The closed city of Dubrovnik in Croatia - District of the Cabin

This astonishing sculpture was carried out in 1418 by the Master ragusain Antun Dubrovčanin.

It is a column hones some with carved ornaments, representing a medieval knight, with the typically Gothic smile, the framed face of loops, and carrying the armor, the sword and the shield; at the top of the column a struck white flag of the word Libertas floats.

According to the legend, the sculpture would represent the paladin Roland, the hero of Roncevaux and nephew of Charlemagne, which would have delivered Dubrovnik, encircled by dangerous Arab pirates at the 8th century; in recognition, the citizens would have devoted this commemorative column to him. But it is more probably about a local hero who would have pushed back an attack of the Turks.

At all events, the column is the symbol of the freedom and the independence of the republic of Raguse: it was furnished during the festivities with the flag with the Republic, while its pedestal was used as platform, from where one was addressed to the population to make public the proclamations of the government and other information.

More practically, the front armlever of the statue of Roland was used as measuring rod used by the tradesmen of the city: the length of the front armlever (51.2 cm) the “was bent ragusaine” and, on the base of the column, the notches in the stone reproduced this ell and allowed to measure the fabrics.

Each year, the solemn ceremony of unveiling of the Festival of summer of Dubrovnik and installation of the standard of freedom “Libertas” proceeds in front of the column of Roland.

Its construction goes back to the 16th century, between 1516 and 1522, but the interior court is former to the frontage and date of the 14th century; she took the place of an old medieval street.

On the architectural level, the palace juxtaposes the elements of a late Gothic style (ground floor and 1st stage) and of Renaissance style (2nd stage), according to the project of the talented architect and chief engineer of the Republic of Raguse, Paskoje Miličević.

The Gothic style Renaissance is visible not only in the arcades, but also in the windows which open on Placed. Its frontage, particularly remarkable, combines the styles Gothic (veins, sheets of clover, windows in warhead on the first floor) and Rebirth (columns and pediments on the 2nd floor) and of the arcades inspired of the ancient temples with the ground floor. Its beauty as many raises its proportions delicate work of the stonecutters.

The palace comprises long and narrow rectangular interior court with double gallery, comparable with two encircled superimposed cloisters of their two stages of arcades.

The palace illustrates the originality and the specificity of the architecture ragusaine, which consists of a successful combination of the expressive potential of various styles joined together in the harmonious architecture of this palace which seems decorated with stone laces. They are the Andrijić brothers, resulting from the famous family of masons stonecutters of Korčula, who carried out work of size of the stones.

The court of the palace, broadside of arcades, was the shopping center more animated city and the appointment of the businessmen of the Republic. The inscription on DRESSING chapel “FALLERE NOSTRA AND FALLI BALANCED MEQUE PONDERO CUM MERCES PONDERAT IPSE DEUS” reminds the tradesmen not to cheat in business.

The palace became thereafter the place of meeting of the scholars.

Today, the Sponza palace shelters the files of the city-state of Dubrovnik (Povijesni arhiv), true national treasure. These archives preserve the most important documents testifying to the long story of Dubrovnik and its area, to the remote centuries (some going back to 1022) and at the time modern.

At the bottom of the interior court the original mechanism of the Tower of the Clock of the city is, while on the left are exposed old plans and photographs of Dubrovnik as well as invaluable archives (charter of the foundation of the city, 1358; book of the accounts of the Treasury of the republic of Raguse, 1757-1808). One can get for it facsimiles of letters of kings and other great figures famous.

The Sponza palace shelters also the originals of the bronze jacquemarts of the Tower of the Clock, the statues which decorate the tower being only copies.

With the entry, on the left, a room is devoted to one moving memorial which evokes the young Croatian combatants who paid of their life the defense of Dubrovnik lasting the seat of 1991-1992.

The Sponza Palace accommodates moreover, along seasons, in the concerts of music and Festival of Freedoms in summer celebrates it.

Paying entry: 20 kunas.

This old belfry, built in 1463 and completely restored in 1952, shelters the bells which were used to give alarm in the event of disasters (fire etc) or to convene the sessions of the Council of the Republic.

The Cabin is built above arched passage of warheads which leads to the exit of the city; below the Cabin, one sees the interior door of the city, which leads Place of the Cabin to the door of Ploče and the port of the city.

The admiral who ordered the armies of Dubrovnik placed in the adjacent building.

The Tower of the Clock goes back to 1444. It was built by the builders ragusains Utišenović, Grubačević and Radmanović. It is the clock and watch maker Luka Mihočin, son of an admiral, who manufactured the metal plate of the clock, the needle of the lunar cycle in lower part and two figurines out of wooden which sounded the hour. These figurines out of wooden were replaced later by two bronze soldiers, “Maro and Baro”, familiarly called Zelenci (Greens), because of their color verdigris due to oxidation. These two jacquemarts bronzes some, which strikes the hours and the half-hours in the Tower, are copies: the statues and the original mechanisms, run by an anonymous Master in 1476, are visible at the Sponza Palace.

On the other hand the enormous bell of two tons is quite authentic: this new bell was molten in 1508 by the famous Master Ivan Krstitelj Rabljanin (Jean d’ Arbe, or, of its name in Italian, Magister Johannes Baptista Arbensis of the Outcry), founder of guns ragusain, who also melted celebrates it gun “the Lizard” of the St. Lawrence Fortress.

The palace was built, destroyed in 1303 by a fire rebuilt in 1817 and entirely in 1863-1864 in a style néo-Rebirth lombarde, according to the plans of Antonio Vecchietti.

