During the heyday of the Dubrovnik Republic (1358-1808), its rulers changed with kaleidoscopic speed. Once a month, the Senate elected a new rector, who settled in a magnificent residence, from where he ruled the city-state. The prince lived and worked in a castle-palace, the boundaries of which he had no right to go beyond for his business. This is eloquently evidenced by the memo embossed above the entrance to the building: “Forgetting about the personal, serve the state.”
Myths and facts
The Pearl of the Adriatic, the Prince's Palace, like a Phoenix from the ashes, was reborn every time after the next cataclysm. Built as in the 14th century, it survived explosions of gunpowder storage (1435, 1463), numerous fires, and destructive earthquakes (1520, 1667). To its repeated reconstructions in different periods famous architects had a hand. But the first architect of the luxurious palazzo was the Neapolitan Onofrio della Cava.
The Prince's Palace housed government offices, a court, a prison, a powder warehouse, and an armory. The prince lived on the upper floors. He was the guarantor of the city’s safety, so every evening he personally locked the city gates with a key, and opened them in the morning.
The castle-palace served as the prince's residence until 1808, when the republican system in Dubrovnik was abolished.
Nowadays, the city museum is located here, and classical music concerts are held in the atrium courtyard, which is famous for its stunning acoustics.
What to see
The sophisticated palace whimsically combines different styles: Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance. The façade of the building is decorated with porticoes, arches, sculptural reliefs. The semi-capital with the figure of Aesculapius by Peter Martinov (15th century) has survived to this day.
The museum's exhibition includes a collection of ancient minted coins from the 14th to 19th centuries, original keys to the city gates, the seal of the Dubrovnik Republic, antique furniture, paintings from the 15th to 19th centuries, and copies of historical documents.
The Prince's Palace (Knežev dvor) is open daily May-October from 9.00 to 18.00; November-April from 9.00 to 16.00.
Cost: ticket to visit all 4 museums of Dubrovnik - 70 kn (about 9.2 €), children and students - 25 kn.
How to get there: located in Dubrovnik, 500 km southeast of Zagreb. You can get there by bus or ferry; trains go to Ploce (70 km from Dubrovnik).
Official website: www.dumus.hr (Croatian, English)
There was some material left over from the summer. I have long wanted to show these medieval capitals of the Prince's Palace in Dubrovnik, they are all different and each of them - separate work art. But first, a few words about the building itself and its history.
In the archives of Dubrovnik, the Prince's Palace was first mentioned in the 13th century. As usual at that harsh time, it was a fortress. However, over time, having ensured relative safety for themselves, people began to think about comfort. Therefore, the fortresses became purely military objects and moved further to the outer perimeters of defense. The old ones were converted into palaces. This was the case with the prince’s residence in Dubrovnik.
When we talk about a “prince” in a feudal republic, we need to understand that he was not a hereditary sole monarch of a small region, as we are accustomed to perceiving the word “prince.” In Dubrovnik it was a ruler elected for a month, “so that power would not deceive him.” All this month the prince was in his palace and could only leave it for public affairs. His personal affairs did not exist for him at that time. In addition to the prince, meetings of the Great and Small Councils of Dubrovnik were held right there. There was also a gunpowder warehouse and a state prison here. In general, an almost complete set of medieval administrative institutions.
A gunpowder warehouse, of course, was out of place in a government residence. It’s difficult to say what made the Dubrovnik residents place it there, but life has proven them wrong several times. The gunpowder exploded every now and then, causing significant damage to the building.
In the 15th century, the restoration of the palace damaged by the explosion was entrusted to the famous architect from Naples Onufiro del Cava, the same one who brought a water supply system to the city and built two famous public fountains, the water from which we still drink today when we are in Dubrovnik. It was during that reconstruction that the arcade was built on the western side, facing the city square. The outer part of the vaults rests on five columns and two half-columns, the inner part - on consoles extending into the building structure. The capitals of the columns, pilasters and consoles are decorated with stone plastic, representing real sculptural masterpieces Middle Ages.
2. These are mainly ornaments and biblical scenes.
6. There are also simple floral ornaments.
8. Of greatest interest is the capital of the semi-column depicting ancient god health and medicine of Asclepius.
9. The capitals of the consoles are no less interesting.
11. Child (angel), monkey, dog. It would be interesting to know what the plot is. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything.
The Prince's Palace is a majestic palace, incorporating elements of Renaissance and Baroque, one of the most beautiful palazzos in the entire Adriatic. The history of the palace is rich and tragic: the prince’s residence was destroyed many times by fires, explosions and earthquakes, but each time the building rose from the ruins, becoming more and more beautiful. Dubrovnik was under the control of Venice for many years, so many people had a hand in the construction and reconstruction of the palace outstanding architects from Italy.
During the existence of the Republic of Dubrovnik, the building became the residence of a new ruler every month, conducting state affairs here. The palace served as a residence until 1808.
Now the palace houses the city museum, storing paintings, coins, documents and keys to the city gates. Also located here is the only monument in the history of the Dubrovnik Republic. It is dedicated to the wealthy sailor Miho Pratsat, who bequeathed his entire fortune to Dubrovnik in the 17th century.
The palace, built in a mixed Gothic and early Renaissance style, was built in the 15th century as the residence of the prince. Every month, one of the members of the board of the Republic of Dubrovnik was elected prince and moved into the palace. Above the entrance was carved the inscription: “ Forget personal affairs, think about the state“, while the ruler himself could not leave the building on personal matters, but only to perform his direct duties or in case of illness. The palace contained living rooms for the prince, an office, a meeting room, a court, a prison, an armory and a powder magazine. Also, the keys with which the city gates were locked at night were kept here.
