Dubrovnik Old Port

by Natasa Lujic
(Dubrovnik)

There are two entrances to the old port, one from the north at the beginning of the St. Dominick's street, more specifically, at the entrance to the "Ribarnica," a place where used to be an open-air fishmarket held in the wide paved square.

The entrance to the "Ribarnica" was built in the 14th century in a gothic style; the other entrance to the old port is from the south, through the Ponta Gate, right next to the Rector's Palace.

The old port used to be the hub of Ragusa's commercial and maritime activity till the 16th century. However, the most important feature of the old port were its arsenals - the large and the small one, that were in function already in 782. In 1682, in the center of the large arsenal the first public theatar in Dubrovnik was open, named "Orsan."

The French turned it into a bakery for the army, and the Austrians gave it today's shape. The small arsenal was used for building and storing smaller ships, and it was located on the north. Today, only the remnants of its walls remained.

The small arsenal was torn down in 1856, and in its place the port ministry was built. The original shape of the old port is attributed to the work of Paskoje Milicevic, who designed the Kaše harbor wall to protect the port from the bad weather. Pakoje Milicevic also planned a number of the city's defences, especially the manner in which tha various fortresses are linked.

One example of the defence is the Kaše, which aside from the bad weather was also a method of defence, namely, in 1631 heavy chains were stretched from Kaše across either side of the port entrance to prevent hostile ships from entering the port.

In the earthquake that occured in 1979, the Kaše were significantly damaged. The old port was well defended by the fortresses that surround it, namely, St. Luke, Revelin, St. John, as well as the walls.