The City of Dubrovnik Has Been Joined by Another, New City, Previously Called a Suburb: Stages in the Formation of Dubrovnik’s burgus during the 13 th Century

Abstract

This paper employs a combined approach of urban history, archaeology, and spatial analysis to enhance our understanding of Dubrovnik’s spatial development and urban planning during the 13^th century, a very dynamic period in the city’s history. Formation of the suburbs is traced from the expansion beyond the city core (nucleus) to the  completion of the medieval city in the first decades of the 14^th century by integrating new areas. The study is based on primary written sources, recent archaeological and conservation research, and spatial analyses of the preserved urban fabric to identify communication routes that existed before  the statutory regulation of streets, reconstructing  the planning phases that predated the Statute. During the period of Venetian rule (1205-1358),  Dubrovnik underwent significant political and social  changes, transforming into a major maritime and  trade centre in the southern Adriatic. Rapid  population growth led to increased housing demand  and the expansion of the old town’s boundaries. During this period, the city nearly tripled in size, leading to planned long-term projects such as filling  in marshland between the old city on the peninsula  and the coast (reinforcing and levelling the terrain)  and (re)organizing the (new) suburban land in  several stages. This complex process changed the  size of blocks, introduced new communication  routes, redirected old ones, and led to the  construction of new lines of walls. By the early 14^th century, this prolonged work-in-progress culminated in the unification of various suburbs and their final annexation to the old city. This dynamic formation  resulted in intense residential mobility and a  completely transformed relationship between the  centre and the periphery. The (re)organization of  suburban land into a new city centre evolved  alongside changes in the area’s function, the  character and number of its inhabitants, the  construction of new public buildings extra muros, the development of the city port, and various responses  to crises (wars, fires, economic changes). By the mid-13th century, the suburb had become a residential  area attracting some of Dubrovnik’s richest families  (both newcomers and locals), mainly nobles, but also  wealthy commoners and various institutions.  The area’s economic potential was bolstered by its proximity to the new political, economic, and  administrative city centre.