St. Blaise was a fourth century bishop who lived in Armenia and was martyred for the Faith in the year 316. For those times he was a highly educated man and used to serve the poorest people as a medicine man. Later he was exiled for being a Christian into the hills in the backcountry of his diocese.   The legends say that one of the products of Blaise's holiness was that even the most wild of animals became his companions without any harm to him. One day hunters discovered Blaise while seeking wild animals for the amphitheater and arrested him as a Christian. Blaise was taken to prison, but on the way there he interceded to God on the behalf of a child who was choking to death on a fish bone. The child was cured, but Blaise was forced to continue on his way to prison. While in prison, Blaise confirmed that he was a Christian and was given the chance to recant his profession of Faith if he offered worship to the pagan idols. Blaise refused even after a horrible torture. Finally, Blaise was beheaded.

As a precious relic, St Blaise head, somehow in 972 got to Dubrovnik and after which St Blais had allegedly appeared to some old vicar Stojko and worn him of the Mletian planed night attempt to attack the City, St Blaise became the City’s patron saint.

In tribute to the Saint that stood watch over Dubrovnik for centuries, the St Blaise celebration that take place every year on 3 February lively preserving Dubrovnik’s folklore heritage. During the festivity the Saint’s relics are carried out in the procession, and numerous plays and folk performances unite people from all over the world to celebrate the freedom.  In times of the Republic the prisoners that didn’t commit any serious crime could also join the feast, and for the permanently expelled citizens, those were the only 14 days during which they could freely move around the City.

The statues and pictures of St Blaise are integrated in almost every part the Old City architecture.

The golden statue of St Blaise holding a model of the Town from 15th century is placed at the main altar of the Dubrovnik's St Blaise Church and it is one of the precious sculptures of the Dubrovnik art in general, maid by unknown sculptor from Dubrovnik school. Later on, due to this marvelous map held in the saints arms, the buildings crashed in the 1667 earthquake, were easily recognizable and the fact that a statue is considered to be miraculous is because  it survived the Church fire undamaged.

Experience!

If you can’t make it to join the St Blaise Festival, be shore to pay attention on numerous sculptures of St Blaise that are placed all over the city.  

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