The monumental baroque Church of St Blaise (1715) in Dubrovnik is situated in the Luža square, the junction of the two main streets and meeting places - Placa (Main street) and Pred Dvorom (In front of the Rector's Palace). The Church was constructed (1706 – 1715) by Venetian architect and sculptor M. Gropelli. The legend has it that St Blaise saved the residents of Dubrovnik from a Venetian attack in 972. Before becoming the protector and patron saint of Dubrovnik St Blaise was a doctor. Presented as an old man with a grey beard and dressed as a bishop, he holds an iron comb, the sign of martyrdom, and a lit candle symbolising healing. He is considered the patron of wild animals and throat illness for saving a child from suffocating. He always holds a model of the City in his hand.
