Dubrovnik--a destroyed city rebuilt and thriving

view of Dubrovnik

On December 6, 1991, Serbian forces bombed Dubrovnik, a UNESCO World Heritage city, mercilessly.  The bombardment lasted only one day, but most of the buildings in the old city were destroyed or heavily damaged.  The walls remained mostly intact.

monastery with new and old tile roofs

You can tell which buildings survived the bombing by looking at the roofs--those with weathered, light red, tiles were not hit.  All the bright red tiles show reconstructed and renovated buildings.  Remarkably, the city was rebuilt in only 10 years between the end of the war with Serbia in 1995 and 2005, thanks to UNESCO funding and expertise.
Dubrovnik also endured an 8 month siege during this time.  Food and munitions were smuggled past the naval blockade at night by the owners of small boats.  You wouldn't see much of this devastation today, though some buildings remain in bombed out ruins.  On some walls are photos showing the old city on fire and the decimated medieval buildings.

monastery roofs that weren't bombed

Onofrian fountain

The Onofrian Fountain just inside the city walls still provides fresh, potable water to thirsty tourists and locals.  The fountain was built in the early 15th century to provide water to the town, water which came from springs several miles away.  The spring water was brought to the city via aqueduct and through channels in the city walls.  Though I'm very wary of water the world over, particularly from public fountains, no one else seemed to be disturbed by drinking it and no one reports getting sick in travel reviews.

fresh water spigot on fountain

old city walls

Dubrovnik sits on a point in the Adriatic, surrounded by high stone walls and the brilliant sea.  In the evening, kayakers move across the water, silvery in the late light, towards a pretty cove below the fortress just outside the city walls.  There are islands all around, so the water is usually calm. 
When we arrived, there were 7 cruise ships ranging from very small to enormous docked in the port of Dubrovnik.  Our guide told us that there was a day several years ago when 13 very large cruise ships all docked in the port, disgorging thousands and thousands of tourists.  The town was so crowded that the narrow streets were literally at a standstill.  No one could move.

water pipes in city wall leading to fountain

Now the city limits the number of cruise ships and the number of tourists who can come inside the city each day.  Fortunately, we were staying at a hotel, the Pucic Palace, right in the center of the old city, so we could wander early and late with minimal crowding.  We are also here late in the season (end of October) when the cruise ships are fewer and the city is beginning to shut its tourist infrastructure down for the winter, when no ships come.  But, it's important to remember that Croatia and its lovely old cities rely on the cruise tourists for their very survival.  The coastal economy is built on tourism, wine production, shellfish (much less) and olives, with tourism being the big driver of the economy.