Dubrovnik is a historic city on the Adriatic Sea coast in the extreme south of Croatia. The prosperity of the city of Dubrovnik has always been based on maritime trade. In the Middle Ages, as the Republic of Ragusa, it became the only eastern Adriatic city-state to rival Venice. Supported by its wealth and skilled diplomacy, the city achieved a remarkable level of development, particularly during the 15th and 16th centuries. Today Dubrovnik is a tranquil touristic and cultural center hosting many musical, art and theater events year round.
Archbishop Vicko Zmajevic (1670.-1745.), born in Perast, brought Albanian Catholics, endangered by the Turks, to environs of Zadar where they live also today. He built a school "Collegium Illiricum" or "Seminarium Zmajoillyricum" in Zadar for educating Glagolitic priests (today archbishops school "Zmajevic"). His brother Matej Zmajevic was a famous admiral of the Russian tsar Peter the Great, see below.