Town square and its magic

The Rector’s Palace is located in the eastern part of the main square. Its construction began in the XIII. century, where the church of St. Stjepan once stood. The openings of the palace overlooking the square are Renaissance in shape, with numerous motifs and decorations that are suspected to have been designed by Nikola Firentinac. In the inner courtyard we can find a Gothic style staircase that was assigned to the builder Matija Gojković. At the very top of the Gothic staircase is the inscription AULA CONSILII NOBILIUM, which mentions the town hall where only nobles had access until the year 1848. Some of the windows in the courtyard have been preserved in their original form, while others were brought from other buildings or are even reconstructions. The center of the palace is decorated with the original crown of the well, on which are the winged lion of (St. Mark) together with the seal of the Venetian state. The palace as we see it today was designed in 1890, when the last reconstructions were completed.

The columns on the loggia were partly brought from the ancient ruins. The loggia served as a courtroom in the past, and its judge’s desk is still located there. Above the table, we see various Renaissance sculptures, Latin inscriptions about justice and coats of arms. In the past, the central part depicted a winged lion (St. Mark) holding an inscription in Latin. The lodge itself was made as a real Renaissance temple of justice. The southern wall shows a relief of Petar Berislavić, a famous Croatian ban who opposed the Venetians and the Turks. The relief is the work of Ivan Meštrović.