May the 4th is celebrated all around the world as a Firefighters’ Day in order to thank all firefighters for their selfness, commitment and courage. Since southern Croatia often sees forest and bush fires during the dry summer season, this day holds a special meaning in Dubrovnik: The brave Dubrovnik firefighters have protected the area from terrible fires several times, with the last serious one occurring in 2007 – when an out of control fire threatened houses in Rijeka Dubrovacka, Mokosica, Sustjepan, Gruz and the Old Town.
The saint patron of the firefighters is Saint Florian who stopped the huge fire with only one bucket of water, saving the village from a disastrous fate. The legend has it that years after St. Florian’s death a man said he was saved from a deadly fire when he prayed to St. Florian to stop the blaze.
The subject of Art History often sees St. Florian depicted as a saint who is pouring water or small vessels on flames in various religious artworks, while history remembers him as an officer in the Roman army who protected the Christian faith, widely opposed by the Romans in general. The saint refused to kill Christians as was ordered by Emperor Diocletian and was sentenced to death since he did refused to renounce the religion.
