Historical Development of the Port

The Port of Gruž traces its past back to the 10th century, while it is recorded that as early as the 16th century there was a shipyard in the Gruž bay, several summer residences were built, and a maritime lazaret was established in 1832.

Beginnings and Development

The Origin of Gruž Port

The cramped conditions of the city port and the development of world shipbuilding were the reasons why the people of Dubrovnik found a new space for their main port, which was the deeper and more spacious Gruž bay.

New shipbuilding techniques and ship technology significantly influenced the further development of the port, as well as the emergence of tourist arrivals in Dubrovnik. At the beginning of the 20th century, in 1901, the railway line arrived in Gruž, which also influenced the development of maritime routes.

The development of the Gruž port followed the development of the city of Dubrovnik and it developed in parallel with it.

Cargo-Passenger Port

The port was initially a cargo-passenger port, so accordingly one passenger pier was arranged, while the rest of the port was built as a dock for cargo ships with cranes for unloading and loading ship cargo, as well as a terminal for unloading and loading railway wagons, which were used to transport various goods throughout the former Yugoslavia.

The port was specialized for receiving and further transporting timber, however with further development of the port, a large cold storage facility was built for receiving and storing perishable food products.

A large passenger terminal with a restaurant and other facilities was also built.

Cruise Ship Tourism

Pioneer of Cruising

In the maritime world, it is known that Dubrovnik was among the first ports to start cultivating cruise ship tourism — and has been doing so for 165 years.

Cruise ship tourism owes its beginning to the rapid development of transport, especially after the invention and practical application of the steam engine at the beginning of the 19th century. Thus, Dubrovnik, through a fortunate combination of the development of steamship maritime transport and its geographical position, was among the first in the world to start developing this new form of tourism.

During the 1980s and up to the present day, Dubrovnik has been an important tourist destination for receiving cruise ships.

The Homeland War

During the Homeland War, since Dubrovnik was under complete blockade, the port was its only connection with the world. Humanitarian aid arrived there, as well as various world delegations.

Modern Era

After the Homeland War, the Port of Dubrovnik exclusively directed its development towards becoming a passenger port.

In 1998, a larger number of cruise ships began arriving and since then, with the exception of 1999 (Kosovo crisis), there has been a constant growing trend, and the figure of one million passengers from cruise ships has already been reached.

Dubrovnik, as the most significant cruise ship destination on the Croatian part of the Adriatic, is at the very top of the Mediterranean in terms of visits, and is currently going through a phase of progressive growth and development.