CROATIAN TOWNS 1992 - DUBROVNIK

In the series of postage stamps entitled "Croatian towns" HPT-Croatian Post andTelecommunications issued a regular postage stamp -Dubrovnik-. Motif: the Rector’s Palace, seat of the Duke of the Republic of Dubrovnik, the most outstanding late Gothic city building, restored with a Renaissance ground-flor. Dubrovnik (42 000) city in South Dalmatia. Its openness to the sea and the links with the hinterland determined the development of a strong port and of seaborne trade. According to some Latin sources, Dubrovnik (Ragusium) dates from the Illyrian period. After the sack of Epidaurus (Cavtat) in the 7th ct. AD, the survivors fled to Dubrovnik and founded a town of a Middle Ages. From an early date the Mediterranean Stone Jewel had been built according to urban planning. Its walls (15 feet thick and up to 75 feet high) are enhanced by 14 quadrangular and 2 round towers. The oldest remaining architectural cluster is the monastery of Little Brethren (16th ct.) with its church and a cloister famous for its rich Gothic ornaments. The architecture of Dubrovnik is a chemistry of Gothic and Renaissance. In that style the most beautiful of all city palaces, the Rector’s Palace, had been built by the Naples master Onofrio de la Cava. Only after the earthquake in 1667., when a considerable portion of the city had been destroyed, did Dubrovnik get its today’s look. It was restored according to urban planning. The exuberant Mediterranean vegetation in the hinterlands of Dubrovnik is due to its mild Winters.The plants of the arboretum Trsteno are 400 years old. One of the sunniest regions of the Mediterranean saw the flourishment of the tourism in the 20th century. Annual summer festivals of arts attract 700 000 tourists to this scenic city. Due to the aggression of the federal army and Serbo-Montenegrine units (1991-1992), Dubrovnik and especially its surroundings suffered heavy damage and barbaric deterioration. The arboretum of Trsteno is lost in a purposive destruction by burning. The stamp was printed in sheets of 50 peaces each. HPT put on sale the envelop of the first day of issue and a commemorative sheet.