It is really hard to miss the old city. It is HUGE! The cars driving by and parked next to the great walls look like toys.
We found a parkade (ask for the long term rate) and called our host to meet us in order to guide us to House Hilda, within the old city walls. There are still 700 people who still reside within the walls. Most, like our host, own property but rent to tourists. House Hilda is a small apartment with 2 bedrooms, a futon in the living / dining room and small kitchen. It was perfect for the 5 of us. We dropped our bags and set off immediately to explore.
Old Dubrovnic made the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979. The distinguishing feature of the City is the perfectly preserved white stone defensive walls with mighty forts and towers, characteristic Baroque houses with red roof tops, and many Gothic-Renaissance palaces. It is located on the crystal clear coast of the Adriatic sea. It achieved a high level of development, particularly during the 15th and 16th centuries and became notable for its wealth and skilled diplomacy. It has a colorful history, which is too long to get into here.
The first thing of note is the number of stairs. One is continually going up or down narrow stone stairways between tall medieval buildings.
Also of note: many of the scenes from Game of Thrones are filmed in Old Dubrovnic. Amazingly, there are lots of potted plants, trees and grape vines thriving in these shadowed alleys. Some of the grapevines made me think of Jack and the Bean-stock, they seemed to climb forever. These staired lanes contained guest houses, shops and galleries. In the lanes that ran horizontal the stairs were a multitude of tiny restaurants. Sometimes, no more than a few tables were tucked against the walls, all serving fantastic wines, local beer, cheeses and pastas.
There was a small restaurant very near our guest house, called Lady Pi Pi. It was a beautiful place with open rafters crawling with grapevines. One could easily stand up from the table and pick them. The food was good, the ambiance was excellent, but the statue of a lady peeing out front was a bit weird. We also ate at Spaghetteria Toni – it was excellent, and Mea Culpa Pizzeria, also very good.
All the stairs and alleys emptied onto the main street, Placa Stradun. This street is very wide, even by modern standards, and is about 300 meters long. The Placa street was paved in 1468. The limestone pavement is polished by use, smooth as ice, and it shines bright, mirroring light, as if the surface was not stone, but glass.
It is interesting to notice that one half of Placa street is paved in fish rib pattern facing one one direction while the other half of the street is paved using the same pattern only facing the other direction. At the interchange of two patterns there is a single, small, rectangular limestone embedded in the pavement, the only different piece in the whole "puzzle". It is flanked with outdoor restaurants, souvenir shops and churches. Scattered about are vendors selling beautiful and unique handcrafted jewelry. Irene bought some handcrafted jewelry from Jewelry Gallery Dardin. It was a bracelet made of pearl and red coral. A scuba diver should know better, but it was so pretty.....
The West end of the Stradun has Onofrio's fountain, a 16-sided drinking fountain built by Onofrio de la Cava in 1438-1444. The Fountain is part of the town's water supply system, fed through an aqueduct, to protect the city from drought in times of siege.
Also on the west side is Pile Gate, a grand entrance into the Old Town. Built in 1537 to protect the city from invaders and monitor trade. Pile Gate was originally reached via a wooden drawbridge, which was raised every evening, the gate locked and the key handed to the prince in an elaborate ceremony. It has an outer and inner gate with statues of St. Blaise, the city’s patron saint.
The west side is also where we climbed to the top of the city walls, whose construction began at the end of the 8th century. The whole city became entirely enclosed in the 13th century. The walls run almost 2 km around the city. Depending on their location and its strategic importance, the walls are four to six meters (13.2 to 19.8 feet) thick on the landward side but are much thinner on the seaward side. Land Walls are protected with an additional range of slanted supporting walls, as defense against artillery fire.
At certain locations, the walls reach up to 25 meters (80 feet) in height. There are a system of turrets and towers that were intended to protect the vulnerable city.
There are four strong fortresses at its most significant points. To the north is the strong circular Minčeta Tower, with its 6 meter thick walls and series of gun ports.
To the east side of the city port is the Revelin Fortress. Shaped in the form of an irregular quadrilateral with one of its sides descending towards the sea, it is protected by a deep ditch on the other.
The large and complex St. John Fortress is located on the southeast side of the city. Dominant in the port, the St. John Fortress prevented access of pirates and other enemy ships. Always cautious at the first sign of danger, the inhabitants of Dubrovnik used to close the entry into the port with heavy chains stretched between the St. John Fortress and the Kase jetty.
