Sights in Dubrovnik

In a circle of nearly 2 km the town wall encloses Dubrovnik's old town. Several stairways - mostly at the gates - take you up onto the fortification, and you can walk it along its whole length. From up here you have a good overview of the remaining sights of the old town and also a fine view outwards, in the other direction. After all, the wall was built between the 12th and 17th centuries above all for that direction of view, since approaching enemy troops had to be spotted quickly. That is why the bulwark, with its double walls, forts and moat, is a full 25 metres high and between 1.5 m (seaward side) and 6 m (landward side) thick.

When the original ring of walls was supplemented and reinforced by a second in the late Middle Ages, the Pila gate too was "doubled": the inner gate of 1460 is adorned with a statue of Saint Blaise, the outer gate was built in 1537. Today it is the most popular way into the old town, because through the Pile gate you step straight onto Stradun, the grand shopping avenue.

The Ploče gate marks the eastern entrance to the town. Until the beginning of the 20th century the great farmers' market was held here; today tourists with their cameras jostle in front of the double gate in search of the best snapshot. For the Ploče gate consists of an outer gate, designed in 1450 and reworked in the 19th century, and the inner archway, which lies directly beneath the 14th-century defensive tower.

The town of Dubrovnik owes its rapid growth, among other things, to good hygienic conditions and the comfort of a water supply. As early as the 14th century the nearest spring - all of 12 km away nonetheless - was "tapped", and a kind of aqueduct brought the clean water into the town. There the citizens could draw and use it at fountains. A particularly fine example of these fountains is the Onofrio fountain, to the right just past the Pile gate: built in 1438 and named after its master builder, it is adorned with 16 waterspouts, every one of which deserves attention.

When the earth shook in Dubrovnik in the year 1520 but hardly anyone came to harm, the citizens resolved to build a small church out of gratitude. The single-nave Sveti Spas was devised and built in the same year by the architect Andrijić. The otherwise very sober façade emphasises the Gothic rose window, and in the Renaissance interior stand two imposing altars of Croatian marble. When the town was taken by surprise by a strong earthquake in 1667 and largely destroyed, the church of the Redeemer still stood undamaged beside the town wall at the Pile gate.

Daily from 9 to 16 you can visit the Franciscan monastery of 1317. One of the highlights is the authentic pharmacy, likewise dating from the Middle Ages, which thanks to careful restoration and good care is still the same today as at the time of the monastery's founding. The monastery also holds a museum full of sacred treasures such as iconostases, manuscripts, paintings and goldsmiths' work. But you should also turn your attention to the building itself: the cloister framed by double rows of columns is as typical of its time as the mask capitals of the sculptor Brajkov and the flamboyant portal of the Petrović brothers on the south side are unique!

The showpiece street Stradun took its present form with the filling in of the narrow channel, through which the two parts of the original Dubrovnik merged into one town. And to this day the whole town meets here: hardly a well-known department store has not opened a branch here, hardly 10 paces are needed from any point of the Placa - as Stradun is also called - to the nearest café, and hardly a night falls quiet here early! You stroll on the marble above the water system of 1468, are always within sight of a few of the town's most exciting buildings and simply enjoy the moment - this atmosphere is what makes Stradun so pleasant and likeable despite its fairly commercial touch.

The most varied use of all Dubrovnik's buildings has probably fallen to the Sponza palace: since its construction in the 16th century the house has served as a mint, warehouse, customs house, academy, dwelling and seat of government of the rector, prison and memorial. Behind the three-storey façade, adorned with a monument to the town's patron, Saint Blaise, lies a courtyard likewise worth seeing, carried by a skilful arrangement of columns which even the great earthquake could not harm. The rooms of the palace may also be visited, though only by prior arrangement and under special circumstances - after all they are not artfully furnished chambers of centuries past, but the offices of the historical town archive!

The bell loggia of 1952 is a reconstruction of the building of 1463 that was pulled down for the Austrian state commander. This original passage was the "little brother" of the bell tower of 1444, whose signals called the sessions of the town councils or warned the citizens of danger. It rises 31 metres between the Sponza palace and the council palace - which in the case of the "original" led to its leaning to one side, between the earthquake of 1667 and its demolition at the end of the 19th century, as dangerously as the famous tower in Pisa.

A Roland column, erected by a town's merchants in honour of their patron saint, exists in every place that has had a commercially successful era. You can recognise it by the figure with the sword held upright close to the body, its blade resting on the ground. Usually, though, the Roland column has a further meaning beyond merely celebrating one's own wealth. So too in Dubrovnik: here the image of Orlando, the Croatian hero figure who according to legend protected the country from Arab piracy in the 8th century, was used as the model for the Roland statue - which in turn shows the economic aspect, since it was not primarily the common people who were threatened by the pirates, but the prosperity of the shipowners and exporters. The column was created in 1418.

If you are in Dubrovnik on 3 February, you will probably follow a crowd of people out of curiosity, and it will lead you straight to Sveti Vlaho. For here, in the church of Saint Blaise, stands for the remaining 364 days of the year a silver statue of the town's patron saint, created in the 5th century. But once a year Saint Blaise is allowed out into the fresh air, and in an elaborate and spectacular procession he is carried through the streets and lanes of Dubrovnik. Then he returns to the Baroque building of 1715 with its glowing, colourful mosaic windows.

