Vitaljina
Vitaljina is a village in the municipality of Konavle, in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Croatia. Connected by the D516 state road, it is the southernmost settlement in Croatia, located between the Adriatic Sea and Montenegro., the population of Vitaljina was 153.
The village has faced attacks from numerous groups in its history. In the 16th century, raiders and pirates targeted the village because it was close to the Dalmatian coast. When the Yugoslav People's Army invaded Croatia during the Croatian War of Independence, Vitaljina was the first village attacked in Dubrovnik-Neretva County. The JNA occupied and destroyed the village during the war.
History
The villagers of Vitaljina were frequent victims of raiders and pirates in the 16th century. The attackers disregarded the authority of the Republic of Ragusa and targeted Vitaljina in particular due to its proximity to the Dalmatian coast.During the Croatian War of Independence, Vitaljina was the first part of Dubrovnik-Neretva County to be attacked by Yugoslav forces, in the evening of 23 September 1991. The Yugoslav People's Army and irregular Serb forces occupied the village before looting and razing it. The JNA desecrated graves in the village, using them to store landmines and other explosives.
On 1 September 2022, a waterspout of intensity IF1 made landfall in Vitaljina. The waterspout damaged the local cultural center and a family residence, lifted roofs and fences from their foundations, felled trees, and destroyed a football field and building-in-construction. Additionally, a landslide caused by the waterspout damaged a vehicle. No casualties were reported.