Dubrovnik: Pearl of the Adriatic

"If you want to see heaven on earth come to Dubrovnik"
George Bernard Shaw

The highlight of any visit to Dubrovnik, is a walk around the magnificent medieval Gradske Zidine (City Walls) that rank as one of the best preserved in the world, and have helped the city to achieve UNESCO World Heritage status.

The city’s curious history is retold in the Gradski Muzej (City Museum), housed in the old Knežei Dvor (Rector’s Palace), making it an essential first stop as you familiarise yourself with the city.

The city’s two main places of worship, the Katedrala (Cathedral) and Crkva Sv Vlaha (St Blaise’s Church), are both worth a look with the cathedral’s treasury being a particular highlight.

Quick Tips:

The main tourist information office is just outside Gradska vrata Pile (Pile Gate) open weekdays 8am-8pm and weekends 9am-1pm, they provide all the usual facilities, services, and pamphlets.

The most famous of the city’s beaches is the Copacabana which looks like a flooded rubbish tip with its concrete waterside, and polluted waters. A far better choice for sunbathing and swimming are the rocky outcrops and saltwater lake of Lokrum Island.

The best time to visit the city is during the Dubrovnik Summer Festival (mid-July to mid-August), when tourists flock to enjoy the numerous cultural events that are put on by the city.

Best Way To Get Around:

The old town is pedestrianised, and wandering aimlessly around on foot is by far the best way to experience the wonders of this ancient walled city.

Dubrovnik is a major transport hub with buses running to Zagreb, Pula, Rijeka, and Split, and also on to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro.

There is also a port with regular ferries along the coast to Sobra (Mljet), Korèula, Stari Grad (Hvar), Split, Zadar, and Rijeka, and also on to Bari (Italy).

Finally, there is an international airport 21km away at Cilipi with scheduled flights to most European capitals, and a bus to the centre for 25kn.

At the heart of the old city in Luža Square stands the Knežei Dvor (Rector’s Palace) once home to the ceremonial head of the republic, who for the course of his one-month term was not allowed to see his family or leave the palace except on official state business, and now home to the Gradski Muzej (City Museum).

The earliest written reference to the palace dates back to 1349, although there was a fortress on the site before that. The current building, with its arcaded loggia and large central courtyard, is a curious hodgepodge of styles that have built-up over the centuries to show-off the skills of many of the city’s most famous architects, who have attempted to resurrect the building throughout it’s somewhat unlucky history. After a fire in 1435, Onofrio della Cava of Naples, the master-builder who had been responsible for the city’s water supply and the small ornate fountain outside in Luža Square, built a small Gothic palace, of which, elements still remain in the current building. After the highly destructive explosion in the gunpowder store in 1463, famous architect Micheloezo di Bartolomeo of Florence, who was refortifying the city walls at the time, set about reconstruction in Renaissance style. Finally, damage from the earthquake of 1667 resulted in Baroque reparations.

Inside the central courtyard you are greeted by the 1638 bust of Miho Pracat, a 16th century merchant who left his wealth to the republic. He was the only citizen to have his image preserved in sculpture in defiance of local laws drawn-up to prevent hero cults from emerging. Off of the courtyard is a portal marked Obliti privatorum publica curate (Forget private affairs and get on with public matters), and the large rooms where the Major Council and Senate held their meetings. While upstairs you will find the Rector’s living quarters. These rooms now house exhibitions of the usual collection of reconstructed interiors, local coins, artworks, and period costumes. These trace the history of the city from it’s Roman foundations to the present day. One of the more powerful exhibits is the collection of old clocks, all stopped at a quarter to 6, the time at which on the 30th of January, 1806, Napoleonic forces entered the city, marking the end of the republic.

Entrance to the museum is just about worth the 15kn entrance fee, if you have a spare half an hour, but is hardly worth going out your way for. Potentially more rewarding for those that wish to gain access to the interior are the concerts held in the central courtyard here during the Dubrovnik Summer Festival.

The two main places of worship in the old town are the Katedrala (Cathedral) & Crkva Sv Vlaha (St Blaise’s Church), and both are well worth a look.

