming the streets of Dubrovnik from vacationers throughout the pandemic.
“My concern is we return to the pre-Covid factor, mass tourism, and simply too many individuals,” he provides. “It’s bittersweet. We acquired town again to ourselves, however you recognize, financially it’s going a bit of bit down… I believe that we realized rather a lot, and I believe that we’ll positively reset some issues and we all know the place we don’t wish to go.”
Darko believes that the pandemic has given him and different locals the possibility to method tourism in a brand new approach. He’s, he says, optimistic for the long run.
On the water
Whereas the Outdated City defines Dubrovnik, so too does the ocean. It’s apparent from town’s place on cruise ship itineraries and the superyachts moored throughout the bay that the water is a key a part of its appeal. However that love goes again centuries, to when merchants sailed right here. As we speak, locals with small vessels take pleasure in nothing greater than tacking out and having fun with the peace and quiet of the ocean.
“For us it’s at all times like a part of residing,” says Dado Butigan. “It’s simply… you go on a ship, you go for a swim and that’s it. It’s a part of our DNA as a result of we’re blessed with this coast and with the ocean and every thing. And also you simply want to make use of it.
“You’re feeling peace and calmness whenever you open the sail and also you simply hear the wind and the waves and a few birds. You simply really feel aid… It’s like true happiness, I’d say.”
To get an excellent better sense of simply what number of boats and yachts take pleasure in this watery paradise, it pays to experience the Dubrovnik cable automotive to the highest of Srd Hill. Right here you’ll be able to see the majesty of the Outdated City and the sweep of the ocean.
From this vantage level, Dubrovnik appears like a toy city. One thing you simply wish to scoop up, put in your pocket, and take dwelling. Image excellent in each approach. It’s, most of all, valuable. It’s exceptional to contemplate what it has endured in each historic instances and trendy, and that it nonetheless stands proud.
