The Church of St. Blaise, one of the most beautiful sacred buildings in Dubrovnik, dates in its current form from 1715.
It captivates with its richly adorned Venetian Baroque style. Construction began in 1706 by Venetian architect Marino Gropelli, commissioned by the Dubrovnik Senate, which wanted a new church on the site of the previous 14th-century Romanesque church.
The original church was first damaged in an earthquake, then completely destroyed in a devastating fire in 1706. Remarkably, everything perished in the flames except the silver statue of St. Blaise, which survived untouched—an event still viewed as miraculous.
After a period of "exile," during which the statue was kept in the nearby Church of St. Nicholas in Prijeko, it was returned in 1715 to the newly built church bearing his name. That same year, the people of Dubrovnik added an inscription to the statue stating:
"All other statues made of gold, silver, and bronze were melted in the fire, while the statue of the saint, protected by a miracle, was pulled from the flames unharmed."
The statue remains one of Dubrovnik's most important sculptures, and in the model of the city that the saint holds in his hand, one can see the historic architecture of Dubrovnik.
St. Blaise has been venerated in Dubrovnik since the 10th century and is regarded as the patron saint of the city. According to the chronicles, he saved Dubrovnik when Venetian ships anchored in Gruž and off Lokrum, pretending to resupply before sailing on to the Levant. While scouting the city for weak points to invade, St. Blaise appeared in a vision to the local priest Stojko, revealing their true intentions and saving the city from a surprise night attack.
The priest described him as an elderly man with a long white beard, wearing a bishop's mitre and holding a staff—just as he is depicted today on Dubrovnik's city walls and towers.
The Festivity of St. Blaise is celebrated on the 3rd of February, and his day is also officially the Day of the City of Dubrovnik.
