A walk atop the old Dubrovnik walls

No trip to Dubrovnik is complete without circling Old Dubrovnik atop the majestic city walls that surround her.  These walls are considered the greatest medieval fortifications in history and kept the city safe for hundreds of years.  

The current walls date from between the 12th and 17th centuries, though the first walls were built around the 8th century.  The walls run for about 2km, encircling the old town atop these gorgeous cliffs above the Adriatic. There are only 4 entrances into Old Dubrovnik through the walls, so the city is still very fortified even today.  Still, over 500 of the 800 or so buildings in Old Dubrovnik were damaged in the siege of Dubrovnik in 1991-1992.  During the war, the walls proved effective at protecting against even modern weaponry. It is said that the Serb forces wanted to detach Dubrovnik from Croatia and make it part of Montenegro.  

Over the years, the city has been attacked in over 7 wars.  The city has been tacked by Russians, Arabs, and Venetians, though never fell.

Kristin and I hit the wall late in the day on our first day in Dubrovnik.  It quiets down around 5pm, and we were told the early morning is quite good as well.  The wall is a great walk with seabirds and the Adriatic on one side and historic Croatia on the other.

 Kristin and I on the wall above the harbor 

 The clear harbor 

 Old town roof tops of Dubrovnik

 View of the harbor and old town

 A boat beach outside of the city

 The view from the wall is great in all directions

 Rooftops - Much of old town is still populated by Croatians, but many fear it will go the way of Venice - where eventually the town becomes too expensive for locals.

 Lokrum Island just offshore

 That little harbor there is the one used in GOT scenes with Sansa Stark looking out at boats 

 The coastline surrounding Dubrovnik is beautiful and development is still somewhat limited.  I bet this changes.

 One of the towers 

 The buildings all look so elegant 

 A great meeting place 

 This is the primary street in Old Town - Stradum.  At the end is Orlando's column - named for the knight Orlando who assisted in repelling a 15th month siege in the 9th century

 A great view of the old town style 

 Flanking "black water bay"

 Which is actually quite blue in real life 

 The cliff, the wall, and the sea 

 Still on the wall

 This is a great bay for a swim or kayaking 

 When a doorway is not just a doorway 

 Someone's house just off the wall

 Lokrum Island

 Little to big

 Med

 Apartments

 Strolling the wall

 The Croatian Coast 

 Bells and Houses 

HR Flag