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The oldes traces of settlements in the vicinity of Dubrovnik date from the times of Illyrian and Roman rules. During the 7th century, the inhabitants of the island of Epidaurum (today Cavtat) had to flee from Awars and Slavs and founded a village on the rocky island of Lausa. The name later changed to Rausa and became the origin of the italian name, Ragusa. About at the same time a slav village called Dubrava developed on the foot of the hill Srđ. Both villages merged and formed an independent city state which only formally was under Byzantine sovereignty. In 1205, the Republic of Venice eventually managed to conquer the city. In 1358, after the Peace of Zadar, the city regained its independence, this time under formal Croat-Hungarian rule which lasted until 1526. From the 14th until the 16th century, the city was an important trading nation in the adriatic sea. At the end of the 16th century the city state kept a fleet of 200 ships and 5000 seamen. In 1808 the independece of the city state was ended by Napoleon. At the Congress of Vienna 1815 Dubrovnik/Ragusa became part of the Austrian Empire where it remained until 1918. The rich history and the perfect condition of the old town earned Dubrovnik the name 'Pearl of the Adriatic'. Despite being declared a World Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO in 1979 (see also list of other UNESCO heritage sites), Dubrovnik suffered damage during the Yugoslav Wars of Secession in 1991. Seven palaces in the historic town centre were destroyed completely and many other historic buildings were damaged by the bombardement by the Yugoslav Army. Major restoration works are in progress since then.

The only building easily recognizable on the small picture on glass no.328 [near left] is the  cathedral Sveta Gospa (Ascension of Our Lady) [centre] with its large cupola. Archeological finds prove the existence of a church from the 7th century on this spot. The next church was a Romanesque cathedral built in the 11th/12th century. According to a legend, this church was built with the money that the English King Richard the Lionhearted donated for having been saved when became shipwrecked on the island of Lokrum on his return from the crusade in 1192. This church was destroyed by the large earthquake of 1667. The new cathedral was built between 1673 and 1713 in italian Baroque style. The interior contains important paintings by Tiziano, Andrea del Sarto and Parmigianino and others. The treasury of the cathedral was one of the largest in Europe until the earthquake of 1667. It still contains more than hundred reliquiaries from the 9th century onwards. the most valuable pieces are the reliquiaries of the hand and skull of the town's patron, St. Blasius, dating from the 11th and 12th century.

The island depicted in the background of the picture on glass no.2748 [far left] is Lokrum (Italian: Lacroma), loacted about 600 metres from the city of Dubrovnik. The first written mention of Lokrum was in 1023 when the Benedictine abbey and monastery were founded. The name Lokrum comes from the Latin, 'acrumen', meaning sour fruit. This derives from the tradition of cultivating exotic plants on the island, a tradition started in the time of the Benedictines. The last Benedictines left the island in 1808. Archduke Maximilian Ferdinand of Habsburg had a mansion built on the island in 1859 with a magnificent garden laid out, criss-crossed with pathways, full of amazing plants and botanical wonders. The island was originally purchased by Maximilian's wife Archduchess Charlotte of Austria (Princess of Belgium), with part of her marriage dowry, and she retained ownership of the island even after she and her husband became Emperor and Empress of Mexico. After the Emperor Maximilian's execution the island was surrendered to the Habsburg Family in a deal struck between Franz Joseph I of Austria and Leopold II of Belgium. The island was given to Archduchess Elisabeth Marie of Austria as part of her marriage dowry; Yugoslavia claimed it under the Treaty of Saint-Germain. Princess Elizabeth stated that she was no longer a Habsburg, having renounced her rights on the occasion of her marriage; therefore Yugoslavia had no right to sequester the property. The case was finally settled by a payment of $575,000 to the Princess. In 1959 a Botanical Garden was founded on Lokrum which contains native and imported, tropical and subtropical plants, and other vegetation originating from Australia and South America. The island is also inhabited by families of peacocks brought over by Maximilian from the Canary Islands.