2 On the Road: Dubrovnik, Croatia

From the Viking Daily. Double click to enlarge for reading

Looking out the starboard side of the ship, we could see this bridge.

This overhead photo give a better prospective of the port and the bridge. It is the Franjo Tuđman Bridge, named aver the 1st President of Croatia. It carries the D8 state road across the Rijeka Dubrovačka near the Port of Gruž. You can see cruise ships at the port.

Looking straight out the starboard side, we could see that the homes climbed the hillside but it was hard to see any access roads from the ship.

After a 20-minute bus ride, we arrived at the Pile Square plaza by the Old City of Dubrovnik. Looking up to the top of Mount Srd we could see the upper station of the cable car and a large fortress. I have read there is also a Croatian war museum and a panoramic restaurant.

Looking away from the gates we see the large and ornately decorated Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik.

Moving our gaze to the east, we look across the street at this interesting building before continuing to turn toward the east.

We see the road we came in on and some of the city walls. The city walls are the symbol of Dubrovnik. The walls were built between the 13th to the 16th century and are considered one of the most beautiful fortification systems in the world. The 1.2 miles long fortification system of Dubrovnik consists of several elements. The main city wall, over fifteen towers and forts, and three city gates – Pile Gate in the west, Ploče Gate in the east, and Buža Gate in the north. At its highest point, the wall reaches a height of 82 feet. The thickness of the wall on the land side is up to 19 feet. On the seaside, however, it is only 10 feet. This is because the sea itself was protection and Dubrovnik had a strong fleet.

The main entrance to Old Town is Pile Gate. The name is derived from the Greek word pylaj meaning gate. Built in the 15th century, it used to have a wooden drawbridge which would be pulled up at night to prevent any unwelcome people from entering the medieval, walled city. The drawbridge was replaced by a stone bridge a long time ago so nowadays you cross the small green passage, formerly the moat, and though the gate to the Old town.

In the middle of Pile Square Plaza is the Fountain of Amerling Satyr and Nymph Dubravka. It is the work of the Croatian sculptor Ivan Rendich. The fountain is a significant landmark of the city and where our tour started

Walking beyond the sculpture we come to a viewpoint to see where the Old City Walls meet the Adrianic Sea.

Lovrijenac Fortress, built on a 121-foot-high rock outcrop, is a 16th-century seaside fortress made popular by the TV series Game of Thrones. Fans might recognize it as the Red Keep in King’s Landing, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms. Many scenes were filmed at this Fortress including the tournament thrown in honor of King Joffrey’s name day in season two.

Closer view of Lovrijenac Fortress

From the overlook we head back towards Pile Gate. This photo shows the view off the bridge. The moat is more like a park now.

Right above the entrance, is a statue of Sveti Vlaho (St Blaise), the patron saint of Dubrovnik.

Once we entered the gate, there was a set of steps going down. We took the ramp that is on the left.

St Blaise welcomed us again. He is holdng a 4th-Century model of the city.

Halfway down the ramp, there were two maps. One was a map of the town and the other a map showing how this UNESCO World Heritage Site was damaged during the Yugoslavian War in 1991-1992.

Turning our backs to the maps, we could see where we entered the City.

We continued toward an opening in the wall to access the main city street – Stradun. But what's that in the corner?

Is he trying to tell us something?

Thru the walls.

On our left as we passed through the walls we see the church of St. Saviour. It was built around 1520 as a votive church. During a big earthquake in 1520 around 20 persons were killed and there was a lot of damage to the building. The citizens of Dubrovnik thought that Srd hill would fall on the city. As a sign of gratitude for that not happening, the Dubrovnik Senat decided to build this church. The church has typically Dalmatian Renaissance wheel-window front and Gothic interiors.

The Big Onofrio fountain is a 16-sided drinking fountain built by Onofrio de la Cava. The fountain is a part of the town’s water supply system which Onofrio managed to create by bringing the water from the well in Rijeka Dubrovacka (by where the ship was docked) located 12 miles from the actual fountain making this construction a masterpiece of that time. It is still in use today after 570 years.

Looking back toward the entrance, you can see the fountain on the left and the church on the right. What is hard to see is that there are stairs leading up to the top of the wall. We didn't go to the top of the walls.

