The closed city of Dubrovnik in Croatia - District of the Franciscan ones

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Presentation

General information

Monastery franciscain, seen ramparts. Click to enlarge the image.

The Franciscan monastery of the Minorites (Male Franjevački samostan braće) is, with the monastery of Dominican, one of the two large monasteries of the town of Dubrovnik, each one being built at an end and competing with the other. The architectural whole of the Franciscan monastery occupies a large surface, extending since Placed to the Minčeta fortress.

Situation

Church of Franciscains. Click to enlarge the image.

The Franciscan monastery is located at the beginning of the large main street (Placed), in the western part of the closed city of Dubrovnik.

Visits

The Church of Franciscan (Franjevačka crkva)
The church of Franciscan is located on the Milicević place, at the entrance of Stradun, just beside the church Saint Saviour which it is next to. One notices his bell-tower which culminates with more than 40 Mr. The Franciscan monastery and its church were built starting from 1337 in a style very traditional Romano-Gothic. The earthquake of 1667 almost entirely destroyed the church of Franciscan, one of richest and the most beautiful churches ragusaines of the time.

Of all the church, only could be preserved the southern gate, of style gothico-Rebirth, giving on Stradun, whose pediment is decorated of Piéta, of a great beauty and value artistic, and bordered of a Gothic archivolt. This monumental gate, which testifies nowadays to the beauty of the old church, is one of the philosopher’s stones of the late Gothic in Dubrovnik. This Piéta was carried out in 1498 by the Petrović brothers, main ragusains.


The rebuilt church, in style baroque, contains an imposing furniture of the same style, of which a carved marble pulpit and a beautiful organ. At the time of the Festival of summer of Dubrovnik and other cultural events which proceed downtown during all the year, the Franciscan church is transformed into a concert hall whose environment is single and unforgettable. Visit 6:30 at 12:00, 16:00 at 19:30.



To borrow the passage separating the church Saint Saviour from the church from Franciscan to visit the Franciscan monastery then.
The Romance Cloister
It is necessary to cross a second gate to penetrate in the cloister of the monastery; built in second half of the 14th century (1360) in the oldest part of the Franciscan monastery, the cloister is regarded as one of the masterpieces of the city.


The cloister is surrounded by several galleries of arcades supported by fine colonnades; very elegant, it reflects the superb harmony of the late Romance style, with its fine twinned posts and its capitals decorated with masks and animals. A great serenity emerges from this construction.


Under the gallery is, to notice the sarcophagus richly decorated with noble Ragusain, hung in height.

Its harmonious interior, in a sumptuous stone decoration, bordered of a succession of arcades resting on fine twin pillars, whose capitals are the subject each one of an ornamentation different and single of masks or animals, is the work of the Albanian Master Mihoje Brajkov de Bar, who completed the building work at the 14th century.

The four galleries with Romance arcades of the cloister surround a splendid garden made up of many petrols, in particular of the palm trees.






In the middle of the garden throne a splendid Gothic well.

On the first floor, the terrace with pretty balustrade is reserved to the monks.


The Gothic Cloister
The monastery of Franciscan has a second cloister, Gothic this one, which has, like the Romance cloister, survived the great earthquake of 1667. This cloister, smaller and occupied by a garden, is reserved to the monks and is thus not accessible to the public. One can however see it from the top of ramparts, while climbing being next to the Door of Pile.

The Library
The library of the monastery of Franciscan is part of the old libraries most important in Croatia and in the world. It preciously keeps the treasure historical and cultural of Dubrovnik, inter alia among nearly 30,000 works, more than 1200 old manuscripts of a priceless historical value and cultural, 137 incunables, 7 books of old canticles. The library is not visited.
The Museum
The collection of museum of the monastery is installed in the old chapter house Renaissance which one reaches by the western gallery of the Romance cloister. In addition to the memories of the oldest pharmacy of the country, the museum presents an interesting collection of sacred art, where one distinguishes a sober reliquary from the head of holy Ursule (14th-15th century), with the surprisingly modern invoice, and a marvellous cross of procession of Jean of Basle (1440). The museum contains many works of art including one imposing table representing the town of Dubrovnik before the earthquake of 1667, rare vestige of this period, which makes it possible to have an idea of the city at the golden age of Raguse, and which made it possible besides to rebuild the city by respecting the old plans as well as possible. Note also a strange detail: in the wall, one preserved and framed the shell which bored the wall during the seat of 1991-1992 as well as the hole that it made. The museum is open 9:00 to 15:00 the every day. Paying entry: 20 kunas for the adults, 10 kunas for the children.
Pharmacy (ljekarna)
The first room of the museum evokes the memories of the pharmacy of the monastery, the oldest pharmacy of Croatia (and the third older pharmacy of the Europe, and, undoubtedly, oldest by the continuity of its activity since its creation until our days); founded to look after the sick Franciscan brothers in 1317, it was maintained in activity without interruption since. Pharmacy joins together all the inventory of old pharmacy and, with its old wood racks, its ancient ustensils and accessories used with the Middle Ages, its laboratories, and its old works, it represents a single collection in its kind. When it closed down, one moved it in “a new” room, installed in another gallery of the cloister. While arising, one can stop, under the roofed passageway, with the current pharmacy of the monastery: under the pretty woodworks baroques, one can buy the preparations and creams there that the community always manufactures according to old receipts.

