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Croatian Heroes: Pavo Urban defended Dubrovnik with his camera

Posted on August 6, 2008August 9, 2026 by Prof.Dr. Darko Zubrinic

Pavo Urban, August 1st, 1968. – December 6th, 1991, was killed with his photo camera in hands in 1991 during Serbian and Montenegrin shelling and bombing of the city of Dubrovnik.
All the photos are from pavourban.pondi.hr

The island of Lokrum near Dubrovnik in dawn, 1990.

Pilgrimage to Međugorje in 1990.

Prayer for Peace in Međugorje, 1990.

Shadows in Dubrovnik

Virtue, 1991; photo on the Stradun street with the Cathedral of St. Vlaho, quite near the place where Pavo Urban took his last photo.

Serbian and Montenegrin shelling and bombing of the city of Dubrovnik in 1991. The City was under protection of UNESCO.

Mushroom of fire from an 1991 explosion on the famous Stradun, the main street in Dubrovnik.

The native City of Pavo Urban in flames.

Near the famous Dubrovnik tower of Minčeta in 1991.

A man with a dog; fear during bursting concert of shelling and bombing.

Who is the next? The City was cut from pouring water supply during half a year, and the citizens were saved by centuries old wells.

This is my home. Dubrovnik in 1991.
Shelling of the City on December 6th, 1991 near the famous Orlando Column and the Cathedral of St. Vlaho, not far from the photographer.

The last photo of Pavo Urban, December 6th, 1991. A moment later he was shot dead by shrapnels from Serbian and Montenegrin shelling.

 
Pavo Urban (Dubrovnik, 1. kolovoza 1968. – 6. prosinca 1991.) studirao je nakon završene srednje pomorske škole na Pomorskom fakultetu u Dubrovniku. Kratko je vrijeme kao pomorac plovio na brodovima Jadrolinije. Fotografijom se počeo baviti u srednjoj školi, a kasnije se uključio u rad fotokluba Marin Getaldić u Dubrovniku. Pred rat bavio se umjetničkom fotografijom, izlagao na izložbama i radio kao fotograf na Dubrovačkim ljetnim igrama i u Kazalištu Marin Držić u Dubrovniku.
Početkom je rata u jesen 1991. godine položio prijamni ispit na Akademiji dramske umjetnosti studij Snimanja u Zagrebu. Potom se vraća u Dubrovnik koji je uskoro opkoljen jedinicama JNA i crnogorskim i srpskim napadačkim hordama. Pavo se prijavio kao dragovoljac još u srpnju 1991. U pripremama za obranu grada aktivan je od početka rujna, a 29. rujna je već na položaju u Župi dubrovačkoj (Buići, Makoše, Postranje). Po padu i okupaciji Župe vraća se u Dubrovnik i dokumentira razaranja grada fotografijom i videom. Snima za Slobodnu Dalmaciju i Dubrovački vjesnik, a dokumentira i za Ministarstvo informiranja RH.
Pavo Urban pao je od minobacačke granate nedaleko Orlandova kipa, a na fotografijama koje je pred pogibiju snimao zabilježen je niz mina koje su u njegovoj neposrednoj blizini padale po Stradunu. Snimao je za vrijeme najžešćeg napada na Dubrovnik, a s mjesta pogibije snimljena i posljednja snimka Kamena prašina nad Gradom. Posmrtno je izašla fotomonografija Pavo Urban (Pavo Urban, urednik Lukša Peko, urednik fotografije Željko Šoletić, Naučna biblioteka – Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik 1992.) s ciklusom fotografija Rat-art koje je započeo snimati početkom rata, te Pavo Urban – posljednje slike (Antun Maračić: Pavo Urban – posljednje slike, META, Zagreb 1997.), a priređen je i veći broj izložaba s njegovim predratnim i ratnim fotografijama.
U Dubrovniku je utemeljena Zaklada Pavo Urban za pomoć djeci, Udruženja obitelji branitelja Domovinskog rata.
Za svoj rad primio je više nagrada i to: 3. nagrada za fotografiju na Dubrovačkom salonu II (1989.), Posebno priznanje Ministarstva kulture Republike Hrvatske (1993.), Posebno priznanje Hrvatskog novinarskog društva za osobite zasluge na području novinarstva u domovinskom ratu (1993.), Posebno priznanje Akademie der Künste, Berlin (1993.), Fritz-Sanger-Preis, Bonn (1993.), Posebno priznanje HDDR Dubrovnik za izuzetne osobne zasluge na području novinarstva u Domovinskom ratu (1993.), Nagrada Laus DDF, Dubrovnik (1995.).
Pavo Urban odlikovan je sljedećim odličjima: Spomenica Domovinskog rata 1991/1992. (1997.), Red Zrinskog i Frankopana s pozlaćenim pleterom (1996.), Odličje Hrvatskih dragovoljaca Domovinskog rata s pozlaćenim pleterom (1996.), Red Danice hrvatske s likom Marka Marulića (1997.).
Source: www.snimanje.adu.hr

Film about Pavo Urban. Source: vinovo.magnify.net

Related stories:
Gordan Lederer, a legendary Croatian cameraman
Siniša Glavašević, writer and reporter from Vukovar

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