Dubrovacko-Neretvanska (Dubrovnik-Neretva) county is located in the narrowest part of
Croatia covering an area of 1,782 km2 with the Peljesac peninsula and the
islands of Korcula, Lastovo and Mljet.
Dubrovnik was originally built on the small rocky island of Laus, inhabited
by Romans, then named of Ragusa in about the early 7th century. Over the years
it became merged with the Croatian settlement called Dubrovnik, so named because
of the forest of Mediterranean oak - dubrava.
The first mention of the town was in 1189, in documents of Bosnian ban Kulin.
The town fully became Croat by the 14th century. The municipality of Dubrovnik
(Communitas Ragusina) became the Republic of Dubrovnik (Republica Ragusina) in
the same century. Developing into a powerful maritime and trade centre in the
following centuries.
The town is listed as a World Cultural Heritage site with it preserved
fortification, the Prince's Palace, the towers of Minceta and Lovrijenac, the
column of Orlando in Stradun Square.
In Stone Field near the mouth of the Neretva River lies the small old
Croatian church of St. Michael representing the beginning of Christianity in the
area. Its wall paintings are the only preserved examples of early Romanesque
painting in Dalmatia.
The towns of Mali Ston and Veliki Ston were founded in the 14th century by
the Dubrovnik Republic guard the entrance to the Peljesac peninsula.
The Peljesac region is famed for its wines of Postup and Dingac as well
as the sandy beaches at Orebic.