Holy Saviour Church, Crkva sv. Spasa, Dubrovnik, Croatia
Gee, what a cute little church! And it’s a rare survivor of the 1667 earthquake! Awesome!
The Holy Saviour Church is, though, prettier on the outside than on the inside. The outside is absolutely wonderful, with cute little cherubs and random little faces carved into the decorative elements. It is a little gem of Renaissance architecture and a reminder of the style that dominated Dubrovnik before the rebuilding following 1667.
Interestingly, this church has its origins in a previous disaster: in 1520 the city was struck by an earthquake which damaged many buildings and killed 20. The government decided to build a new church, a bigger, better church, in thanks for being spared worse destruction. That’s what the inscription above the main door is about.
The design was by an architect from Korčula, Petar Andrijić, and the church was completed in 1528. The inside is extremely plain, and, as you can guess from the outside, extremely teeny. From the way it’s decorated on the outside, I think I assumed it would be more fancy within, but it has an understated elegance which was unexpected, but lovely.
So In Summary
If you can, please do give some time to looking at the outside of the church. You can sit on the edge of the Onofrio fountain and just gaze at it to your heart’s content…
Further Information
Like most churches, you never know when it’s going to be open. Pot luck. Enjoy the hunt.
How To Get There
This map is quite helpful to help navigate yourself there, it’s no. 3: www.godubrovnik.com
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