Ston is a coastal place and a municipality with a population of 580 situated on the narrow part of the Peljesac peninsula, 3 km. from the Adriatic freeway on the road leading from the Adriatic freeway across Peljesac. It consists of two settlements: Stone and Mali (Small) Stone.
The church of St. Mihovil with preserved Romanesque frescoes which are considered to be among the oldest in Croatia, is situated on the hill of St. Mihovil. Ston was a diocese in the 9th Century. From the year 1326 it is a part of the Dubrovnik Republic. Its past reaches all the way to neolith, which is witnessed by the findings in the Gudnja cave near Stone.
The old citadels are lllyric by their style and were inhabited by the Illyrian tribe of Plereja. It was conquered by the Romans in 36 AD When Ston came into the possession of Dubrovnik it became a strategic settlement and the new city of Stone was built. The entire town is surrounded with defensive walls, fortifications and bastions with a total length of 5500 m, which once prevented the approach to the peninsula by land. This is the Croatian "Chinese Wall", the best preserved defensive walls of this length on the Adriatic sea. The large forts of Veliki Castle, Komuna and Podzbizd are located here. The saltries of Ston date from the Roman era. The profit gained through sale of this salt provided an annual income of 16 000 gold pieces to Dubrovnik Republic, which roughly covered the annual contribution which Dubrovnik was forces to pay to the Turks.
Ston is one of the first towns in Croatia and Balkans to be built according to a previously set plan of urban development, which gives it a special place in Croatian, as well as European architecture.
The Renaissance palace Biskupski dvor, the Franciscan monastery and he church of St. Nicholas built in 1347 are also located in the town. The former City Council is turned into a hotel by the name of "Ston". The pension by the name "Otok zivota" (The Island of Life) is an exquisite tourist attraction. It is located on a small island between Ston and the mainland. This island was previously known as Govanj. The fisher's settlements of Broce, Hodilje and Luka are also situated in the vicinity. There is a camp on the main beach of Ston.
The Bistrina cove is five km. from Ston on the Adriatic freeway. It has a beautiful bridge which stretches over the cove in which the famous Ston shells are grown. Its specific hydrologic regime caused it to be under special protection of the State. During the Homeland war, in the years 1991 and 1992 it was continually shelled by the artillery and the aviation of the "cetnik" army which caused severe damages to the old city, the city walls and the entire area. Thanks to the solidarity of the people of Croatia, particularly the citizens of Makarska, as well as the efforts made on the part of the world community, the city has been completely renovated after the war. A powerful earthquake of 6 deg. on the Richter scale which occurred on the 5th of September 1996 shook the entire Dubrovnik region. It had an epicenter in Ston, which caused this town to be almost destroyed. The city walls and the forts were also damaged.
This catastrophes earthquake lasted for months and the vibrations caused the ruins to suffer yet further destruction. The renovation began again in the year 1997.
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