Dubrovnik Things to Do Tips by sieffron

The top activity of a Dubrovnik itinerary should be walking the walls that surround Stari Grad. These walls are 2000 meters of limestone, 25 meters tall at some points, with an average thickness of 1.5m, and they connect four round towers, two corner towers, three fortresses, 12 forts, five bastions, two land gates, and two port gates.
The walls were constructed in the 13th century, when Dubrovnik (or Ragusa as it was then called) was a prominent Venetian trading port. Upon becoming independent from Venice, the walls were reinforced to protect the city state from Ottoman invasion.*

*Source: Let's Go Eastern Europe 2004

Leave a Comment

Directions: Enter through the Pile Gate and at the Old Port. Cost is 15 kuna for adults and 5 for children.

The Old Town's main street is called STRADUN or PLACA. It is a, approximately 300 meter long, pedestrian zone and it runs from the Pile to Ploče gates, following the line of the channel that once divided the town into two parts.The street came into being in the 12th century, was paved in 1468 and reconstructed after the earthquake of 1667. The limestone pavement, polished by use, shines like glass after rain. The houses on each side, though preserving an ancient ground plan, also date from the 17th century, their elevation and style being uniform. Their shops mostly have the characteristic "na koljeno" combined door and counter. The "na koljeno" type consists of a door and window in a single frame spanned by a semicircular arch. The door was kept closed and goods handed over the sill, which served as a counter.*

*Source:
http://www.dubrovnik-online.com/english/monuments.php

Leave a Comment

There has been a fair amount of reconstruction in Dubrovnik since hostilities ended in the region almost ten years ago. The city was shelled from the surrounding mountains by Serb forces under the directives of Milosevic and extensive damage was done to the roofs of many buildings. The buildings in the foreground still contain their original weathered terra cotta roofs. Those in the background have new tiles and you can see workers restoring a roof near the front of the photo.
The old tiles are called Kupe Kanalice and were hand made in the shape of a human thigh, a practice dating back to the Middle Ages when human models were used to mould the tiles. Unfortunately, the factory that produced these tiles closed in the 1950s and the replacement tiles come from a factory in France. Although not exact replicas of the Dubrovnik tiles, the new ones are as close as can be attained and after a few decades of weathering, Dubrovnik's original glory should be fully restored. Don't get me wrong - there's still plenty of glory there and the rich orange of the new terra cotta tiles makes for an incredible contrast with the deep blue and turquoise waters of the surrounding Adriatic.

Leave a Comment

"The elegant Bell [Clock] Tower, 35m tall, dating from 1444, was broken down and rebuilt in 1928. The modem clock, with bronze jacks in the form of soldiers that strike the hour (Maro and Baro) is a faithful copy, with the addition of a figured time indicator, of one dating from 1478 (original can be seen in Sponza palace). The huge bell in the tower, over 2000 kilos in weight, is the only original detail from the first bell tower and was casted by Ivan Krstitelj Rabljanin (John the Baptist of Rab) in 1506. The adjoining Glavna Straža (Main Guard), incorporating a Gothic upper story of 1490 from the Ragusan admiral's house, was constructed in 1706-1708, when the baroque portal was inserted after the design by Marino Gropelli."*
This is the Clock Tower, whereas a few other VTers have called the tower atop the the Dominican Monastery the Clock Tower.
*Source:
http://www.dubrovnik-online.com/english/monuments4.php

Leave a Comment

Directions: at the end of the Stradun

This picture gives a little better view of the bronze jacks, Maro and Baro, who faithfully ring the enormous bell inside the tower. The town government provides them with all the Karlovačko they can drink, so they are happy to oblige.

Leave a Comment

"The Dominican Church was erected in 1315 but it was destroyed in the earthquake of 1667, to be rebuilt after that again. It is a mixture of Gothic and Renaissance styles. The plain interior consists of a huge single nave with a triple Gothic arch end opening into the sanctuary and two side chapels, the only part of the original building left. The church is decorated with stone household objects and a stone pulpit. The church walls are decorated with some masterpieces by famous painters e.g. 15th C Crucifixion by Paolo Veneziano; Virgin Mary and St. John by Lorenzo di Marino Dobričević (15th C); two altarpieces by Francesco di Maria (17th C); Miracle of St. Dominic by Vlaho Bukovac (a local 19th C work in the Sicilian manner).
The graceful late-Gothic Cloister, erected by local masons to a modified design of Maso di Bartolomeo of Florence, has interesting bosses in the vault and tomb slabs in the walls, but is somewhat marred by the over-clever interlaced ornament in alternate tympana and in the balustrade above. The cloister's garden is planted with orange trees. The Bell Tower, begun in 1390 and completed in 1531, in a curiously retarded Romanesque style, continued by the later baroque lantern."*

*Source:
http://www.dubrovnik-online.com/english/monuments5.php

Leave a Comment

Directions: Old Town
Website: http://dubrovnik.laus.hr/dubrovnik1

"At the entrance gate to the Old Town from the west there is a stone bridge within two Gothic arches, designed by Paskoje Miličević (1471). That bridge ends at another bridge, wooden drawbridge which used to be pulled up every evening. Above the bridges, over the arch, the statue of city patron St. Blaise (Sv. Vlaho) is set."*

*Source:
http://www.dubrovnik-online.com/english/monuments.php

Leave a Comment

The patronage of St. Blaise extends beyond Dubrovnik and Dalmatia. It also covers goitres and whooping cough among others things - no seriously, it does. So, you may rest assured that you will not be afflicted by a whooping cough, or have a goitre spring from your neck while you relax and enjoy the Dalmatian coast. However, you may want to consult the patron saint of venereal diseases if you plan on taking a clothing-optional cruise.

Leave a Comment

St Blaise is a baroque church built in between 1705 and 1717 (to replace the building of 1368 that was lost by fire) by Venetian architect and sculptor M. Gropeli. The extended interior, modeled on San Maurizio in Venice, is rectangular with a central dome, and preserves some of the treasures from the earlier church. At the church's main altar there is the golden statue of St. Blaise (Sv.Vlaho) - patron of Dubrovnik holding a model of the Town from 16th C.
The painted organ loft behind the high altar is by Petar Mattel Matejević (early 18th C); the glass windows by lvo Dulčić (1971). High on the walls are stone statues of Saints Peter and Jerome, by Nikola Lazanid of Brač (late 16th C), and above the side door a wooden figure of St. Anthony, of unknown date.*

*Source:
http://www.dubrovnik-online.com/english/monuments4.php

Leave a Comment

Here a St. Blaise, there a St. Blaise, everywhere a St. Blaise! This guy gets some serious exposure.

Leave a Comment