Society of Friends of Dubrovnik Antiquities was founded in 12 August in 1952, to sensitize broader public on the importance of preservation of Dubrovnik’s cultural and historical heritage, raising awareness and interest for them, appealing to the pride and appreciation of the public. At the time, the condition of the capital monuments, such as the City Walls and the Walls of Ston, was bad. They were overgrown with capers, ivy, and figs, and covered with inappropriate greenery and trees. Conceived by the love and volunteer work of several Dubrovnik enthusiasts, thanks to the clear vision of a noble idea, the Society grew, matured, and developed its cultural and social role.
“Time changes; people change. The Society of Friends of Dubrovnik Antiquity changes over time as well, but the conscience of the City remains the same; fulfilling its task, but not without the citizens of Dubrovnik. “
THE CITY WALLS
Today’s size of the Dubrovnik walls was shaped in the 13th century. The walls were systematically updated and built up to 1660 when the last Bastion of St Stephan was finished in the southern segment of the walls. The 1940m long walls consist of the main city wall, sixteen towers, three fortresses, six…
LOVRJENAC FORTRESS
Detached powerful fortress in the suburb of Pile, rising on the thirty-seven meters high rock, has been named after St. Lawrence whose church used to stand there. The chapel is still incorporated into the body of this fortification. The origins of Lovrjenac reach back to the years 1018 and 1038, while…
WESTERN OUTER WALL
Western complex of the walls dates from the thirteenth century, when the City was spreading northwards and raising its walls. It was a simple, vertical, one and a half meters thick wall with battlements and merlons. On the inner side was a roundabout corridor supported by small arches and consoles…
WALLS OF STON
Ston city walls consist of the main wall and three forts (Veliki Kaštio, Koruna, and Podzvizd), forty-one towers, seven bastions, (Sokolić, Arcimon in Ston, the three bastions of Veliki Kaštel, the Podzvizda bastion and the Arcimon in Mali Ston), four pre-walls (the eastern and south-western Ston pre-walls…
THE SOKOL FORTRESS
Dubrovnik took possession of the Fortress at the beginning of 1420 but had to leave it in December of the same year. In 1423 it was again under the rule of Dubrovnik and so it stayed for the next two and a half centuries. They abandoned it after the 1672 earthquake. It is important to point out that people…
RECTOR’S PALACE SLANO
During the 14th century, the expansion of the Republic of Ragusa to the west proceeded on two occasions. First, in 1333, Ston and Pelješac Peninsula were redeemed, and then in 1399 the area of Primorje, in contemporary Dubrovnik documents known as Terre Nuove, was redeemed from the Bosnian king…
RECTOR’S PALACE PRIDVORJE
The Rector’s palace in Pridvorje was the seat of the Dubrovnik Rector in Konavle. It was built by the Dubrovnik Republic in 1427 near the village of Sveti Martin. The Rector who ruled the principality of Konavle came from the Dubrovnik nobility. After the years of negligence, Rector’s palace is rebuilt…
RECTOR’S PALACE JANJINA
The Rector’s Palace in Janjina was built in 1465, by the government of the Republic of Dubrovnik. Beside the Rector’s office and his living quarters, the Palace also had a prison cell, an armory, and a storage room. Today Rector’s Palace in Janjina is just a ruin, completely devastated but…