The people of Ragusa, uncommonly successful and diplomatic in foreign policy, knew not only how to use methods such as bribery and blackmail, they also knew their seductive effect. To forestall that at home they developed a rather original principle of rule: every month a new rector was appointed who on no account might leave his palace for the whole of his term of office - precisely so as not to be influenced in his dealings. The glowing red room in which he had to spend most of his time you can visit daily from 9 to 19. Otherwise the rector's palace houses a courtyard used as a concert hall, with a Baroque staircase, and today's town museum.

Opposite the church of the Redeemer, Sveti Spas, a convent was built in the 13th century for the order of St Clare, which from 1432 became the first orphanage in all of Europe. Sadly it fell victim to the earthquake of 1667. After its rebuilding in the 18th century the building served for a while as an ammunition store, but since that - fortunately - is no longer needed, small cafés, galleries and boutiques make use of the favourable location and rent. Do drop by here even if you believe you saw everything on your last visit to Dubrovnik: thanks to the high turnover there is always something new to discover!

Not trusting 100% in the protection of God, the Dominican monastery was conceived like a defensive complex when building began in 1310. After all, the monastery still lay outside the town walls at that time and, in the event of an attack, would have been the first line of defence. With the enlargement of the town and the rebuilding of the walls, the monastery was then, however, integrated into the town centre. Until the 16th century it was continually rebuilt and extended, but since then its form has remained unchanged. So on your visit you can see the fine arcade arches in Renaissance style, the Gothic windows, the bell tower and the plain, sober monastery church. And when you have relaxed long enough in the inner courtyard with its fountain, palms, orange trees and Japanese mistletoe, you should visit the monastery museum beside the sacristy. Daily from 9 to 17 hours, manuscripts from the Middle Ages, sacred utensils of gold and jewellery, but also the plain robes of the Dominicans, are shown here to interested visitors. Particularly worth seeing are the large-format altar paintings in Renaissance style, on which not only the saints were immortalised but on which a more or less discreet reference to the city of Ragusa is always to be found as well: sometimes it is a model of the town centre, sometimes a chalice in the shape of a typical ship, sometimes even the generous donor who had the picture made. Much pleasure in discovering!

St John's fortress, called Sveti Ivan in Croatian, no longer serves defence today - only the protection of the seas. Out of this ecological interest an aquarium was set up here in the lower part, in which visitors can watch the creatures of the sea at close quarters, and the upper floor is today the maritime museum. Here we are shown the history of Dubrovnik as a trading metropolis and the development of ship models typical of the region. When you step out of the 400-year-old masonry into the open again, you have on the one hand an enchanting view of the island of Lokrum, and on the other a practical way down into the town centre - in case you would like to see still more!

The outlying fortress of Lovrijenac was laid out beyond the town walls as early as the 11th century. Set on a rock, the building - imposing enough in itself - outdoes all the other defensive works and much of the town. When you enter the castle through the main gate, cast a glance upwards: the archway bears Dubrovnik's motto: "For no money in the world do we sell our freedom.

Beyond the town wall and linked to the old town only by a bridge, the Revelin fortress lies directly by the sea. The already craggy rocks were additionally blasted away to make them more vertical and thus more impregnable. For the town's grain stores were kept here, without which one would have been at the attacker's mercy even if the rest of the town could have defended itself. The architect Ferramolino had the fort built in the 16th century in an asymmetrical quadrangular form, since this shields the harbour optimally against expected attacks. Today, in the north-east of the town, what one enjoys here above all is the fresh sea breeze and the fine view.

The fortress that lies nearest the bus station today was built in 1464 by Dalmatinac and Michelozzi and counts as the first casemated fortress in the world. From here you can not only cast a glance into the Dubrovnik dwellings close to the wall but also begin your circuit on the town wall.

A single round tower in the north-west of the town would probably have provided a good view, but that was not enough for the people of Ragusa. And so they set another on top of the round tower and created the highest point of the town: the Minčeta tower. After only three years of building, the Dalmatinac tower was taken into use in 1464 and today is even fitted out with a cosy café.

When the British king Richard the Lionheart had ended his crusades and set off for home, his ship was struck by a strong storm off the island of Lokrum in 1129. The ship capsized, the Lionheart feared for his life and was rescued at the last second by the inhabitants of Dubrovnik. Out of gratitude he gave the city a large sum of money, which was invested in the building of the first cathedral. The Velika Gospa did, however, have to be newly erected after the earthquake of 1667. In accordance with the taste of the time, in 1673 people decided on a plain, generously proportioned Baroque building. The master builders needed until 1713 before every stone stood upon the other, the altars and pews were aligned and all the paintings - such as the "Assumption of the Virgin" by Titian - had found their place. Visitors and connoisseurs of art confirm to one another today: the effort was worth it! The treasury of the church is unfortunately not open to guests. The effort involved would be too great, for the door can only be opened when three representatives of different institutions are present in order to unlock the three locks - a further indication of the caution and the mistrust that consolidated over the centuries in this city grown through manipulation, tactics and corruption...