Dubrovnik wears her scars with dignity.
This extravagantly gorgeous Croatian city of light and stone beside the sapphire waters of the Adriatic is instantly beguiling. But look closer and its beautifully restored medieval streets tell a more sombre story.
We met Milka – “just call me chocolate” – by the Onofrio fountain in Dubrovnik’s old town, just inside the Pile Gate. Milka was the guide for our war walk in Dubrovnik and had made it her mission to understand the events that led to the Balkans conflict of the 1990s.
I was born in Argentina in 1998 and we came to Croatia shortly after that. I couldn’t understand why my classmates would start to cry at certain points in our history classes.
Out of that curiosity was borne a passion, one that she shared with us.
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Understanding the Balkans Conflict
Milka shared her understanding of the key events leading to the divisive fault lines across the region. But her story came with a caveat: as you travel across the Balkans, different historical narratives emerge. A plurality of perspectives was encouraged.
What was beyond doubt was that the war in the Balkans had centuries of gestation.
The seeds of conflict were first sown in the 4th century AD with the fall of the Roman Empire, splitting the Balkan peninsula between Catholics to the west and Eastern Orthodox Christians to the east. Five centuries of Ottoman influence added Muslims to the south, whilst the north stayed Christian. Distinct ethnic identities emerged, overlapping groups adding to the complexity.
In the late 16th century, to create a buffer zone against the expanding Ottoman Empire, the Habsburg Empire encouraged Serbs to settle along today’s Croatian-Bosnian border. This further stirred up the existing religious and ethnic mix.
The end of the First World War in 1918 brought the dissolution of the Habsburg Empire and the formation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Eleven years later, this became Yugoslavia under a royal dictatorship.
In 1941, Nazi Germany invaded Yugoslavia and formed a “Greater Croatia”, absorbing most of Bosnia and western Serbia. The brutal fascist puppet government under Ante Pavelic caused hundreds of thousands of people to lose their lives.
After WWII, President Tito brought together Serbs, Croats, Bosnian Muslims, Albanians and Slovenes in an uneasy alliance. The threat of tough jail sentences kept separatism and ethnic nationalism in check.
However, Tito’s death in 1980 was the match that lit the smouldering powder keg. Individual republics started to assert their desire for independence, culminating in declarations of independence in Croatia and Slovenia in 1991.
The rest, as they say, is history.
The 1991 Siege of Dubrovnik
Whistle-stop history lesson over, we walked across the cheese-white limestone cobbles of the Placa (Stradun), worn to a marble-like sheen by the passage of time, to the so-called War Corner.
Here, Dubrovnik’s excellent War Photo Limited showcases war and conflict photojournalism chronicling recent and ongoing regional and global conflicts.
What happened during the siege
The city of Dubrovnik was the stage for a prolonged siege during the Croatian War of Independence.
In November 1991, the Yugoslav People’s Army launched an attack on Dubrovnik, raining down mortar shells and missiles on its lustrous streets. Dubrovnik was defended by mostly volunteer soldiers who were poorly armed.
As we continued our walk past Dubrovnik’s enticing alleys, Milka waved cheerily to a passing friend who lived through the Siege of Dubrovnik.
See my friend there? He had to dodge snipers to get to his karate class. My biggest problem when I was ten was being forced to eat broccoli.
By the end of the eight-month siege of Dubrovnik, over two-thirds of Dubrovnik’s buildings were damaged, and eight palaces were destroyed.
Spotting war damage today
Devastated several times by earthquakes, rebuilding is something Dubrovnik does well. The city’s restoration has been so meticulous that, at first glance, you might never know that there had been a war here.
Dubrovnik’s magnificent city walls have been restored, its burnt stone buildings repaired and scrubbed clean. It is difficult to distinguish between the original buildings and those that rose from the rubble of the war.
But if you look closer, there are tell-tale signs that all is not as it seems. The patchwork of old and new is best revealed by Dubrovnik’s rooftops.
At first glance, they seem perfectly in keeping with the old town’s character, their terracotta red and orange tiles crowning its splendour. But on closer inspection, you realise that the lighter-coloured tiles are repairs made during the city’s restoration. Brightly coloured sticking plasters over its wounds.
The scars left by bullets and shrapnel are also pointed reminders of the conflict, as are plaques of remembrance on houses in many of the old town’s streets.
Taking a walk along Dubrovnik’s city walls reveals the scars that may not be evident from street level, and information panels help you identify the newer roof tiles.
Where to Learn More About the War
Museum of the Croatian War of Independence
To learn more about the defence of the city, visit the Napoleonic Fort Imperial overlooking Dubrovnik, home to the Museum of Croatian War of Independence. Housed in dank cellars, an extensive collection of photographs, posters, weaponry and other artefacts gives you a sobering insight into the battle for Dubrovnik.
Memorial Room of the Defenders of Dubrovnik
The final stop on our war walk was the Memorial Room of the Defenders of Dubrovnik in Palaca Sponza. This understated but sobering reminder of the siege displays photographs of those who perished whilst defending the city.
A space to remember and time to reflect.
Practical Information
- I did a war walk in Dubrovnik with Dubrovnik Walking Tours. However, as of January 2026, this is no longer included in their list of scheduled tours.
- War Photo Limited is at Antuninska 6.
- To walk the walls of Dubrovnik, head to the main entrance at Placa Ulica 32, just inside Pile Gate. Try to do this walk in the morning or late afternoon to avoid the worst of the heat and the crowds.
- To reach the Museum of Croatian War of Independence at Fort Imperial, take the cable car to Mount Srd. The cable car station is a ten-minute walk from Pile Gate.
- The Memorial Room of the Defenders of Dubrovnik in Palaca Sponza is free.
A City Reborn
Dubrovnik’s brazen beauty pulls you in. Its history, its complexities and its contradictions make you linger.
The city’s recent conflict cannot be described in simplistic religious or ethnic terms, and the blame is not laid at the door of one or two events. Instead, the roots of this conflict are far more complex and have been fertilised over hundreds of years.
Although time and money have restored the old town of Dubrovnik to its former glory, the tragic war has left a trace in its fabric. Scars are everywhere, on its architecture and its people.
But these scars are healing. Dubrovnik has been reborn in stone and spirit, which is a message of hope to all.
I visited Dubrovnik on an Adriatic Sea cruise. Cruise ships berth 3km from the old town; frequent buses (1, 1a, 1b, 3) run to Pile Gate in 15 minutes. Other stops on this cruise included Split Old Town and Santorini.
About Bridget
Bridget Coleman has been a passionate traveller for more than 30 years. She has visited 70+ countries, most as a solo traveller.
Articles on this site reflect her first-hand experiences.
To get in touch, email her at hello@theflashpacker.net or follow her on social media.