In former Yugoslavia under the communist rule many ethnic groups were combined into an artificial state thing: Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Bosniaks und Montenegrines. Each group hated the others and all of them hated the Muslims, which had since the Turk wars (1683 – 1699) settled at the best places and expelled the natives into the meager mountain regions.
Around the capital Belgrade the industry was promoted. In the fertile regions in the north of Yugoslavia people lived on agriculture. But most money, first of all foreign exchange, was made at the coast with the tourism. Nevertheless all the tourist money flowed into the pockets of the rulers in Belgrade and their companions. Only a strong man such as Tito, who was respected by most Yugoslavs, was able to keep the country united.
After Tito’s death in 1980 the old resentments flamed up. Then the Russian polity, which was misleadingly labeled as “communism”, collapsed and the Russian vassal states, which could be subjugated for many decades only by military threat, attained their liberty.
In 1991 Croatia declared its independence. But the bosses in Belgrade did not have the intention of doing without the money streams from the popular tourist areas at the coast. And so the Serbs attacked their Croatian brothers and fought them from 1991 to 1995 with brutal military force. The Serbian government troops possessed all the money and weapons, while the Croats had to defend themselves with minimum equipment. Thousands of missiles were shot by the Serbs at Dubrovnik. Touristic objects of interest, churches, private houses and water pipelines were the favourite targets for the Serbs. But finally they did not succeed.
The former Yugoslavia was splitted into five new countries:
The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia with the capital Belgrade. Yugoslavia has access to the Adriatic coast only in the far south between Herceg-Novi and the Albanian border. Now the people of Montenegro (capital Podgorica) have decided to separate from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, too, with the result that Yugoslavia will loose its last entrance to the Adria.
Slovenia in the north with the capital Maribor possesses a narrow coastal piece south of the Italian city Triest.
The State of Bosnia-Hercegovina, capital Sarajevo, got only hold of a small corner of the coast around Neum.
Makedonia, capital Skopje, has no coast at all.
In comparison Croatia, capital Zagreb, kept 1.000 kilometres of coastline from Istria in the north to Dubrovnik in the south, together will all the beautiful islands.
In the meantime the war damages are almost eliminated. In Dubrovnik only the fresh-red roofing files show the extend of the destructions.
Now you can spend your holidays in Croatia without fearing any danger. The country is peaceful and the inhabitants are friendly and helpful. There is nothing left of the communist grumblyness. All younger people are learning English at scool, many of the older speak German.
In shops and supermarkets you can buy everything that you buy at home. The restaurants serve excellent meals. You can everywhere drink water from the tap without doubts.
With busses and ferries you can reach each place fast and for unbelievably cheap fares. The main coast road, the Jadranska Magistrala, is in good condition, although winding and narrow. A new highway connects Zagreb and Split.
With busses and ferries you can reach each place fast and for unbelievably cheap fares. The main coast road, the Jadranska Magistrala, is in good condition, although winding and narrow. A new highway connects Zagreb and Split.
From Trpanj you can make many interesting trips. Either with your car or with bus and ferry. During the off-season some ferries do not drive so often as in the main season. You will get the time-tables at the ticket sales offices of the Jadrolinija. You cannot buy the tickets directly on the ship but must buy them in advance. The ticket counters normally open at least one hour before the ferry is leaving.
Orebic is a popular place for surfers. The village was named in the 16th century after a famous captain’s family. In the 19th century 33 big sailing-ships owned by the domestic shipping company cruised across the oceans. The maritime museum in the center of Orebic documents the boom time of Orebic. In the ground floor of the museum was in 1865 established the reading-room of the Peljesc captains. Next to the Franciscan monastery (15th century) many of these masters of the sea are buried under artful decorated graves.Orebic is situated on the opposite side of the peninsula. The bus starts from the Trpanj harbour and goes about half an hour.
The old town is worth-seeing and beautifully located. Here grew up the famous Asia traveler Marco Polo in the 13th century. You can visit his birth house and the Marco Polo tower with a wonderful view over city and sea. The large cathedral with the two lion figures in front of the main portal was built in the 15th century with the white rock, which was mined on the island still until a few years ago. The three patron saints of Korcula and Dalmatia – Markus, Hieronymus and Bartholomew, the patron of the ship-builders - were portrayed by the Venetian master Tintoretto on a painting at the main altar.At the cathedral place stands also the bishop’s palace with the rich church treasury as well as the two patrician palaces Arneri and Gabrielli. In the Gabrielli palace the city museum is accommodated which documents the tradition of ship-building, seafaring and craftsman art of the island.
For nearly 400 years the medieval Moreska, which shows the fight against the Sarazenes, is performed every summer in the historical old town.
Twice a week the large car ferry of Jadrolinija stops directly in front of the old town of Korcula. With this ferry you can go to Dubrovnik, to Stari Grad on Hvar, the island of lavender, to Split and to Rijeka. The passage from Dubrovnik to Split takes about 10 hours and does not cost more than € 15,00.
From Orebic a car ferry goes frequently to Domince which is the ferry harbour of Korcula. However, Domince is some kilometres distant from the old town of Korcula. If you don’t like walking you can go by taxi. There is also a small people shuttle which has its own landing stage in the port of Orebic and goes directly to the old town of Korcula.
Vela Luka, the “large port”, lies beautifully around a protected bay. Here you will get the best pizza of your life. You can go from Korcula to Vela Luka by bus. The bus station of Korcula is near the landing place of the big Dubrovnik car ferry. The bus travel is an experience for itself and not necessarily recommendable for people who fear great heights.