The Katedrala was the seat of an archbishop who, according to the law of the republic, had to be a foreigner in order to keep church and state apart. Recent archaeological finds indicate that there has been a cathedral on the current site since the 7th century. The last one, sponsored in part by King Richard the Lionheart of England after surviving a shipwreck of the Island of Lokrum in 1192, was destroyed in the great Earthquake of 1667. Local boy Stjepan Gradiæ, who was working in Rome as custodian of the Vatican Library at the time, immediately set about raising funds for the repairs and hired Andrea Buffalini of Urbino to rebuild the cathedral in a Roman-Baroque style.
 
Construction work on the new cathedral, with its three isles and large cupola, began in 1671 and it was opened for Christmas, 1713, with a procession that carried the holy relics from Crkva Sv Vlaha to their new home in the cathedral’s treasury. The interior is light and airy, while the main altar featuring Titian’s polyptych Mary’s Assumption hung unframed looks surprisingly modern. Side altars include the violet marble, Northern-Baroque Altar of St. John of Nepomuk, and the simple memorial to Abbott Gradiæ.

In contrast to this the treasury, which can be viewed for a small fee, is an ostentatious feast of gilt (and blatant lack of guilt) featuring reliquaries containing the head, right hand, left hand, right foot, and throat of St. Blaise. Only a few more pieces are required for the custodians to be able to rebuild the former Bishop of Sebaste, who was martyred in AD316 during one of the purges of Emperor Diocletian. St. Blaise was made patron of the city in 972AD after appearing in a dream to Strojko, the cathedral’s rector, to warn of a night time attack by the Venetian fleet anchored off of Lokrum. The saint’s image appears on all the public buildings, coins, and standards of the republic and his feast day on February 3rd is a major holiday, and the city’s main church is dedicated to him. The current Baroque Crkva Sv Vlaha was designed by Venetian architect Marino Gropelli, based on St. Mauritus in Venice, and built in 1715 as a replacement for its predecessor, which was damaged in the earthquake of 1667 and burnt to the ground in 1706. The main altar features a 15th-century Gothic-gilt silver statue of St. Blaise, holding a model of the city before the earthquake; that was the only thing to survive the destruction of the earlier church.

Individually these buildings are fascinating, but taken together they provide a unique look at Baroque ecclesiastical architecture. The cathedral’s treasury is a true spectacle; and if you happen to have any parts of St. Blaise lying around at home, I urge you to donate them.

The beaches around the city aren’t up to much, but a short ferry trip will bring you to the Island of Lokrum. This tiny island 700m offshore is covered in a pristine pine forest, dense with Mediterranean and sub-tropical vegetation.

A Benedictine monastery was established here in 1023, only to be cleared out by the Napoleonic authorities during the occupation in the early 19th century. Local legend says that before they left, the monks placed a curse on the island that has led to the tragic deaths of a series of owners. The list includes Archduke Maximillian Habsburg, who bought the island in 1859 and converted the monastery in to a summerhouse only to suffer the misfortune of being packed off to Mexico where he was proclaimed Emperor, kidnapped, and executed just 8 years later. The island has since passed into the ownership of the state (whose misfortunes I don’t have the space to list), and has been converted into a national park.

The Archduke’s Neo-Gothic palace can still be seen, along with its exotic botanic garden and strutting peacocks. There is also the 19th-century Napoleonic Fort Royale at the islands apex, affording excellent views of old Dubrovnik and the sea. The forest offers some beautiful shaded walks. The beaches are very rocky (it will take another couple of millennia before these rocks are broken down into something resembling sand) but they are clean and safe, unlike those on the mainland. There is a small saltwater lake for protected swimming, and a nudist beach (FKK) for letting it all hang out if you so desire.

Facilities are limited to an expensive restaurant and a few overpriced stalls, so bring a picnic. There is nowhere to stay on the island, as this is still considered bad luck. To reach the island, take a taxi boat from the old port. These cost 25kn and leave every 30 minutes, with the last one returning at 8pm. Don’t miss it or you may end up totalitarian ruler of Mexico, and you wouldn’t want that.

