Photo of the Day – City Walls – Dubrovnik, Croatia
Overlooking the Old City of Dubrovnik from the City Walls
The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Old City Dubrovnik is surrounded entirely by intact city walls running almost 1 1/2 miles around the city. Dating back to the 9th century, the complex structure consists of a series of walls, bastions, casemates, towers and detached forts. The walls were added to as needed during historically difficult and dangerous times for the city. In more recent history, the “Siege of Dubrovnik” saw rockets rain down on the Old City for 3 months in 1991 in a precursor to what later became the Balkans conflict.
In the aftermath of the conflict, Dubrovnik faced a period of rebuilding. One of the biggest challenges was in replacing the damaged burnt orange roof tiles that define the city’s architecture. With the original factory no longer in business, new tiles were brought in from further afield. The brighter color of these new tiles checkering the rooftops of the old city is a constant reminder of Dubrovnik’s recent past. From the city walls it is easy to observe the contrast of these new tiles, it’s a constant reminder of Dubrovnik’s need for defense both across the centuries and in more recent history.
