Young men with halberds will be guarding the Pile and Ploče entrances in the evening hours between 19.30 and 21.30 till the end of the summer. When ending their watch, they will walk through Stradun that will certainly delight the visitors of Dubrovnik and the residents alike.
Dubrovnik introduced the town watch as a tourist attraction in 2005, as the first city in Croatia following the trends from the beginning of this century that aimed at reviving historical nucleus, museums and other cultural institutions.
Zagreb followed in establishing its Cravat Regiment, Split brought back gladiators alive, and Šibenik also introduced the city watch.
Taking into accounts the historical facts it has to be stressed that Dubrovnik Republic had the Rector’s guards dressed in black and wearing black belts that held guard in front of the entrance to the Rector’s Palace, and escorted the Rector in ceremonious outings when he left the palace.
Moreover, as a medieval fortified town, Dubrovnik had its town watch through many centuries that closely monitored the events outside the city walls and warned of the possible attackers as Lukša Beritić describes in his book Dubrovački miri (The Walls of Dubrovnik) referring to the town watch that marched up and down the town.
