Step by step - Zagreb tourist info
Step by step - Zagreb tourist info
Step by step - Zagreb tourist info
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<strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong>
Welcome to <strong>Zagreb</strong>!<br />
This selection of <strong>Zagreb</strong>’s<br />
cultural and historical sights<br />
will help each visitor to get<br />
to know the city better. <strong>Step</strong><br />
<strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong> the life of <strong>Zagreb</strong><br />
is presented through the<br />
centuries, from the city’s<br />
foundation to the present<br />
day; from its legends to its<br />
historical figures. You won’t<br />
get lost in the la<strong>by</strong>rinth<br />
of streets because you<br />
can always stop and ask<br />
for directions. You will be<br />
delighted <strong>by</strong> the hospitality<br />
of people in <strong>Zagreb</strong>.<br />
A Walk<br />
through the City<br />
2 The Upper Town<br />
6 Ban Jelačić Square<br />
8 Kaptol<br />
14 Dolac<br />
16 Tkalčićeva<br />
18 Bloody Bridge<br />
19 Radićeva<br />
20 The Stone Gate<br />
22 Opatička<br />
26 St Mark’s Square<br />
32 Catherine’s Square<br />
34 The Strossmayer Promenade<br />
36 The Lower Town<br />
40 Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square<br />
44 King Tomislav Square<br />
48 Marulić Square<br />
50 Marshal Tito Square<br />
54 Masarykova<br />
56 Petar Preradović Square<br />
60 Ilica<br />
64 Jurišićeva<br />
68 Outside the Centre<br />
B <strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong>
The Upper Town<br />
Opatička<br />
Tkalčićeva<br />
The Stone Gate<br />
Kaptol<br />
St Mark’s Square<br />
Dolac<br />
Radićeva<br />
Catherine’s Square<br />
Ban Jelačić Square<br />
The Strossmayer Promenade<br />
2 <strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong> <strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong> 3
The Upper<br />
Town<br />
1. Ban Jelačić Square<br />
2. Kaptol<br />
3. Dolac<br />
4. Tkalčićeva<br />
5. Bloody Bridge<br />
6. Radićeva<br />
7. The Stone Gate<br />
8. Opatička<br />
9. St Mark’s Square<br />
10. Catherine’s Square<br />
11. The Strossmayer<br />
Promenade
1.<br />
Ban Jelačić<br />
Square<br />
Ban Josip<br />
Jelačić<br />
The<br />
Manduševac<br />
Fountain<br />
Ban Jelačić Square<br />
Central focus of modern <strong>Zagreb</strong><br />
is Ban Jelačić Square (Trg bana<br />
Jelačića). Situated just below the<br />
hillside settlements of Kaptol<br />
and Gradec, it has served as the<br />
city’s commercial heart ever since<br />
1641, when it was designated<br />
as a place where fairs could<br />
be held. Most of the buildings<br />
around the square date from<br />
the 19 th century, and display a<br />
variety of architectural styles,<br />
from Biedermaier to Art Nouveau<br />
and Post-modernism.The square<br />
was <strong>Zagreb</strong>’s main marketplace<br />
and carried the name “Harmica”<br />
Count Josip<br />
Jelačić Bužimski<br />
(1801. - 1859.).<br />
A general in the<br />
Austrian army and<br />
Governor (“Ban”)<br />
of Croatia from<br />
1848 to 1859,<br />
Jelačić abolished<br />
serfdom and<br />
held the first ever<br />
(Hungarian for “one thirtieth”),<br />
after the tax levied on the goods<br />
that were sold here. In 1848 the<br />
square was officially renamed in<br />
honour of Ban (“Governor”) Josip<br />
Jelačić. After World War II the<br />
name of the square was changed<br />
to “Republic Square”, only to return<br />
to its previous title in 1990. Ban<br />
Jelačić Square stands at the centre<br />
of <strong>Zagreb</strong>’s social life and the most<br />
popular meeting points are “under<br />
the clock” on the west side of the<br />
square, and “under the horse’s tail”<br />
–a reference to the equestrian statue<br />
of Ban Jelačić in the square’s centre.<br />
elections for the<br />
Croatian Sabor or<br />
Parliament. Jelačić<br />
helped Austrian<br />
forces put down<br />
the Hungarian<br />
Revolution of<br />
1848 in the hope<br />
that this would<br />
lead to greater<br />
autonomy<br />
for Croatia,<br />
although these<br />
aspirations were<br />
to remain fulfilled.<br />
Celebrated as a<br />
national hero<br />