The harbor is a strange mixture of medieval and ultra modern. Super sleek touring boats are anchored next to ancient stone walls.
The western city entrance is protected by the strong and round-shaped Fort Bokar, jutting into the sea to protect Pile Gate. Considering that one part of the fort is standing on a detached rock, arched supports were made to bridge the gap. The sea still passes beneath the fort as it did when the fort was first built.
The strong, freestanding, St. Lawrence Fortress (also known as Lovrijenac), is located outside the western city walls. It is 37 meters (121 ft) above sea level and protects the western side of the city from possible land and sea assaults. The wall facing the sea or 12 meters thick, while the walls facing the city are only 60 centimeters (2 feet) thick. Today its interior is one of the most dignified stages in Europe, and a well-known place for William Shakespeare Hamlet performances and wedding photos. It is also a great place to get an overview picture of the Old City. When we went up to the highest part of the fort, a drone suddenly appeared. It must be their security system, but it was so culturally out of place!
It took us nearly 2 hours to walk along these ancient walls, as we stopped to take many pictures of the breathtaking views of the sea, surrounding country side, City Harbour and the old city itself. We timed the walk perfectly to have the setting sun bring out the brilliance of the beautiful red rooftops.
Every time we took a few steps we were stopping to say “Wow”. There is a crazy little cafe situated on the outside of the southern wall. Tiny tables and sunbathers precariously cling to the side of these steep cliffs. Some daredevils were jumping from outcrops of rock to the blue waters below.
From the high vantage point, we were able to spot restaurants tucked into the most unique spots – on rooftops or in sheltered plazas
or along the curve of the wall, tucked into the openings originally meant for cannons. One restaurant had only 2 tables.
The east end of the Stradun turned to the south, with the baroque Church of St. Blaise to the west
and the Rector's Palace to the east, and ending with the stairs up to the Church of St. Ignatius, further to the south. All along were more restaurants and plazas. We went up the stairs to an outdoor restaurant and each had a glass of Racija that tasted like plum moonshine with a kick to match. Yummy.
We took a tour of the Gothic-Renaissance Rector's Palace, an interesting place with an beautiful open atrium and features historical decorations, paintings and exhibits throughout the building.
Among them, storage trunks with elaborate locking systems.
The old windows gave an interesting view of the streets below.
Of note were two Bronze Jacks, movable, mechanical bronze sculptures, 191 cm high, dressed in Roman military uniforms that struck the hours on the Dubrovnik City Bell Tower (built in 1444-5) for more than four centuries. After a series of strong earthquakes in the 19th century, the one that hit Dubrovnik in 1905 caused so much damage to the upper part of the bell tower that it threatened to cave in. The jacquemarts were moved to the Sponza Palace and the following year the bell tower was shortened by nearly half, the upper section with the dome completely removed. Because of their deterioration, in the 1920s the Greenies were subjected to restoration.
After the repair of the belfry in 1928-9, the original bell was returned to the skylight, a new clock mechanism was ordered, replicas were made of the dial, and replicas of the jacquemarts were also made in the State Academy of Arts in Zagreb. These replicas were placed in the belfry, along with the original bell. The original Greenies were partially restored and placed in the atrium of the Sponza Palace.
There are a number of old churches, huge Romanesque structures, some dating back to the 10th century. Some were damaged by earthquakes, but restored. One church had very contemporary looking Way of the Cross. It was an interesting contrast from the Gothic vaults and pillars and Baroque alter.
Michaela and Irene went to see a photo exhibit by Pulitzer Prize winner Naciso Contreras on the Syrian war. It was heart breaking yet informative. Michaela commented that her and Len were there, on that street, just months prior to the onset of the war, chatting with vendors. Now the photo showed ruin.
Alas, our time had run out. Len, Michaela, Ed and Irene headed back to Vir. Sara caught a flight to Italy, to spend some time on Amalfi coast and in Pompeii.
NOTE:
In the gift shop as you enter the old city one can buy a coupon book that gives you 10% off at a lot of restaurants. There is also a discount if you get the package deal for the city wall and a few other places that require entrance fees. However, you have to go to all of them the same day, as the package deal is only valid the day you buy it.
Petrol = 11 kuna / litre ($2.05 CDN)
