Sunday, June 24th, 2012
After my water tour yesterday, today was slated as an old town tour day. Once again like the other cities I have visited in Croatia, the old city of Dubrovnik is the cultural centre and where you will find most of the tourist attractions, the biggest being the walls of Dubrovnik. They surround and protect the old city....and you can walk all the way around them, well on top of them.
Because I was staying a bit outside the city centre....at my fabulous 5 star hotel, I needed to take a bus into the city. Easy to do since they actually sit outside the hotel and head into the city every 15 minutes or so. Really convenient as it is also less than 15 minutes to the Old city.
Once there I decided to get a Dubrovnik Card. Basically this gives you access to several attractions, including the walls and a bunch of museums for one low price. When I went to purchase it, they recommended that I wait to walk the walls until later in the day (around 6pm...it was about 11am at that time). I soon noticed that they told that to everyone so I chose to chance the heat and head to the walls early to avoid the crowds. It was pretty warm.....ok down right hot and humid but it was also nice and empty so I didn't mind.
Looking out on the Adriatic from the top of the walls. I will never get over how beautiful the water looks.
The main street or Stradun (officially named Placa) of Old Dubrovnik from the walls. It is about 300 metres long and until the 12th century it was a sea channel. On the left hand side you can see the bell tower of the Franciscan Monastery. Built inside the walls starting in 1317 this monastery housed the third oldest pharmacy in Europe and a library, which is considered to be one of the most significant old libraries in Croatia and the world. It was destroyed in the great earthquake of 1667 and then rebuilt on the same spot. The only original structures that remain are the southern doors and a sculpture of the Virgin Mary.
The fortress you can see is St. Lawrence Fortress. Interesting to note that the walls facing the sea are 12 metres (39 feet) thick while those facing town are only 60 centimetres (2 feet) thick.
Ok staircases like this don't help my vertigo at all but necessary to climb them if you want to walk the walls.
A look at a portion of the wall. This portion runs along the mountain.
A portion of the wall that overlooks the sea. Such beautiful water. It really is a long way down.
Another look at the outer wall. Such a great view. These walls of course would have protected the city for hundreds of years. They were asked to play the role of protector again in 1991 and 1992 when the city was hit by about 2000 shells during the war. There was extensive damage to the old city....none of which you can see today. I just always think of old walled cities protecting citizens from advancing armies as an ancient necessity. Hard to believe it wasn't that long ago that these ancient walls again served this purpose.
Inside the walls you will find all kinds of things including hotels and restaurants and stores but people also live there so you will find apartments and schools and basketball courts.
One of the canons that would have been used to protect the city. Now it sits around the corner from the Maritime Museum. The Maritime Museum (which I couldn't take pictures inside) is accessed from the walls and entry was included with my Dubrovnik card. It was all about the history of the trade routes along the Adriatic and Dubrovnik. There were lots of pictures and items from ships (some that would still be sitting at the bottom of the Adriatic) and gave a great run down of the evolution of navigation. The building was also air conditioned so it was a nice cool place to spend sometime before heading back out onto the wall.
This is a very good example of the little narrow street in the old city as well as how the locals use the little space that they have.
The view of Dubrovnik Cathedral from the Walls.
Taking a look through one of the peep holes along the wall.
On the wall overlooking the city. You can see the big cruise ship in behind me. Dubrovnik is a very popular stop for ships. No surprise because it is such an amazing city.
Looking down one of the streets. Lots of stairs to get up there but also lots of little restaurants and cafes to discover.
Another look at the old town from high above on the wall.
And back down the steps. Eventually I made it all the way around.
Once I made it all the way around the wall I then headed into the old town to check things out. Lots of things to see within the walls as well.
This is The Great Onofrio Fountain. It has sixteen sides (with sixteen drinking fountains) and was built in 1438 by Italian engineer Onofriodella Cava to celebrate the completion of the aqueduct that supplied water to the city from the Dubrovnik River (about 12 kilometres away). The 1667 earthquake heavily damaged the beautiful sculptures and ornaments that decorated the fountain. The functionality was also impaired but it is still a favourite place from people to refill water bottles.
This is the Church of the Holy Saviour built from 1520 to 1528. You will find it right next to the Great Onofrio Fountain. Luckily it escaped damage in that great earthquake of 1667. It has been very well preserved.
This is Sponza Palace. Construction began in 1516 and was originally used as a custom's house. Goods were brought here from all over the world to be taxed. It was a meeting place and trading centre for the business people of the republic. One section was also used as a mint. Near the end of the 16th century the palace became the cultural centre of the Republic. The first school in Dubrovnik was organized here and it was a place where educated citizens of Dubrovnik met.
The courtyard of Sponza Palace. The building is now home to the city archives and houses a small museum. It was very interesting place to wander through. Lots of very important history from the region including many items from one of the first pharmacies.
A look inside St. Ignatius Church. On this day it was almost totally empty. It seems the other churches in town get a bit more foot traffic as this one is a little bit out of the way.
This doorway gets a lot of sun so only seems natural that people would use it in food production. I think those are olives in those jars so I'm guessing they are brine curing them but I actually don't know.
A look out from a bar built into a cliff. This is Buza Bar and is a very popular spot to grab a drink or two.....so popular in fact that they built a second one, Buza 2 a short way down the cliff.
The rest of my day was spent wandering the streets of the old town and visiting a few other museums. Eventually I made my way back to my hotel where I spent sometime just relaxing in the pool and then watching the sun go down.
A beautiful sunset.
And another look.
After sunset I headed back into the old town and back to Mavasija Wine Bar. I enjoyed it so much the night before so I couldn't think of a better way to enjoy my final night in Croatia. Eventually I went back to my hotel to finish packing. I would be back on the road the next day.
Croatia in summary was fantastic. I could easily say it is one of the greatest countries I've ever been to. It offers so much of everything. No matter what you like I assure you, you will find it here. And the people are so nice. Highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.
With that being said it was time to head over the border and visit another country. So much world to see, so little time.
Julie
No comments:
Post a Comment