Located at the end of the Stradun, towards the sea, the sixteenth-century Sponza Palace is one of the symbols of Dubrovnik. It is one of the few buildings that was left intact after the 1667 earthquake and, with the façade looking like the buildings of Venice along with a mixture of Gothic and Renaissance elements, it is a true icon of the city.
On the facade there is also a sculpture of San Biagio, patron saint of the city. The Sponza Palace was the meeting point of merchants during the heyday of the Republic of Ragusa. It then had various uses, including as a customs house as can be seen under the portico. It now houses the historical archive of Dubrovnik which contains records dating back to the first half of the 11th century.
There is a colonnade along its first floor, under which one can hide from both the sun and the rain. The second floor has carved arched windows with flags hanging from them. Its name is derived from the Latin word "spongia", the spot where rainwater was collected.
There is also a permanent exhibition named the "Memorial of Dubrovnik Defenders" (on the left as one enters), dedicated to those who were killed during the siege of 1991/9. Though English descriptions are slanted to the Croat perspective, understandably unavoidable, I found the exhibition to be compelling and moving.
Over the arch in the palace's atrium is the Latin words, Fallere nostra vetant et falli pondera. Meque pondero cum merces ponderat ipse deus. "Our weights do not permit cheating. When I measure goods, God measures with me."
Entrance was included in our Dubrovnik City Pass.