The main city street, Stradun, is the widest and longest street inside the city walls. It extends at a length of 958 feet from the Pile Gate to the main city square. Traditional stone houses extend all along the street, on both sides.

There are many narrow side streets, some of which lead to stairs as they go inland.

Looks like the summer temperatures require the city's citizens to put in air conditioners.

The end of Stradun in the main city square. On the left if the Sponza Palace and on the right is the Bell Tower.


Build in Dubrovnik specific Gothic-Renaissance style, Sponza Palace was constructed in the 16th century with five pillars and six graceful arches. Sponza was the liveliest commercial center of the City, and in the 17th century, it became the meeting place of members of the Academy, who used to discuss literature, arts, and science. The following inscription can be read on the main wall: FALLERE NOSTRAVETANT; ET FALL PONDERE: MEQVE PONDERO CVM MERCES PONDERAT IPSE DEUS (We are forbidden to cheat or falsify measures, and when I weigh goods, God himself is weighing them with me). Today the Palace houses the Dubrovnik Archives, considered to be among the richest in Europe.

Ornaments on the roof.

The elegant Bell Tower, 112 foot tall and dating from 1444, is connected to Palace Sponza. It was broken down and rebuilt in 1928. The dome at the top of the tower, covers the bell and two bronze figures (named Maro and Baro by the residents of Dubrovnik) who ring the bell with their bats. Another interesting fact is that the clock shows not only the exact time but also the moon changes. The huge bell in the tower weighs over 4400 pounds. .

Plaque on the Bell Tower

Two thirds of the way down from the top, squares were added that digitally gives the hour in Roman numerals and the minutes in regular numbers

Looking south from Sponza Palace.


Before proceeding out of the square, we took a look at St Blaise Church. It is a baroque church built between 1705 -1717 to replace the building from 1368 that was lost in fire. St. Blaise church is built on the plan of a Greek cross and topped with a grand dome. Inside the church are numerous art treasures saved from the earlier church. Most valuable is a Gold-plated silver statue of St. Blaise, holding a 4th-century model of the city.

The Rector's Palace was the building from which all decisions and laws regarding the governing of Dubrovnik Republic were made. It is built in in a mixture of Gothic and Renaissance styles probably due to two explosions that happened in 1435 and 1463 as well as the Great Earthquake in 1667. The building was badly damaged in the earthquake. As the name clearly states it was the home of the Rector who was elected by the great council to represent the Republic for a month. During that month he wasn’t allowed to leave the palace at any time except on government business. This was because the Dubrovnik Republic's principle, clearly stated above the doors of the great council hall, are "Obliti privatorum publica curate", which meant “Forget private and deal with public business”. Today it houses an historical museum as well as hosting many other exhibitions and concerts.

Statue in the middle of the market square.

Inscription on the statue's pedestal

As mentioned before, many scenes from the TV series Game of Thrones were filmed in Dubrovnik. Fans can take Game of Thrones tours which visit all the locations used in the show.

One of the most famous is the Jesuit Staircase. They were featured as the steps of the Great Sept of Baelor in King's Landing. One of the most iconic scenes was filmed here - The Walk of Shame, in which Cersei Lannister was forced to walk naked through the streets of King's Landing, began at the top of the Jesuit Staircase.

Dubrovnik’s cathedral stands in the center of Poljana Marina Drzica, close to Rector’s Palace. According to a legend, the cathedral, from the 12th century, was built with the money of English King Richard the Lionhearted. He had been in a shipwreck near the island of Lokrum after he came back from the Third Crusade war in 1192. The cathedral's treasury houses 132 relics of saints dating from the 11th to the 19th centuries.

Next we exited the Gate in the east

This led us out to the marina where we could see more of the fortifications to the south and east of us.

Looking to the left we could see the fortifications also protected the north side of the marina. We walked along the marina and back through the walls into the city.

We turned to the left and started walking toward the stairs.

We continued straight up the stairs but the lane veered to the right. We would take this later when we came back down the stairs.

At the top of the stairs was the Dominican Monastery Museum.

Entering the cloister. A cloister is a covered walk in a convent, monastery, college, or cathedral, typically with a wall on one side and a colonnade open to a quadrangle on the other.