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DUBROVNIK DIGEST >> OLD TOWN
OLD TOWN >> St. Blaise's Church
St. Blaise's Church
The old church of St. Blaise, patron of Dubrovnik, was not totally destroyed in the 1667 earthquake but it was destroyed by fire in 1706 and in its place a new baroque style church was built. It was designed by the Venetian architect and sculptor Marino Gropelli. The church has a richly decorated facade in the magnificent baroque Venetian style and thick massive steps leading to the church. Of particular value are the statues on the facade, because Gropelli was primarily a sculptor rather than an architect.
Above the central area of the church rises a dome and on the main marble altar is a goldplated silver statue of St.Blaise, made by goldsmiths from Dubrovnik. It's interesting that the statue survived both the earthquake and fire. Local recorded that all other gold and silver statues were melted by the fire but miraculously, St.Blaise survived. More importantly, it has remained intact and depicts Blaise holding the Old Town in his hand so we can now see what the old church of St. Blaise looked like and the Roman cathedral, before the earthquake.
Today the cult of St. Blaise is celebrated every year on 3 February and UNESCO has placed the celebration on its list of intangible cultural world treasures.
