Dubrovnik Old Town, Croatia

Dubrovnik Old Town, view from the City Walls

The Lazareti of Dubrovnik

The Red Keep of Kings Landing, otherwise known as Dubrovnik, is a city steeped in history, even for those who aren’t Game of Thrones fans.  Dating back to the 7th century, the city was part of the Byzantine Empire as well as the Republic of Venice until becoming a free state in the 14th century.  Its strategic location between the Ottoman Empire and Europe allowed the city to flourish as a maritime trading hub.

But with trade comes a downside, merchant ships, sailors and travellers from faraway lands arrived in droves, bringing not only their goods but also their diseases.  Dragons and White Walkers pale in comparison to the Black Death. This 14th-century Plague was estimated to have a death toll of 25 million in Europe alone, wiping out 30-60% of its total population.

Dubrovnik’s answer to the devastation was the Lazareti, or quarantine centres of the day. Named after the leprosy-inflicted Lazarus of biblical fame, the centres allowed for ships arriving from high-risk ports such as Venice, to anchor for 40 days, or ‘quaranta giorni’, before being let into the city, giving rise to the term quarantine that we know of all too well today.

Initially located on neighbouring islands, the quarantine centres were eventually moved closer to the city. The Lazareti that can be seen today, just outside the city walls, were built in the early 1600s and are the oldest intact buildings of their kind in Europe. These buildings were used for their original purpose up until 1872 and are now used for the city's cultural events and art installations. The Lazareti stand as a testament to the city’s pioneering use of quarantine and isolation principles to help mitigate some of the worst public health crises in history.

The Lazareti of Dubrovnik, the original quarantine hospital

The Plague Doctor’s Handbook

Prevention is always the best method for combating disease, and luckily for patients today, antibiotics can effectively cure those unfortunate enough to contract the bubonic plague. However, people born in medieval Europe were not so lucky.

The Black Death is the name fittingly given to the outbreak of bubonic plague during the 1300s.  The disease was carried by ships infested with rats, the rats carried fleas, and the fleas carried Yersinia pestis, the plague-causing bacterium.  Once infected, the first signs of illness would be a fever which was soon followed by the formation of ‘buboes’ - swollen, painful lymph nodes- appearing all over the body, which would rupture and ooze pus from the skin. With no effective treatments at the time, the patient would frequently become septic and die within days of the first symptoms appearing.

So what treatments were available to the Plague Doctor? And did any of them actually work? As germ theory wasn’t yet recognized at the time, the typical treatments like blood-letting and leeches likely aided in the spread of the disease through unsterilized hands and equipment rather than offering a cure. On the other hand, the use of vinegar and garlic may have helped in the prevention rather than treatment through their disinfectant properties. In fact, thieves who would raid the newly deceased would often douse themselves in vinegar to help avoid contracting the plague, often staying alive to raid again.

Some of the more radical methods of the day included using cut-up snakes placed on open pustules to help draw out the evil within. Live chickens were used in the ever-popular Vicary method where a poor chicken would have its rump plucked and tied to the patient’s buboes in the hopes of drawing out the illness - as chickens were believed to breathe through their back ends! The chicken would be removed and washed and reapplied again and again until either it or the patient died, whichever came first.

Unicorn potion was one of the most expensive options available, consisting of ground-up unicorn horn (Narwhale) and water which was served as a drink. Ground-up emeralds were also reserved for the upper classes to ingest as a cure, while the poorer in society were left with mercury and arsenic - more than likely killing them faster than the plague would! They could also try bathing in urine and applying human faeces over the lesions to fester if they fancied. Thank goodness for modern medicine!

Old Town Dubrovnik from Mount Srd

Top Tips

The Lazareti can easily be seen from the Old Town port, located near the eastern side of the city. Alternatively, for a better view, try doing the city wall walk. Tickets can be purchased online in advance with the link below and include the nearby Lovrjenac Fort.

https://shop.citywallsdubrovnik.hr/en/buy-tickets-for-the-following-locations

Price: Adult 40 EUR/ Child 15 EUR

The Komarda Rock Beach lies below the Lazareti and can be reached by walking down a small alley located just outside of the Ploče Gate.

And for those brave at heart, try the top of Mount Srdj for breathtaking views of the whole city, but beware of the narrow road if going by car! The summit can also be reached via a cable car, or on foot up the zigzag path. There is a restaurant at the top for refreshments and facilities.

https://www.dubrovnikcablecar.com/timetable-and-prices/

Price: Adult roundtrip cable car 30 EUR/ Child roundtrip cable car 8 EUR