Church of St Blaise

Why go

Pause here to connect Dubrovnik's civic identity with a particular object: St Blaise holds a model of the historic city in the silver statue on the altar. Outside, Marino Gropelli's Venetian Baroque façade gives the square one of its most theatrical fronts.

What to look for

• Corinthian columns and statues shape Gropelli's Baroque façade.
• The altar's silver St Blaise holds a model of historic Dubrovnik.
• The silver statue survived the fire that destroyed the earlier church in 1706.

The full story

St Blaise, known locally as Sveti Vlaho, is Dubrovnik's patron saint, so the church has a civic meaning as well as a religious one. The present building followed a fire in 1706 that destroyed its predecessor. Venetian architect and sculptor Marino Gropelli gave the replacement a Baroque façade with columns, figures and a raised entrance. Inside, the silver statue of St Blaise survived that earlier fire. It shows the saint holding a model of the historic city, a detail that turns a devotional image into a record of how Dubrovnik imagined its own protection. The contrast between old statue and later church is the point to watch for: the treasured object outlived the building made to house it. On Luža Square, the façade also forms part of a wider civic scene beside Sponza Palace and the eastern end of Stradun.

Useful to know

• View the façade while crossing Luža Square; check church access if you want to see the altar statue.
• Combine it with nearby Sponza Palace to read two different sides of the square.

Your next visit

Estimated · Declared scenario and planning estimates; no live opening, weather, queue or booking service.