One of the best-preserved medieval city fortifications in the world, and a major factor in Dubrovnik’s UNESCO listing, the magnificent city walls are a highlight of any visit.

The walls originated in the early 7th century, when the Islet of Ragusa was populated by Roman refugees. The rocky islet’s natural defensive position was augmented by fortifications that by the 9th century were already strong enough to resist a 15-month siege by the Saracens. By the 11th century, the channel was filled in, and the walls extended to take in the Croat settlement on the mainland. The walls took their final shape in the 14th century, when they were extended to encompass the Dominican monastery and many of the original fortresses were built.

The fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453 led to the appointment of renaissance architect Micheloezo di Bartolomeo of Florence to refortify the city. The two main entrances, Gradska vrata Pile (Pile Gate) and Vrata od Ploèa (Ploèe Gate), were reconstructed along with Trvaðava Revelin (Revelin Fort). The elegant Zulezdan (Bokar Tower) was constructed to protect vrata Pile, the small port below, and as a base for the destruction of the external Tvraðava Lovrijinec (Lovrijinec Fort), should it fall into enemy hands. While the walls of this fort are for the most part 12m thick, the side facing the city is only 60cm. Finally, the great Trvaðava Minèeta (Minèeta Fort) was expanded and joined to the new scarp walls designed to protect the city from artillery fire. This is still the highest point in the city and affords superb views. This work was mostly completed by 1463, the same year that saw the Turks advance into neighbouring areas.

In the late 15th century, the city feared conquest both from the marauding Turks and the Venetians, from whom the republic became independent in 1358. City engineer Pakaje Milièevic set about refortifying Gradska Luka (Old Port), rebuilding the imposing Trvaðava sv Ivana (St John’s Fort) and Trvaðava sv Lukaš (St Luke’s Fort) opposite, and replacing the chain and wooden beams that used to be stretched between the two to close the port at night with Kaša breakwater. He also built the Passing Bell Fort on the southern wall, which now affords excellent views of the sea and Lokrum Island, and a new stone bridge across the defensive ditch to Vrata od Ploèa.

The mighty walls saw little combat, until the devastating siege of 1991, but did prove themselves by surviving the devastating earthquake of 1667 relatively unscathed, including Trvaðava Revelin, refortified by Antonio Ferramdino between 1538-49, which housed the city’s treasury. The walls today stretch for 2km around the city and range from 1.5m thick on the seaward side to 6m thick on the land side. They can be accessed for 30Kn from next to Gradska vrata Pile, or opposite the Bell Tower, and the walk around the circumference is a perfect way to experience the city and its immediate surroundings.

The ancient city that was once the heart of a mini-republic that extended for 120km along the coast from Neum in the north, to the Bay of Kotor in the south, and the glories of this golden age can still be discovered within the walls of the old city.

The Islet of Laus (from labes, the Latin for sheer-slope) was first settled by Roman refugees from the destruction of Epidurium, near modern day Cavtat, by Avars and Slavs in the early 7th century. The city known as Ragusa (a corruption of Laus) grew under Byzantine influence and quickly flourished as is evidenced by the recent find of the remains of a cathedral from this time. Meanwhile a Croat settlement, known as Dubrovnik (from dubrova the Croat for Holm-Oak), grew-up on the opposite bank. By the 11th century, effluence had silted-up the dividing channel to the point that the two communities became joined. The main street, Placa, still follows the course of this channel, so just think about that as you stroll along. The 12th century saw the city grow in influence as it signed trade agreements with many Adriatic ports. This was not overlooked by Venice, the dominant power in the region, who in 1205 assumed authority over the fledgling city-state.