in Croatia, his<br />
portrait currently<br />
graces one side<br />
of the 20 kuna<br />
banknote.<br />
Ban Josip Jelačić<br />
The statue of Ban Josip Jelačić is the<br />
work of the Austrian sculptor Anton<br />
Fernkorn. It was placed on the<br />
square in 1866, only to be removed<br />
<strong>by</strong> the communist authorities in<br />
1947. In 1990 a public petition<br />
secured the return of the statue,<br />
and it was unveiled on October 16 th<br />
– Ban Jelačić’s birthday. Originally<br />
placed facing northwards in order<br />
to symbolize the Ban’s defence of<br />
Croatia’s rights against Austria and<br />
Hungary, the statue<br />
now faces south to<br />
provide a better<br />
balance to the<br />
layout of<br />
the square.<br />
The Manduševac Fountain<br />
The Manduševac Fountain was<br />
built above a natural spring that<br />
provided <strong>Zagreb</strong> with drinking<br />
water right up until the end of<br />
the 19 th century. Court records<br />
about the persecution of witches<br />
mention the spring as their main<br />
meeting point. There is also a<br />
legend connecting the spring with<br />
the name of the city. Namely, one<br />
sunny day an old Croatian war<br />
leader was returning from battle<br />
tired and thirsty, and asked a<br />
beautiful girl Manda to scoop up<br />
some water from the spring for him.<br />
The Croatian word for “to scoop up<br />
water” is “zagrabiti”. So the spring<br />
got the name Manduševac, after<br />
the girl, and the town got the name<br />
<strong>Zagreb</strong> after the scoop of water.
2. Kaptol<br />
The Cathedral<br />
Characterized <strong>by</strong> its soaring<br />
twin towers, the Cathedral of<br />
the Assumption of the Blessed<br />
Virgin Mary is one of <strong>Zagreb</strong>’s<br />
defining symbols. Although it is<br />
a largely Neo-Gothic structure<br />
dating from the late 19 th century,<br />
its origins are much older. The<br />
<strong>Zagreb</strong> bishopric was established<br />
in 1094, and construction of the<br />
cathedral started soon afterwards.<br />
An early Gothic sanctuary with<br />
polygonal apse was added at the<br />
end of the 13 th century, while the<br />
nave was modified and heightened<br />
during the 14 th and 15 th centuries.<br />
The expansion of the Ottoman<br />
Empire put <strong>Zagreb</strong> within range<br />
of enemy raids, and the cathedral<br />
was fortified <strong>by</strong> adding a turreted<br />
outer wall. Once the danger of<br />
invasion had passed, a single<br />
bell-tower was built in the 17 th<br />
century. At that time the Baroque<br />
became the most prevalent style,<br />
which is today borne out <strong>by</strong> the<br />
richly decorated altars. During<br />
the 18 th century the defensive<br />
bastions on the south and east<br />
were reconstructed to form a<br />
monumental bishop’s palace.<br />
A huge earthquake in 1880 did<br />
enormous damage to the cathedral,<br />
and it was reconstructed along<br />
Neo-Gothic lines, a style that was<br />
popular across Europe at that time.<br />
Local architect Herman Bolle was<br />
in charge of the project, although<br />
the blueprints were provided<br />
<strong>by</strong> Austrian designer Friedrich<br />
von Schmidt. Thus the cathedral<br />
took on its present-day shape<br />
with its slender 105-metre-high<br />
towers dominating the <strong>Zagreb</strong><br />
skyline. There is no consensus<br />
about the height among the<br />
inhabitants of the city.<br />
Renaissance Walls<br />
The cathedral’s defensive walls<br />
with round towers were built<br />
when the threat from the Ottoman<br />
Turks was at its height. The<br />
walls were built in record time<br />
between 1512 and 1521. One<br />
tower was demolished during<br />
the 19 th -century rebuilding of<br />
the cathedral to provide an<br />
unobstructed view of the cathedral.<br />
These changes aside, the walls<br />
remain among the best-preserved<br />
Renaissance defences in Europe.<br />
Bishop Duh<br />
The first bishop<br />
of <strong>Zagreb</strong> was<br />
a Czech called<br />
Duh (which,<br />
appropriately<br />
for a churchman,<br />
literally means<br />
"spirit"). He was<br />
appointed <strong>by</strong> King<br />
