Dubrovnic Maritime Museum

The ancient port of Dubrovnik is one of the most spectacular walled cities in Europe. It was effectively a self-governing city, then known as Ragusa, from 1526 until it was invaded by the armies of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1806. It became part of the Habsburg Empire in 1815, and was re-named when it was absorbed into Yugoslavia after the First World War. The city was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. It suffered severely from shelling during the wars of the early 1990s, but much of the damage has since been restored. The Maritime Museum originated as early as 1872. From 1949 it was managed by the Yugoslav Academy of Arts and Sciences (JAZU), but became part of the city’s museum service from 1987. It occupies the first and second floors of St John’s Fortress, while a notable aquarium uses other parts of the building. It is divided into four main sections illustrating maritime activities of the republic of Dubrovnik, the age of steam vessels, the Second World War, and techniques of sailing and navigation. The collections include large numbers of nautical instruments, figureheads and ships’ cannon, and the role of shipbuilders in Dubrovnik is illustrated in all four sections. There is an important archive containing ships’ log books and other documents.