Pile Gate
Pile Gate features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Dubrovnik. Give it roughly ~30 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type historic
- Suggested visit ~30 min
- Dubrovnik Dubrovnik guide
About Pile Gate
Dubrovnik's grand western entrance: cross the old drawbridge, pass through a Renaissance outer gate and a Gothic inner one, and step onto the gleaming Stradun with St Blaise watching overhead.
Pile Gate (Vrata od Pila) is the principal western entrance to Dubrovnik's walled Old Town, opening directly onto the Stradun, the limestone promenade that runs through the city. It is a two-part structure: an outer Renaissance gate built in 1537 and an older inner Gothic gate dating to 1460, joined by a bent passage. The gate is reached across a stone bridge that once ended in a wooden drawbridge, raised each night on chains to seal the city until morning.
Set in a niche above the gate is a statue of St Blaise (Sveti Vlaho), Dubrovnik's patron saint, holding a model of the city. This particular figure is not medieval but a 20th-century work by the leading Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović; St Blaise imagery recurs throughout the walls and gates. Pile Gate was the controlled point of entry to the walled city and is one of the main access points to the wall walk, within the UNESCO-listed Old City.
Did you know? Every night for centuries the wooden drawbridge in front of Pile Gate was raised on chains and the keys carried off, physically locking Dubrovnik shut until the following morning.
How long is a visit to Pile Gate?
Set aside roughly ~30 min for Pile Gate. That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Pile Gate worth your time?
Pile Gate is among the 18 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Dubrovnik, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Dubrovnik
- Large Onofrio's Fountain (Velika Onofrijeva fontana)
- Franciscan Monastery (Franjevacki samostan)
- Stradun (Placa)
- Luza Square & Orlando's Column (Orlandov stup)
- Sponza Palace (Palaca Sponza)
- Church of St Blaise (Crkva svetog Vlaha)
- Rector's Palace (Knežev dvor)
- Dubrovnik Cathedral (Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary)
Sources and further reading
Where to check the facts about Pile Gate and read more:
Day 1 of the Dubrovnik in 2 days itinerary →
Updated:
Hear the story of Pile Gate
Preview the Dubrovnik tour free in the Gingerguide app.