Crkva sv. Blagovještenja, Dubrovnik

Crkva sv. Blagovještenja is a Serbian Orthodox church in Dubrovnik’s old town, built in 1877 on the site of former aristocratic palaces. Its Neo-Byzantine character gives this compact stop a distinct presence within the historic streets.

The parish museum beside the church preserves icons, liturgical objects, portraits, and important religious books. Its holdings include a copy of the Miroslav Gospels from 1897, a Russian gospel printed in Moscow in 1805, and icons dating from the 15th and 16th centuries. The collection also includes portraits of Vlaho Bukovac, Ivan Gundulić, Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, Medo Pucić, Valtazar Bogišić, and Petar II Petrović-Njegoš.

The church’s library contains about 12,000 books, including a New Testament printed in Kiev in 1703 and a Menologium from 1757. Its story reaches back beyond the building: in 1434, Dubrovnik promised Sandalj Hranić that an Orthodox church and shelter for the infirm could be established in the Republic. That promise was not fulfilled then.

After long political resistance, a substantial Orthodox church was finally raised here in the nineteenth century. The building suffered bombing damage during the Siege of Dubrovnik and was restored in 2009.