The republic received independence from Venice with the Treaty of Zadar in 1358, and entered its golden age maintaining its independence by playing the Hungarian King and Ottoman Sultan off against one another. The skill of the city’s diplomats is evidenced by the fact that it had the Pope’s consent to continue trading in the Middle-East at the time of the crusades, and that it is still today divorced from mainland Croatia by a parcel of land it gave to then Turkish Bosnia as a buffer zone. The city’s famous walls took on their final form at this time, including the construction of the imposing Trvaðava Minèeta (Minèeta Fort) and Trvaðava sv. Ivana (St John’s Fort); now home to the city’s Pomorski Muzej (Maritime Museum), with it’s collection of model ships, uniforms, and nautical charts, and the Akvarij (Aquarium); with saltwater pools and tanks that are home to many Adriatic species including rays, shark, octopus, and sea turtles.

A major public work at this time was the laying down of an aqueduct in 1438 by master-builder Onofrio della Cava of Naples to supply the city’s fountains, including his masterpiece polygonal fountain (since stripped of its ornamentation) just inside Vrata od Pile (Pile Gate), and the smaller but better preserved fountain on Luža Square, both of which are worth a visit for a reviving drink. This golden age also saw the reconstruction of many of the city’s fascinating municipal palaces around the square; including the Knežei Dvor (Rector’s Palace), now home to the Gradski Muzej (City Museum). The square itself is named after the Luža, built in 1463 as a home for the city alarm bells after their previous home at the Rector’s Palace had been destroyed in a gunpowder explosion. The square, indeed the entire city, is however dominated the 31m-high bell tower. Built in 1444 by local masters Grubaèervic Utišenoviæ and Radonèic with a 1509 bell by Ivan of Rab, this stands at the centre of this complex of palaces that formed the administrative heart of the republic.

The 1522 Plaèa Sponza (Sponza Palace), designed by Pakaje Milièevic with lower Renaissance arches and upper Venetian-Gothic windows, is one of the best-preserved buildings in the city. Its relatively unscathed survival of the 1667 earthquake is credited with saving the republic. As home to the mint, bank, armoury, and customs house, it’s survival meant that business was able to proceed pretty much uninterrupted amid the devastation. The 1882 Neo-Gothic Town Hall stands on the site of the Palace of Major Council. Designed by Milièevic along similar lines to Plaèa Sponza, this earlier building was destroyed by fire in 1816. The Major Council consisted of all adult patrician males and was responsible for the election of the ruling Senate and its executive arm, unimaginatively named the Minor Council. Next-door stands the House of the Main Guard, formerly home to the supreme commander of the Republic’s forces. The Baroque portal was added as part of reconstruction work from 1706 to 1708, by the architect Marino Grepelli.

Later works include the construction of; the 1528 Church of the Saviour, as a thanksgiving after the city survived an earthquake; the 1537 Gradska vrata Pile (Pile Gate), where today guards in period costume usher you into the city; and the 1542-90 Rupe (from the Croat for holes), which once served as the city granary and now houses an ethnographic museum and it’s uninteresting collection of folk costumes and handicrafts. The devastating earthquake of 1667 destroyed much of the old town, which had to be rebuilt in Baroque-style. This reconstruction resulted in the rows of uniform houses along Placa, with their distinctive L-shaped shop-fronts, and is now home to souvenir stalls, giving way only to the light and airy 1671 Baroque Katedrala (Cathedral), designed by Andrea Buffalini of Urbino, and the 1705-17 Crkva Sv Vlaha (St Blaise’s Church), designed by Grepelli and dedicated to the city’s patron.

The republic also had a strong religious presence with the 1225 Dominican and 1317 Franciscan monasteries, the latter of which is home to one of the oldest pharmacies in the world, a Convent of St Clare, which opened an orphanage as early as 1434, and the later 1699 Jesuit School, with its magnificent Baroques church based on the Gesu in Rome, and accessed by a daunting staircase comparable to that city’s Spanish Steps. All of these are open to the public, as is the 1877 Orthodox Church, home to a small iconography museum, and the 15th-century Sinagoga (Synagogue), the third oldest in Europe after those in Prague and Toledo. The true guardian of the city however is Roland, the legendary medieval knight purported to have defended the city against the Saracens. His monument stands in the centre of Luža Square beneath the fluttering flag of the old republic.

Wandering the streets of this magnificently preserved city is a very rewarding experience, and there are many back-ways where you can escape the crush of tourists that parade along Placa at all hours of day and night.