Ston lies on the narrowest part of the land bridge which connects Peljesac with the main land. From 1333 to 1808 Ston belonged to the Free Republic of Ragusa ( Dubrovnik) and protected itself by a fortress wall of 5 kilometres length with 40 towers and bastions. The bulwark, 5 to 10 metres high, connects the districts Veliki Ston and Mali Ston.
On the seaside in front of Veliki Ston are the old saltworks fields. In the protected bay oysters and mussels are bred.
On the seaside in front of Veliki Ston are the old saltworks fields. In the protected bay oysters and mussels are bred.
Go with the ferry from Trpanj to Ploce. The central bus station of Ploce lies close by the port. With the bus further to Metkovic or Neum.Between Ploce and Neum lies the Neretva delta. The Neretva river divides into twelve arms and many small water veins. Parts of the swampy delta were drained and made usable for agriculture. The nature-left area is an important breeding district for water birds. In spring and autumn thousands of migratory birds on their way from or to Africa rest at the fish-rich waters.
Neum has always been a political strange thing at the Dalmatian coast. The narrow coast strip of 8 kilometres around the small town belonged once to the Osman empire and formed a buffer zone between the two competitors Venice and Dubrovnik. Today Neum belongs to Bosnia-Hercegovina, that means you will have to show your passport if you want to cross the 8 kilometres of “foreign country”.
Split is the biggest city and capital of the district Split-Dalmatia. From here you can go with the big ferry to the islands Brac, Hvar, Korcula, Dubrovnik, Rijeka and Ancona or Bari in Italy. Smaller ships offer excursions.The central bus station (autobusni kolodvor) lies directly in front of the ferry harbour. From here you do not only reach destinations in Croatia but you can also go directly to Munich or Berlin.
Not only the Diokletian palace built in the 14th century is worth seeing. There is much more.
You can get informations from the tourist information which is near the harbour at the beach promenade.
The airport of Split is between Split and Trogir about 7 kilometres outside of the city.
The old town of Trogir was built on an island surrounded by big walls and is connected by bridges with the mainland and with the island Ciovo.The cathedral Sv. Lovro was built from 1200 to 1605, therefore style elements from Romanesque to Renaissance are connected. A masterpiece is the main portal (13th century) created by the artist Radovan. The chapel Sv. Ivan Ursini in the interior of the cathedral is considered as the prime example of the Renaissance in Dalmatia. The historical scene of the main square is at the eastern side supplemented by the princes’ palace from the 13th century (today city hall) with Roman arcades and Gothic windows. On the west side is the Cipiko palace, in which the city museum is housed.
You should not fail to mount the tower of the old castle Kamerlengo at the rear end of the Riva. The view across harbour, town, islands and up to Split is really worth it.
Calling Dubrovnik the “pearl of the Adriatic” is not an overstatement. Every summer the VIPs of all around the world are meeting here. The old town protected by enormous walls is a unique experience. There are no more traces of the war damages.You can get the very informative city brochure free from the tourist information which is in an internet café about 100 metres away from the main entrance to the old town (Pile). The brochure lies in many hotels and pensions, too.
The ferry harbour of Dubrovnik is located near the new bracing-cable bridge which cannot be overlooked. You can drive from here with the bus into the city. Bus tickets can be bought at every kiosk (those small newspaper stalls at the street sides). You can also buy your ticket on the bus where you pay some kuna more for it.
Big ferries connect Dubrovnik with Korcula, Stari Grad on the island Hvar, Split, Rijeka and Bari in Italy. The small people shuttles are also starting from here to the Elafiti islands and to the island Mljet. Time-tables for ferries and busses you will find in the city brochure.
Roundtrips and boat excursions, e.g. to Cavtat, are offered at the small port of the old town. The glass-bottom boat drives around the walls of the old town und along the beach of the island Lokrum.
Of course Dubrovnik has also a central bus station (autobusni kolodvor) from where you can drive to Croatian cities and even to Munich, Frankfurt or Triest.
In front of Dubrovnik are the seven Elafiti islands (deer islands). Three of them are inhabited: Sipan, Lopud and Kolocep. From the ferry harbour of Dubrovnik starts several times daily a people shuttle for a round-trip to the islands. On the sumptuous-green natural paradises with subtropical vegetation prosper lemons, oranges, pomegranates, olives, wine, pines, cactusses and palms.On the island Mljet you should visit the sea grotto Odisejeva spilja, which you can reach by walking from the village Babino Polje. Worth seeing are also the two salt lakes framed by dense pine forest. The lakes are connected with the open sea by a narrow channel. In the middle of the bigger lake, Veliko jezero, lies the island Sv. Marija with the old Benedictine abbey from the 12th century which today serves a hotel. Both lakes lie in the national park which covers a third of the surface of Mljet in the west.
Two 500 years old plane-trees mark the branching from the Jadranska Magistrala to the charmful botanic garden of Trsteno. Here prosper Gingko, Bougainvillea, cinnamon trees and many other exotic and mediterrane trees. The 3 hectare large Renaissance park was created in the year 1502 around the manor-house of the Dubrovnik patrician family Gucetic-Gozze.
Cavtat stands on the antique foundations of Epidaurus, the Greek-Roman colony that fell in the 7th century under the attack of the Slaves and Awares. Their fled inhabitants were the founders of Ragusa (today Dubrovnik). The rector’s palace at the shore road was built around 1550 in the Renaissance style als residence of the governor of Ragusa and serves now as city museum, where findings from the antique and a graphic collection of 10.000 sheets (among them drawings of Albrecht Dürer) are kept as well as a biblioteque with 15.000 books.
The Franciscan monastery with the church Sv. Vlaho saves a monumental fresco with a view of Cavtat.
The Franciscan monastery with the church Sv. Vlaho saves a monumental fresco with a view of Cavtat.