Roland of Dubrovnik

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Dubrovnik Roland with the Church of St. Blaise
Roland of Dubrovnik

The Dubrovnik Roland (Croatian Orlandov stup ) is a small monument in Dubrovnik in Croatia .

location

The Roland stands in front of the Blasius Church (Croatian crkva sv. Vlaha ) on Luža Square, which is considered the center of the city, as the Stradun Boulevard begins here and on the square, among other things, the main guard, the bell tower and the Rector's Palace (Croatian Knežev dvor ) can be found.

History and shape

Rolandes are a special form of stone representation of acquired rights that is particularly widespread in the Saxon areas of Germany. In the majority of cases, this is a larger than life figure equipped with a shield and a sword. The existence of such a statue on the Adriatic, which seems unusual at first glance, is probably explained by the fact that Sigismund , son of Emperor Charles IV , was king of Hungary and Croatia from 1387 to 1437 and, in 1396, protection against payment of money to the then city-state of Ragusa assured. Charles IV is associated with the erection of several Roland figures, for example with the Roland on Charles Bridge in Prague or the one in Litoměřice . His sons also seem to have maintained this tradition, as Wenzel , for example , seems to have donated the Göttingen Roland. Occasionally, these four specimens are referred to as the imperial Rolandes. Above all, it is a symbol of the free city, which is why a Libertas flag is regularly hoisted there at the summer festival .

The Dubrovnik Roland was started as a stone copy in 1417 and completed in 1418. Since Venice had previously forced the erection of the St. Mark's Lion relief, it can be assumed that Sigismund's stay in 1396 led to the erection of a wooden Roland and this was destroyed, especially since the order for the Roland from 1417 was instructed to follow the picture of the predecessor. The sculptors were commissioned by Bonino da Milano, who was in the city anyway, and the stonemason Anton Dubrovcanin. A 2.2 meter high figure in armor was created. His shield is decorated with a lily ornament. Next to the sword he wears a dagger on his belt.

In 1825 the figure was overturned in a storm and taken to the arcades of the Rector's Palace. It was only erected again in 1878. A third step was added to the platform. So today the Roland stands again on his Gothic column. During the Croatian War , the statue was protected with sandbags and a wooden crate from 1991. Due to serious damage, it was discussed in 2016 to replace the column with a replica after an attempt had already been made in 2006 to improve the stability. It was argued that through numerous repairs, only 50 percent of the statue would come from the original anyway and that was the only way to protect it from the effects of the weather. The flagpole in particular was considered problematic as it was connected to the sculpture and created cracks.

Legend

In addition to the verifiable tradition, there is the legend that in the 8th century Roland helped the city against the Saracens who invaded here as pirates. Since he defeated the notorious pirate Spucento and captured him, a memorial is said to have been erected to him.

Trivia

  • The statue faced east until it was overturned, and north since it was rebuilt.
  • The right hand of the sculpture was used as the official length measure of the Dubrovnik Republic. This ulna, called lacat , was 51.2 centimeters long.
  • Official notices were read publicly at the statue. Penalties were also imposed here, as described by Filip de Diversis in 1440. Since a car was used for this in Italy, the locality is also called carrum and kar . To this day, festivals (summer festival, Blasius festival) are also celebrated here.
  • For centuries the Roland was the only secular sculpture in Dubrovnik.
  • A replacement sword is always kept so that it can be replaced if it is damaged.
  • The Croatian Post issued a special postcard in 2019 to mark the 600th anniversary of the statue. This was also celebrated with the Roland Year (Orlandove godine). In this context, a specially designed Roland chocolate ( Orlando - Dubrovački lakat čokolade ) was made as a souvenir, a commemorative cocktail and a special ice cream were created.
  • The Roland is mentioned several times in the works of Marin Držić (16th century).
  • Various locations in Dubrovnik are named after the statue, including a café and an apartment complex.

literature

See also

Web links

Commons : Orlando's Column  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Munzel-Everling, pp. 41 & 46.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Dubrovnik - Stari grad - Orlandov stup. Dubrovnik Digest, accessed November 16, 2019 (Croatian).
  3. ↑ a b Munzel-Everling, p. 46.
  4. ↑ a b c Munzel-Everling, p. 44.
  5. ↑ a b Patricia Kiš: Čuvena Dubrovačka znamesitost rapidno propada. Orlandov stup puca, treba ga hitno maknuti! Jutarnji List, May 8, 2016, accessed November 16, 2019 (Croatian).
  6. ^ Munzel-Everling, p. 43.
  7. ↑ a b c d Orlando. Leksikona Marina Držića, accessed on November 16, 2019 (Croatian).
  8. ↑ Croatian Tourist Board : Dubrovnik - Orlandov stup. croatia.hr, accessed on November 16, 2019 (Croatian).
  9. ↑ dv: Prigodna dopisnica s LIKOM Orlanda (dt. Commemorative postal card with the image Roland). Dubrovački Vjesnik, May 22, 2019, accessed on November 16, 2019 (Croatian).

Coordinates: 42 ° 38 ′ 27.3 "  N , 18 ° 6 ′ 36.8"  E