Today (14 Oct) is the date in 1808 when France (technically Napoleon's Kingdom of Italy) annexed Dubrovnik into its Empire.
Dubrovnik was known as the Republic of Ragusa for the preceding 450 years. It wasn't re-named Dubrovnik until after WWI.
It has a fascinating history - not least because it managed to be independent of Venice for about a century before being taken under the Ottoman Empire's wings.
The date 14 Oct in 1806 is also related to Napoleon as the date of the twin battles...Jena and Auerstedt, where the KIngdom of Prussia having ill-advisedly declared war on Napoleon in an one on one encounter saw the Prussian armies at the end of the day on 14 Oct decisively beaten
Do you notice, Fred, that outside the modern borders of France there tends to be little commemoration of Napoleonic era events? So much of what makes Europe interesting for the historically minded traveler involves the conflicts between empires and actors that in recent decades have been hidden away in closets and back rooms or otherwise under-appreciated. Or so it seems to me.
Just look to Danzig and Fiume as nearly forgotten even as we just pass the century mark since the conclusion of the Great War...
@ avirosemail....Well, that depends on how one looks at it. In Slavkov near Brno (Austerlitz and Brünn as these places were known then), I thought the Czechs did a very good balanced job of presenting the history of the battle in Schloss Austerlitz, a lot to see in terms of historial realia. For outside of France, I would rate this Napoleon battle exhibition as top.
I rate that Slakov museum much better than the one on the Wagram battle in Deutsch-Wagram (next to Wien, take the S-Bahn from Wien Hbf) in terms of historical portrayal, realia, etc.
There is also the "1806 Museum" on the Jena battle.. I have not seen that one, too hard to get to by public transport from the Jena Paradis train station... just way out there.
