The Society of Friends of Dubrovnik Antiquities have a busy year ahead of them…
As Dubrovacki Dnevnik writes on the 5th of January, 2018, by the end of 2017 in Dubrovnik, there was a redefinition of the contract with the Society of Friends of Dubrovnik Antiquities, which, with the support of the majority in the City Council, was readily signed by Mayor Mato Franković. Thus, the management of valuable city property is under their management for the next 15 years.
For decades, the Society of Friends of Dubrovnik Antiquities has taken the utmost care of the careful preservation of valuable heritage in the wider city area, which is a huge concern and responsibility. Political overtones in the relationship between the society and the city have been frequent in recent years, but with the change of government it seems that such disagreements have finally almost disappeared.
What does the Society of Friends of Dubrovnik Antiquities have to do in the coming year?
Renovations, project designs, beginning and finishing works:
The society plans up to 35 projects in the City of Dubrovnik alone, the first of which is of course the regular maintenance of the ancient city walls and fortresses. Other activities include: the maintenance of wooden bridges, city clocks and city fountains, minor repairs on Lovrijenac Fortress, archeological research in the prehistoric site in Brsečine, conservation and restoration works in numerous churches. Activities around Bokar Fortress are also planned, more precisely the restoration and preservation of the interior as well as works on the presentation of Minčeta Fortress, and the list goes on.
The society also plans to renovate the walkway along the total length of the walls. Other plans include works on the external vault of the Fort of St. Ivan as well as cleaning on the same fortress, the repair of moisture in two prominent city towers, the completion of the remediation of the tilted wall on Strossmayer, the continuation of works on the renovation of some churches, including Sv. Mihajla (St. Michael) in Lapad. Renovation of the inner wall hanging from the tower Drezvenik to the tower of Sv. Katarina (St. Catherine), and the continuation of work on a church bell tower on the island of Lopud as well as on the churches on the island of Šipan and in Dubravica.
Works on the ancient buildings on the island of Lokrum, such as the old Benedictine Monastery, are also planned for this year.
Plans from Ston to Konavle:
There are also plans in the works in Ston and Dubrovnik-Primorje. In addition to the regular maintenance of Ston’s iconic stone walls, there is also participation in the financing of the project for the design of the space between the Barabanata Tower, the church of Sv. Vlaho (St. Blaise), Velika Kaštela to Komarda park in Ston, the cleaning of the vegetation from the Mandaljena diocese in Ston and the beginning of the reconstruction of the Rector’s Palace in Janjina. The continuation of the works is planned with the conservation of the western part of the Great Wall in Ston as well as the reconstruction of the Koruna Fortress in Mali Ston, the renovation of Komarda park in Ston and the remediation of Lokve in Trnovica continues. The completion of the renovation of the fortress of Veliki Kaštio in Ston is also planned. The Lastve project will be built on the Great Wall and Fort Podzvizd in Ston and will complete the project of the Gothic wall in Ston.
In Konavle, the society also has significant plans, the most pressing of which is the Fort Oštro project (Prevlaka), with the announced start of emergency work. Also, there is the maintenance of Sokol Tower/Sokol Grad, the installation of elevators at Sokol Grad, the continuation of works at the Rector’s Palace in Pridvorje, the cleaning and conservation of the walls in Molunat and more. There are also planned projects in Župa Dubrovačka (Parish of Dubrovnik) and projects for churches, along with numerous archaeological investigations and the creation of a replica of an altarpiece with a representation of the Rector’s Palace in Pridvorje from back in the year 1710.
