Church of St. Blaise – The Pinnacle of Baroque Splendor

Today’s basilica stands on the site of an older 14th-century Romanesque church. Although that older church miraculously survived the devastating earthquake of 1667, its fate was sealed by a terrible fire in May 1706.

It was precisely this event that prompted the Republic of Ragusa (Dubrovnik Republic) to build a new, even more magnificent temple dedicated to its patron saint.

The church was also damaged during the earthquake that struck Montenegro in 1979, and during the Croatian War of Independence (1991–1992), artillery shells damaged its roof and northern facade.

The Spirit of Venice on the Streets of Dubrovnik

Built between 1706 and 1715, the Church of St. Blaise is the city’s most recognizable symbol and a masterpiece of ornate Venetian Baroque architecture. Its floor plan forms an inscribed Greek cross with a dominant central dome and a smaller square sanctuary. Unlike other Baroque structures in the city, its architect, Marino Gropelli, brought the spirit of Venice to the streets of Dubrovnik.

This harmonious structure rises on an elevated platform with sloped sides made of rusticated stone blocks, conferring a distinctive monumentality upon Luža Square. The main facade is adorned with lavish Corinthian semi-columns and a central arched portal guarded by angels carrying palm branches. At the very top of the facade stands a statue of St. Blaise, flanked on the balustrades by personifications of Faith and Hope.

The rich decorative exterior is complemented by skillfully carved mascarons on the roof cornices, while the original bell tower was replaced in the 19th century by today’s bell gable.

Today protected as a cultural heritage site, this church serves as the central venue for the celebration of the Festivity of St. Blaise.

Interior

The church features a refined lighting system achieved through large semi-circular, so-called thermal (Diocletian) windows that create dramatic light and shadow effects.

The interior is designed in typical Venetian style as a freestanding structure with an inscribed Greek cross floor plan. The space is dominated by a high central dome positioned over the crossing.

The entire interior is articulated by monumental white stone composite semi-columns, topped with ornate capitals featuring acanthus leaf motifs and volutes.

Alongside Marino Gropelli’s rich relief decoration—which includes expertly sculpted angels and symbols of martyrdom—every detail within the church bears witness to a supreme Baroque synergy between architecture and sculpture.

The Organ

The church also preserves a valuable organ. The present instrument was built by the German workshop Gebrüder Rieger in 1906 and is housed in a sumptuously gilded Venetian-style casing dating back to 1720.

The Gilded Statue of St. Blaise

The church’s greatest treasure is the gilded silver statue of St. Blaise on the main altar. Crafted by 15th-century Dubrovnik masters, it was the only object to survive the 1706 fire, whereas all other gold and silver melted.

The saint is depicted as a gray-haired old man wearing a bishop’s mitre and holding a crozier, with a scale model of Dubrovnik in his hand. This model is of priceless value because it displays the city’s appearance before the devastating earthquake of 1667.

Saint Blaise – Eternal Guardian and Parac of Dubrovnik

Saint Blaise (affectionately called Parac in Dubrovnik, meaning patron or intercessor) is the central figure of Dubrovnik’s identity and faith.

He was a physician and bishop from Sebaste in Asia Minor who suffered martyrdom for the Christian faith in the early 4th century.

Most Catholic nations derived his name from the Latin form “Blasius,” whereas the people of Dubrovnik derived it from the Byzantine-Greek form “Vlasios.”

The name Vlaho is unrelated to the term Vlachs, which was used to designate a specific Balkan population.

Legend of the Saving of the City

The veneration of St. Blaise in Dubrovnik began in the 10th century.

In the 10th century, the Venetians were looking for a way to free themselves from paying tribute to the Croats and to protect themselves from attacks by Neretvian pirates.

About a hundred ships set sail from Venice toward Greece in 971 and requested permission from the people of Dubrovnik to anchor at the city to take on water and provisions.

According to tradition, St. Blaise appeared to the priest Stojko, warning him that the Venetians were planning to seize the city under the guise of resupply, and instructed him to notify the council immediately so they could prepare a defense.

The Venetians launched an attack, but the people of Dubrovnik repelled them.

Grateful for his intercession, the people of Dubrovnik declared him their patron saint in 972, replacing their former patrons, St. Sergius and St. Bacchus.

That same year, the Grand Council decided to place the image of Saint Blaise, as defender of the City, on the coat of arms, the state flag, public buildings, city walls, seals, coinage, and official documents.

Festivity of St. Blaise (Festa sv. Vlaha)

The Church of St. Blaise is the center of the Festivity of St. Blaise, which has been held every year on February 3rd since 972.
The Ceremonie

Opening of the Festivity (Candlemas / Kandelora)

The celebration begins on February 2nd in front of the Church of St. Blaise with the release of white doves, the reading of greetings, and the raising of the saint’s banner on Orlando’s Column.

 

Main Feast Day (February 3rd):

On the patron saint’s day, the banner of St. Blaise sets off from the church toward the Ploče Gate to welcome parish banners arriving from the eastern part of the diocese. Together, they move toward the Pile Gate to meet the banners from the western part of the diocese. After bowing to the City, everyone marches in a joint procession along Stradun toward the Church of St. Blaise, greeting it by waving their banners.

The central event is a solemn grand procession in which the relics of Saint Blaise are carried through the streets of the Old Town.

 

Closing Day

The Festivity of St. Blaise concludes on the first Sunday following the feast of St. Blaise. In the morning, a procession with the city banners sets off from Pile toward the Church of St. Blaise on Gorica. Following Mass in front of the church on Gorica, the procession descends back into the City. Exactly at noon in front of the Saint’s church in the City, the closing ceremony of the Festivity begins.

 

Blessing of Throats and the Amnesty (Sloboština) of St. Blaise

Particularly touching is the rite of the blessing of throats (grličanje), based on the legend that St. Blaise saved a boy choking on a fishbone.

Holding two crossed candles to the believer’s neck, the priest prays: “Through the intercession of Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from ailments of the throat and every other evil!”

To allow everyone to participate in the Festivity, the “Amnesty of St. Blaise” (Sloboština) was instituted—a period during which any offender, convict, or exile could freely enter the City 2 days before and 2 days after the feast day without facing prosecution (this amnesty was later extended to 7 days before and 7 days after the feast day).

In 2009, the Festivity was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.