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Literature
- Nada Grujić, “Onofrio di Giordano della Cava i Knežev dvor u Dubrovniku”, u: Renesansa i renesanse u umjetnosti Hrvatske, Zagreb, 2008. (ISBN 978-953-6106-75-2)
- Katarina Horvat Levaj, Relja Seferović: , Radovi Instituta za povijest umjetnosti br. 27, 2003. (ISSN 0350-3437)
- Zlatno doba Dubrovnika XV. i XVI. stoljeće, Muzejski prostor i Dubrovački muzej, Zagreb-Dubrovnik 1987
Notes
Excerpt characterizing the Prince's Palace (Dubrovnik)
All of them, even the middle-aged Dimmler, did not want to interrupt the conversation and leave the corner of the sofa, but Natasha stood up, and Nikolai sat down at the clavichord. As always, standing in the middle of the hall and choosing the most advantageous place for resonance, Natasha began to sing her mother’s favorite piece.She said that she did not want to sing, but she had not sung for a long time before, and for a long time since, the way she sang that evening. Count Ilya Andreich, from the office where he was talking with Mitinka, heard her singing, and like a student, in a hurry to go play, finishing the lesson, he got confused in his words, giving orders to the manager and finally fell silent, and Mitinka, also listening, silently with a smile, stood in front of count. Nikolai did not take his eyes off his sister, and took a breath with her. Sonya, listening, thought about what a huge difference there was between her and her friend and how impossible it was for her to be even remotely as charming as her cousin. The old countess sat with a happily sad smile and tears in her eyes, occasionally shaking her head. She thought about Natasha, and about her youth, and about how there was something unnatural and terrible in this upcoming marriage of Natasha with Prince Andrei.
Dimmler sat down next to the countess and listened with his eyes closed.
“No, Countess,” he finally said, “this is a European talent, she has nothing to learn, this softness, tenderness, strength...”
- Ah! “how I’m afraid for her, how afraid I am,” said the countess, not remembering who she was talking to. Her maternal instinct told her that there was too much of something in Natasha, and that this would not make her happy. Natasha had not yet finished singing when an enthusiastic fourteen-year-old Petya ran into the room with the news that the mummers had arrived.
Natasha suddenly stopped.
- Fool! - she screamed at her brother, ran up to the chair, fell on it and sobbed so much that she could not stop for a long time.
“Nothing, Mama, really nothing, just like this: Petya scared me,” she said, trying to smile, but the tears kept flowing and sobs were choking her throat.
Among the many attractions of Dubrovnik, it is worth highlighting the Prince's Palace, which is a real secular architectural monument of both the entire city and neighboring countries. It is located directly on Luzha Square in the Old Town area. The palace is a successful combination of Gothic and Renaissance styles. His modern look was formed over many centuries with the help of constant reconstructions and improvements. From time to time, the palace was subject to significant damage not only from people and weapons, but also due to natural disasters and disasters. However, despite everything, it managed to preserve its greatness and culture to this day.
Historical information
Initially, on the site of the palace there was a dilapidated building with towers, which was practically destroyed after a strong fire in 1435. In its place, the Dubrovnik government decided to build another structure, much more beautiful. The corresponding task was entrusted to the architect Onofrio. And he created an elegant two-story Princely Palace in gothic style with pillars and high towers. But what stood out most was the portico with its capital in the form of figurative scenes. The capital itself and other sculptural decorations were made by Peter Martinov, a famous Milanese master. It is noteworthy that his sculpture depicting Aesculapius has survived to this day. And although it is made in the Gothic style, the trends and trends of the era early Renaissance are also clearly visible.
In 1463, a powerful explosion occurred in the palace due to the ignition of gunpowder in the armory. The incident caused significant damage to the building. This time the Florentine master Michelozzo undertook to restore the palace. Along with the palace project, he also worked on the reconstruction of the Dubrovnik fortress walls. But the very conservative council in 1464 did not accept Michelozzo’s design plan due to the excessive Renaissance spirit. This hurt the pride of the Florentine architect, and he soon left Dubrovnik. All restoration work was entrusted to other people. The capitals and the arch of the portico were altered. And from 1467, the Florentine Salvi Di Michele continued the restoration of the palace. The main changes were carried out at the second floor level of the southern and western facades. There appeared huge windows with two arches, which were separated by peculiar columns. The windows were created by Nikola Marković and Radivoj Bogicevic, and the relief portal scene was designed by Pavko Antojević Bogićević.
The long-suffering palace in 1520 received new damage caused by an earthquake. Petar Andriich restored it quite quickly. However, another disastrous earthquake in 1667 again damaged the building. The entire southern façade collapsed. This time it was decided to reconstruct the facade in the Baroque style. A new staircase also appeared in the palace atrium. The bell with decorations was connected to the clock mechanism.
In 1638, by decision of the Senate, a monument to Miho Pratsat was erected on the ground floor. This wealthy citizen bequeathed his entire fortune to the state. And this was the only plebeian who bothered with the monument. Worked on the bust Italian master Pietro Giacometti. And after the earthquake, the restored monument was returned to its place only in 1783.
Features of the palace
The prince lived and worked in the palace for a long time for the benefit of the people. Therefore, the building housed the prince’s personal chambers, an office, an office, a conference room, a court, a notary office and even a prison. Moreover, the prince was elected every month and exclusively from members of the republican board. It is known that he worked constantly, and saw his family extremely rarely, since government duties were above all else.
Nowadays, a cultural and historical museum successfully exists in the Prince’s Palace. Household items, “Domus Christi” pharmacy equipment, clothing, antique furniture, paintings and a numismatic collection of money, coats of arms, seals, weapons, medals, etc. are on public display. The palace regularly hosts cultural events, festivals and concerts by the best classical musicians.