Orlando Column - Dubrovnik
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SMacB
N 42° 38.455 E 018° 06.618
34T E 263089 N 4724989
During the historic times, at this place, people were informed of various government decisions, and festivities, but also verdicts were reached and punishments executed for which this column has also been called "the column of shame."
Waymark Code: WMPR8G
Location: Croatia
Date Posted: 10/12/2015
Views: 15
According to one guidebook I saw, and one or two of the locals, people were punished for their misdemeanours by being shackled inside the cage atop the column and publicly shamed.
"Orlando's column is located in the center of the square "Luža." It was built in 1419 by a team of Bonino of Milano and stonemason Antonio of Dubrovnik, as a symbol of liberty and independence.
According to legend, Roland led a campaign to defend Ragusa against Saracen marauders Spucent and his people, and as their expression of gratitude, Ragusan people built a monument to Roland. However, this legend is untrue since it is known that Roland fell at Ronscesvalles in 778, victim of Basque ambush.
Over the years, those Basque were transformed by minstrel tradition into Saracenes, and it is a fact that monuments to Roland were commonly erected in free towns across the Holy Roman Empire, the most famous example being in Bremen.
The motive probably originated in northern parts of Germany. Orlando is here dressed in armor, young-looking with curly hair and a typical gothic smile. On the statue's plinth, below Orlando's feet, you can see the faint carving of a straight line. This is the length of the great Saracen-buster's forearm, so called "elbow" which measures 51.2 cm, and was used as the yardstick for the standard Ragusan unit of length in cloth-trading.
In the period between 1419 and 1808, Dubrovnik hoisted her Libertas banner from Roland's flagstaff, which today is also a custom during the festivities. The banner has St. Blaise and an inscription "libertas" embroided on to it. During the historic times, at this place, people were informed of various government decisions, and festivities, but also verdicts were reached and punishments executed for which this column has also been called "the column of shame." "
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