St Blaise’s Church

About the place

Baroque church of St Blaise's (Vlaha), the patron saint of the city of Dubrovnik, was built on the site of an older Romanesque church (14th century), which survived the great earthquake in 1667, but was burnt down in a fire in 1706. The church was damaged in the earthquake of 1979, and during the Homeland War (1991-1992) it was damaged by hits, most heavily on the roof and the north facade.

On February 26, 1348, the Great Council made a decision on the construction of the church of St Blaise's on the Platea Communis, in the place where it is today in front of the Town Hall. From the decision to build a new church of St. Vlaha can still be read in the mentioned place as the desire of the people of Dubrovnik to gain independence from the Venetian authorities, especially if we take into account the archival information that the Archbishop of Dubrovnik Ilija Sarak laid the foundation stone of the church. In 1558, the organ of the organist Colombia was installed in the church. The new Baroque church was built from 1706 to 1715 according to the plans of the Venetian builder Marino Gropelli. The church has a richly decorated facade with a portal, and in front of it there are wide stairs. The central area of the church is surmounted by a dome. On the main marble altar there is a statue of St. Vlaha made of gilded silver, the work of Dubrovnik masters from the 15th century. In his hands, he holds a model of the city before the earthquake in 1667. The statue survived both the earthquake and the fire in the church. Every year on February 3rd, the Feast of St Blaise's is celebrated in Dubrovnik.