By Dragan Nikolic
Founder of Foreign Policy Forum, Croatia
In the new world order, when both large and small nations increasingly raise economic barriers and impose protectionism, while also ghettoizing their history and culture in ideological and religious revolutions, two long-established defensive walls on different parts of the world continue to symbolize an open global village rather than narrow national narratives. Both the Great Wall of China and the Walls of Ston today are historical monuments symbolizing world cultural heritage. Both fortifications are listed on UNESCO’s protected material heritage list. The Walls of Ston are part of the much more famous Dubrovnik ones. The beautiful town of Ston is located just 54 kilometers from Dubrovnik, on the Pelješac Peninsula in southern Croatia.
Both the Great Wall of China and the Walls of Ston are impressive and historically significant fortifications, yet they differ considerably in size, purpose, and the historical context in which they were created. Unlike the Great Wall of China, whose construction began in the 7th century BC and lasted for more than two millennia, the construction of the Walls of Ston started in 1333. It lasted for nearly 400 years, until the early 16th century, as the fortification was gradually improved to adapt to the terrain and the development of armaments. Both then and now, the Walls of Ston are the longest and one of the best-preserved defensive fortification systems in Europe, and the second longest in the world, right after the Great Wall of China.
Historical records say that after the Republic of Dubrovnik conquered Pelješac in 1333, it decided to build a 1,200-meter-long Great Wall. Enclosing the entire peninsula, it ended with towers on the shores of the Ston Channel and the Mali Ston Bay. Two fortified towns were built at these locations, Ston to the south and Small Ston to the north, where lived residents who guarded the border and worked in the salt pans. The people of Dubrovnik decided to launch the largest urban development project in Europe at the time in order to defend the newly conquered territory, but also the salt pans there, since the Venetians were constantly stealing salt. At that time, a kilogram of salt costed as much as a kilogram of gold, and this commodity brought wealth to the Republic of Dubrovnik and guaranteed it’s financial stability. In the oldest European salt pans, where salt has been produced since the time of the ancient Romans, production still takes place today with the help of the sea, sun and wind, and around 500 tons of salt is harvested annually from nine crystallization pools. Historians will always mention that the Ston walls have always protected the shellfish farming area in the Small Ston Bay, the widely known oysters, the cultivation of which dates back to the beginning of the 13th century.
The Great Wall of China, which stretches through several Chinese provinces, followed the topography of the terrain that protected China from invasion, especially from nomadic tribes from the north. The Ston Walls also played an important role in protecting medieval Ston from invaders and various invasions throughout history, both from land by the Turks and from sea by Adriatic pirates and the Venetians. These walls, which are sometimes referred to as the Great Croatian Wall, offer insight into the medieval past of Croatia and the Dubrovnik Republic, and demonstrate the extraordinary engineering skills of the architects who built them. There is no doubt that this is the largest construction project of the Dubrovnik Republic outside Dubrovnik. They were neither cheap nor easy to build. Their total original length was more than 7 kilometers. They had 41 towers, 6 bastions and five fortresses. The shape of the Ston Walls is an irregular pentagon connecting Ston and Small Ston. Inside the walls, three streets run from north to south and three streets from east to west, forming 15 equal blocks with 10 houses each. Some of the builders were craftsmen who also participated in the construction of the Dubrovnik walls (an example of the city plan of Dubrovnik was also used as a model for the construction of Ston). According to the custom of the old Ragusans, in Ston, when improving and strengthening the walls, the old ones were not demolished, but only new ones were added, so Ston has preserved parts of the walls from the first half of the 14th century.
The Dubrovnik Republic ended up at the beginning of the 19th century. It was then that the Ston walls began to decay due to lack of maintenance. Portions were sold to private individuals, and the stone was used as building material for schools or municipal buildings. The walls were also damaged in earthquakes in 1667, 1979 and 1996. In 2003, the restoration of the Great Wall began, and since 2009, the walls have been open to many visitors. Today, 5.5 kilometers of the walls remain, with heights varying between five and ten meters. Tourists tirelessly walk along them in the summer, and once a year, recreational marathon runners compete. The STONe Wall Marathon has been held in Ston since 2008. The fastest female and male competitors after the 42-kilometer marathon win are awarded with the entry fee for the marathon on the Great Wall of China (Conquer the Wall Marathon) as a prize.
The Ston walls are most similar in appearance to the Great Wall of China, which is why they are often referred to as the younger brother of that magnificent structure in China. Although both walls were built for defense, today they serve as cultural bridges. The Great Wall of China is one of the most picturesque structures in human history. It symbolizes the strength and unity, as well as the resilience of Chinese civilization, both in the past and today. It connects the world with Chinese history. The Ston Walls are a symbol of Dubrovnik’s resilience, naval power and economic strategy. Today, they are primarily a tourist attraction that bears witness to the extraordinary cultural heritage of the Dubrovnik Republic and its architectural strength in the past, connecting the local community with visitors from all over the world. From the walls, there is a panoramic view of the fascinating surrounding landscape and the beautiful Adriatic Sea. In a time of raising new geopolitical, economic, and cultural walls, two historical monuments remind us that through tourism, the exchange of knowledge, and the preservation of history it is still possible to find at least the smallest possible common civilizational denominator.
The ancient city wall in Ganzhou, in eastern China’s Jiangxi province, is also known for its height and historical significance. One of the best-preserved city walls in China, it was built during the Han Dynasty. Originally built to protect the city from invaders, the wall has undergone several stages of renovation and strengthening over the centuries. Today, it is more than 3 kilometers long. Tourists can also walk along it and enjoy panoramic views of Ganzhou and the surrounding countryside…
Cultures in different parts of the world can communicate through the same symbols. In this case, walls, as much as it may sound like an oxymoron at first glance. In times of dangerous living on all world meridians, when one of the most important words is resilience, the walls in China and Croatia symbolize resilience. Not only physical but also cultural. Because the restored walls depict the strategic importance of fortifications in different cultures and historical periods. The Ston walls, like the Great Wall of China, are not only breathtaking structures. They are also a time machine that enriches foreign understanding of Chinese and Croatian cultural heritage. As are the fascinating round houses, i.e. mini-fortresses in Jiangxi province, an invaluable architectural treasure for historians studying the lives of the Hakka people.
*The views and opinions expressed in the articles are solely those of the individual authors and do not reflect the position of the Secretariat of the Belt and Road Journalist Network.