Knežev dvor, Dubrovnik

Knežev dvor is the palace where Dubrovnik’s elected rector governed and lived during his brief term. Its architecture is Gothic, while the façade also preserves a blend of Gothic and Renaissance work shaped during a long rebuilding after a powder explosion in 1435. The reconstruction ran from 1435 to 1463 under the Neapolitan engineer Onofrio della Cava, with many craftsmen contributing to the details.

Look at the carved capital in the entrance arcade: Petar Martinov made it around 1440, and it shows Asklepios, the Greek god associated with medicine. The palace gathered government rooms, council chambers, a courtroom, prison, armoury and powder magazine under one roof. The rector’s office and lodging were kept apart from his family.

During his month in office, he could leave only for official or ceremonial duties, and he kept the city keys overnight before returning them to the people in a morning ceremony. Above the entrance to the Great Council hall, the Latin instruction tells public officials to set private concerns aside and care for public affairs. Today the palace houses a history museum, with period furnishings collected from Dubrovnik residences and paintings by old masters spanning from the fifteenth century to the latter part of the nineteenth. In the atrium, music continues the building’s public life through classical concerts.