Located between the Town Hall and the Church of St. Blaise, the Rector's Palace was built in the thirteenth century. It underwent reconstructions in Renaissance style due to damage to the façade due to an explosion and in the Baroque style after the earthquake of 1667.
In the Middle Ages, the Republic of Dubrovnik was ruled by a rector (similar to a Venetian doge), who was elected by the nobility. To prevent any one person from becoming too powerful, the rector’s term was limited to one month. During his term, the Rector lived upstairs in the palace.
Its present appearance is a culmination of many additions and reconstructions throughout its turbulent history. In the courtyard there is also the statue of Miho Pracat, shipbuilder, banker and philanthropist. This was the first monument erected here to an ordinary person in the seventeenth century.
The Rector’s Palace fulfilled many roles. Not only was it the place the rector lived and worked, it housed the Upper and Lower Council, was the site of many administrative offices, and home to public halls. It was also a prison.
Today, the Rector’s Palace is home to the history department of the Museum of Dubrovnik, which takes visitors back through the history of the Dubrovnik Republic.
The majority of the rooms within the palace contain furniture which has been recreated to suggest what the original style and atmosphere of the rooms would have been.
There are also pieces of art, coats of arms of many noble families, paintings from old masters, coins minted by the Republic, the original keys of the city gates, and a number of important state documents, all of which are on permanent display at the palace.
If you just stand in the doorway, you can generally get a free peak into the palace’s impressive courtyard. Our entrance was covered by the Dubrovnik pass.