It was built by same Onofrio della Cava, with decorations of the Milanese sculptor Pietro di Martino, “Petar Martinov” in Croatian. Of octagonal form, it presents on each face a carved panel, and is decorated of a column of style baroque. The Small Fountain constitutes a true jewel of concise art in Dubrovnik.

The current palace goes up, at the origin, at the 15th century, but it reflects the animated history of the city-state of Raguse while joining together in a harmonious way of the elements of three different styles and its various building owners: a Gothic palace, at the beginning, and later rebuildings in Renaissance styles and baroque, since it was the object of several construction campaigns, with the liking of successive catastrophes:

• The construction of the new Palace of the Vice-chancellor was entrusted, twenty years later, by the authorities of Raguse, with the engineer and Neapolitan architect Onofrio di Giordano della Cava, the director of the system of water conveyance of Dubrovnik. This new palace, built on the ruins of old and designed in a very refined Gothic style, was finished in the middle of the 15th century; it did not have whereas only one stage.
• The new palace was again seriously damaged by an explosion in 1463, especially its western frontage. The city made it rebuild partly in the Renaissance style, under the direction of the manufacturer Florentin Salvio of Michele, with the collaboration of many local manufacturers.
• The palace is still shaken by the earthquake of 1667; its restoration by the builder Jerolim Škarpa de Korčula, in 1739, added parts of style baroque, like the atrium.

The building, elegant and rather sober, keeps a Gothic appearance, in spite of the Renaissance arcades of its porch and the staircase with balustrade baroque which, in the court, conduit on the floor. In addition to Onofrio della Undermined, Michelozzo Michelozzi and Juraj Dalmatinac, the principal builders of Dubrovnik, as of half a dozen local architects contributed to the work.

The simplicity and the moderation of the Republic of Raguse, formerly so rich, are incarnated in this building, seemingly too modest, for a so important institution of the Republic. This is not astonishing, because it is precisely this harmonious balance, without too much luxury, which is characteristic of all the spheres of the life of Raguse.

After the fall of the Republic of Raguse, the palace was plundered by the occupying authority, of the objects of great value being part of the cultural inheritance of Dubrovnik, preciously kept and gathered during centuries, were concealed or destroyed.

This representative of the city - which did not have really to be able - was to move in the Palace and to remain confined there throughout all his mandature, not to be inattentive of his task. To prevent that it is not corrompu or influenced, it did not have the right to leave the palace that within the framework of the performance of its duty or to go to the cathedral, for Christmas and the Saint Blaise! It was authorized to follow the other celebrations since the stone benches of the gallery external of the ground floor.

The remarkable inscription which is above the entry of the palace “Obliti privatorum publica curate” (“having forgotten your private business, dedicate you to the public affairs”) was there for recalling him.

In addition to his many activities of Head of State, the Vice-chancellor received each evening in large pump, during a special ceremony, the key of the two doors of the city which one had closed for the night, so that nobody can be introduced into the city; the keys were entrusted to him until the morning when it gave them, according to the opposite ceremonial, so that the doors of the city can be open. This tradition was maintained until the fall of the Republic.

Under the arched gallery of warheads, long stone steps run along the wall: the notable ones sat down there to attend the great public celebrations.

Each evening, after the closing of the doors of the city, one ceremoniously came to give to the Vice-chancellor the keys of the two doors of the city, which it kept in this office until the next morning.

One finds there, beside the pieces of furniture of style of various times, many portraits of aristocrats and notable ragusains, the tables of great painters of 15th and 16th centuries (Annibale Carraci, Tintoret, Giorgio Barbarelli says Giorgione, Paris Bordone, Mihajlo Hamzić…), as well as a numismatic collection of coins used in Dubrovnik between 14th and 19th centuries, authentic keys of the door of the city, many costumes and pieces of furniture of time, seals, armorial bearings, photocopies of the Code of Dubrovnik and the official reports of the Republic, objects of old pharmacy Domus Christi of 15th century etc

Visit: Knežev Dvor (palace of the Vice-chancellor), Pred Dvorom, 3.

Opened Monday to Saturday, 9:00 at 13:00, the winter; the every day, of 9:00 to 19:00, from April to October.

Paying entry: 35 kunas.

This beautiful building with the exuberant Baroque architecture of the beginning of the 18th century slices with the sobriety adopted along Placed. The church Saint Blaise is quite as interesting to be born that of night, when the light lights its stained glasses by the interior.

It was built of 1706 to 1715 by the Venetian architect Marino Gropelli with the site of an old church Romance of the 14th century dedicated to the same saint, but destroyed by a large fire in 1706.

The church Saint Blaise is of plan rectangular in Greek cross, inspired by that of the church San Maurizio in Venice, and is dominated by a superb central dome of oval form. It presents a base to embossing, an imposing staircase with balustrades and a frontage baroque richly decorated with four large Corinthian columns, an exuberant gantry and varied statues.

However, the treasure of the church is a statue of saint Blaise who throne on the high altar. This statue, of Gothic style, out of gilded money, date of the 15th century; it is the work of a local goldsmith and was offered by the brotherhood of the goldsmiths. She only left miraculously intact the fire of 1706 which destroyed the first church Saint Blaise.

The statue represents the patron saint of the city holding in his left hand a model of the city before the great earthquake of 1667 which almost entirely destroyed Raguse; she thus constitutes an interesting one time historical testimony of which it remains only little of vestiges: the buildings destroyed in the earthquake are definitely visible.

Visit 8:00 at 17:00 in week, and 8:00 at 12:00 Sunday.