The Monastery Saint Claire (Samostan Svete Klare)
On a small place located on the southern part of the door of Pile, behind the large fountain of Onofrio, one can visit the cloister of the old monastery Saint Claire (Samostan Svete Klare), one of the most known monasteries of nuns of Dubrovnik. This monastery of Clarisses, frame at the end of 12th - beginning of the 13th century, was destroyed by the earthquake of 1667 and entirely rebuilt. Its cloister is surrounded by four wings with arcades at the ground floor; the northern wing, only, preserved its arcades on the first floor. In the court of the convent, the well, of unknown source, was carved in second half of the 15th century by local stonecutters. In spite of the dominant characteristics of the Renaissance style, very near to the capitals of the Palace of the Vice-chancellor, one notes in his decoration certain antiquated reasons representative of the Romance bestiary. Here, noble generations of young girls received a looked after education, before at the 15th century the walls of the monastery do not shelter an orphanage, one of the first of Europe. At the 15th century, starting from 1434, part of the monastery was used as orphanage and sheltered the old people’s home of the abandoned children and the newborns except marriage, one of the first establishments of this type in the world. Under the French occupation, at the time of Napoleon, the French authorities, faithful to the civilizing tradition of France, have dissolves the monastery to transform the building into warehouse of ammunition, then in stable. Very close, street Dominko Zlatarić, the mothers came to deposit their child with the hollow of a niche so that it was collected. The cloister of the monastery from now on is transformed while restoring, Jadran.

The Church Saint Saviour (Crkva Svetog Spasa)
Between the monastery of Franciscan and the door of Pile, against the same ramparts, the Senate of Dubrovnik made build the small votive church dedicated to saint Sauveur (Sveti Spaso), as a sign of thanks to have saved the town of a series of earthquakes which shook the city in 1520. The church was built by Masters of the island of Korčula, Petar Andrijić and its brother, between 1520 and 1528. These builders succeeded in granting the beauty of the small church, its trefoil frontage and its carved decoration, with that of surrounding space, thus creating a jewel of the architecture of Renaissance style in Dubrovnik. It mixes with the elements of Gothic architecture on its Renaissance frontage. The frontal window in rosette is typical time of the Rebirth in Dalmatia. This building with longitudinal nave and projecting apse of circular plan remains one of the most important monuments of the Rebirth with Raguse, in spite of certain Gothic elements (ribbed vault, arcs of window in lancets). Inside the church, one can contemplate a superb table of the Rise in 1528 painted by Pietro Antonio da Urbino. The church did not undergo a damage at the time of the following earthquake of 1667 and remained in the state until our days: it is the single Renaissance church of Dubrovnik. The church Saint Saviour accommodates today concerts and exposures.

History, literature, arts, traditions, legends, religions, myths, symbols…

History
The old monastery of Franciscan was located out of walls, in the suburb of Pile. At the beginning of the 14th century, the war risk led the Franciscan ones to give up the old building to build a new monastery inside the walls, a place protected better by the ramparts and the invincible Minčeta fortress. The construction of the monastery started in 1317, and lasted of many years.

Practical information

General information

Visiting times

Visit museum and cloister of the Franciscan ones: 9:00 at 18:00 in summer; 9:00 at 17:00 in winter.

Paying entry: 30 kunas.

Pharmacy: the every day except Sunday, of 7:00 to 19:00; Saturday of 7:30 to 15:00

Website: http://www.malabraca.hr