Rupe Granary (Ethnographic Museum)

The Rupe Granary, at Od Rupa 3 on the stepped lanes south of Stradun in Dubrovnik's Old Town, is a 16th-century grain store that now houses the Ethnographic Museum, part of the Dubrovnik Museums group in Croatia's Dubrovnik-Neretva region. The Republic of Ragusa built the granary to store grain against famine and siege, and its 15 large pits cut into the bedrock, known as rupe, held wheat sealed against damp; the pits can be seen in the ground-floor spaces and remain the most distinctive feature. The upper floors display the museum's collection of traditional costumes, textiles and embroidery from Dubrovnik and its surrounding villages, along with tools, agricultural implements, household objects, and displays about rural life, weaving and festivals in the Konavle region and Dubrovnik hinterland. Women's costumes, with their heavy embroidery and silver jewellery, are among the highlights. A visit takes about 40 minutes. The museum is open 09:00 to 18:00 from April to October and 09:00 to 16:00 from November to March, closed on Tuesdays. Adult admission is EUR 8 (about $9), students pay EUR 5, children under 7 enter free and a family ticket is EUR 20. It is included in the 10 Museums ticket. Crowds are light, as most visitors head for the walls and the Rector's Palace, so the museum is a quiet stop in the afternoon. It is a five-minute uphill walk from Pile Gate. The granary's courtyard and the pits themselves are the best photo subjects, and the lane outside offers views of terracotta roofs.