Two arched stone bridges span the moat at Pile Gate, connecting the city to the land beyond. The inner bridge, built in fifteen thirty-seven, features a statue of Saint Blaise, the city's patron saint, tucked into a central niche. For…
Old Town Dubrovnik Classics
Walk the historic core of the former Ragusa Republic to see how trade, diplomacy, and brilliant architecture built a maritime power.
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1. Pile Gate
2. Onofrio's Large Fountain
The sixteen-sided stone basin at the Pile Gate served as the main water source for Dubrovnik after Onofrio della Cava completed the aqueduct system in fourteen forty-four. Carved stone masks, or mascarons, sit above each side, and water…
3. Franciscan Church and Monastery
The Franciscan Monastery in Dubrovnik is recognizable by the intricate, Romanesque portal carved into its stone facade. The brothers moved their base inside the city walls in thirteen seventeen because they feared the military…
4. Stradun
The Stradun is the wide, limestone-paved street that cuts through the center of Dubrovnik, stretching from the Pile Gate to the old port. Before the thirteenth century, this space was a marshy channel separating two islands. Ragusa, the…
5. Sponza Palace
The Sponza Palace catches the light with a long row of pointed Gothic windows on the upper floor, sitting in sharp contrast to the rounded, heavy arches of the ground level loggia. Built in the early sixteenth century, the palace served as…
6. Orlando's Column
Orlando's Column stands in the heart of the Stradun, identifiable by the stone knight carved in armor, holding a sword and shield. Erected in fourteen eighteen, this column represented the sovereignty of the Republic of Ragusa. It served…
7. Saint Blaise’s Church, Dubrovnik
The Church of Saint Blaise holds a gilded statue of the city’s patron saint above its altar, his hands cradling a model of Dubrovnik as it appeared before the great earthquake of sixteen sixty-seven. When a fire gutted the old medieval…
8. Rector's Palace
The Rector's Palace is the low, stone building with the arched loggia supported by carved, floral-topped columns. For centuries, the elected head of the Republic of Dubrovnik, the Rector, lived inside for his month-long term. He stayed…
9. The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary
The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary sits at the heart of Dubrovnik with a massive, pale green dome that dominates the city skyline. Its current Baroque facade rose from the wreckage of the devastating earthquake of sixteen…