Dubrovnik City Guide

Dubrovnik Region

Islands > Lokrum > Kolocep > Lopud > Sipan > Mljet > Korcula > Lastovo

Towns > Dubrovnik > Cavtat > Trsteno > Slano > Ston > Orebic > Korcula > Blato > Vela Luka > Metkovic

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Orebic

Orebic - This municipality with about 1500 residents spreads from the old part of town along the seashore inland, with numerous new homes and bed and breakfasts constructed behind this narrow belt. The coastal part of town boasts primarily the Baroque homes of the Orebic sailors, with large gardens filled with flowers, trellis-work and exotic tree species. For centuries, the main economic activity here was shipping, and generations of the local families produced distinguished captains of sailing ships, later steamships and today of large motor ships. In 1865, the Peljesac Maritime Society (Associacione Marittima di Sabioncelo - AMSD) was founded, which soon had 33 sailing ships for transatlantic sailing, and they opened their own shipyard in Orebic. In the centre of town is the Church of Christian Aid from the 19th century, and not far is the old municipal building, where the reading room and library are situated on the main floor and the Maritime Museum, founded in 1957, is on the first floor. The museum has a valuable archaeological collection of many models, ships, photographs of sailing ships, portraits of the captains and various maritime equipment and maps, as well as documents relating to shipping and the families of Orebic. Not far away, above the dense pine and cypress woods, the Franciscan monastery with its Church of Our Lady of Angels was erected in 1475 on the cliff. Next to the church is the graveyard, called the "Captain's graveyard", as many generations of captains and sailors are buried here. The church has a collection of valuable art, including the Mother with Child by the Florence master Fiamiberi, relief in marble and the Mother with Child by Nikola Firentinac and more. The monastery has its own museum collection with a number of votive paintings from the 17th and 19th centuries, which depict ships in trouble under the protection of the Mother of God. In addition to the art, the monastery also has a small Baroque loggia-viewing point, which offers a unique view of the Peljesac Channel, the archipelago of islets, the city and island of Korcula, and towards the east offers views of the Peljesac peninsula and the island of Mljet. The residents here still work in shipping, as well as in tourism: there are a large number of bed and breakfasts and vacation homes, along with a number of large hotels and campgrounds, all directly near to pebble beaches and pine forests. (For more photos visit Dubrovnik Region Photo Gallery)