Ladislav, founder<br />
of the diocese, in<br />
around 1094. Duh<br />
didn’t remain<br />
head of the<br />
diocese for long,<br />
but he is thought<br />
to have been a<br />
capable and pious<br />
leader. It was<br />
probably Duh who<br />
started building<br />
the cathedral,<br />
having tired of<br />
using one of the<br />
existing churches<br />
as a temporary<br />
episcopal centre.<br />
The stairs<br />
that connect<br />
Tkalčićeva and<br />
Opatovina were<br />
named after him<br />
in his honour.<br />
<strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong> 9
St <strong>Step</strong>hen’s Chapel<br />
The Treasury<br />
Virgin Mary with Angels<br />
13 th -century bishop Stjepan II built<br />
a chapel beside the cathedral in<br />
honour of <strong>Zagreb</strong>’s deliverance<br />
from the Tatar invasion. He<br />
dedicated it to his namesake<br />
St <strong>Step</strong>hen, one of the earliest<br />
Christian martyrs. The chapel was<br />
temporarily used for religious<br />
ceremonies while construction<br />
work continued on the cathedral<br />
itself. In the 18 th century the<br />
chapel was incorporated into<br />
the Bishop’s Palace. The chapel’s<br />
well-preserved 14 th -century<br />
murals constitute a unique<br />
example of Croatian Gothic art.<br />
The Treasury of <strong>Zagreb</strong> cathedral<br />
bears witness to a continuous<br />
history of Christianity in this area<br />
that stretches back 14 centuries.<br />
Liturgical objects made of gold,<br />
silver, wood and parchment<br />
are kept above the cathedral’s<br />
sacristy. The most valuable<br />
and oldest object is the ivory<br />
plenarium illustrated with ten<br />
scenes from the life of Jesus. It<br />
has been in <strong>Zagreb</strong> ever since<br />
11 th century. A thief posing as an<br />
art-loving aristocrat once made<br />
a copy of the plenarium, taking<br />
the original to America where it<br />
was sold. Subsequently recovered,<br />
the original is now preserved<br />
alongside the copy in the treasury.<br />
On the eve of the visit of Pope<br />
John II to <strong>Zagreb</strong>, scenes from<br />
the plenarium were copied<br />
onto the covers of the Book<br />
of Gospels that was presented<br />
to the Holy Father as a gift.<br />
Anton Dominick<br />
Ritter von<br />
Fernkorn<br />
(1813. - 1878.),<br />
Austrian realist<br />
sculptor famous<br />
for his public<br />
statues, many of<br />
which featured<br />
heroic figures on<br />
horseback.<br />
There are several<br />
of his statues<br />
in <strong>Zagreb</strong>:<br />
Ban Jelačić<br />
on horseback,<br />
St George on<br />
horseback,<br />
Mercury in<br />
relief and the<br />
Virgin Mary with<br />
four angels.<br />
After the cathedral had been<br />
reconstructed in the Neo-Gothic<br />
style, a fountain designed <strong>by</strong><br />
Hermann Bollé was built in front<br />
of the cathedral. The Austrian<br />
sculptor Fernkorn was responsible<br />
for the gold-plated statues<br />
of the Virgin Mary and four<br />
angels, the latter symbolizing<br />
the Christian virtues of Faith,<br />
Hope, Innocence and Humility.<br />
10 <strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong>
The Cathedral<br />
Renaissance Walls<br />
Virgin Mary<br />
with Angels<br />
Ribnjak Park<br />
The Franciscan<br />
Church<br />
Prišlin’s Tower<br />
St Mary’s Church<br />
Petrica Kerempuh<br />
Ribnjak Park<br />
Ribnjak was originally the<br />
site of the Bishop of <strong>Zagreb</strong>’s<br />
fishponds, and it was here that<br />
priests from Kaptol would catch<br />
fish ready for Friday’s evening<br />
meal. Subsequently transformed<br />
into an English-style landscaped<br />
park, Ribnjak now offers exotic<br />
plants, sculptures, benches and<br />
a children’s playground, making<br />
it an ideal spot for relaxation.<br />
The Franciscan Church<br />
A church and monastery have<br />
existed on this spot since the<br />
13 th century, and according to<br />
legend St Francis of Assisi himself<br />
resided here for a time. The<br />
church was rebuilt in Baroque<br />
style in the 17 th century, but<br />
reconstruction work following<br />
the great earthquake of 1880<br />
resulted in the addition of some<br />
Neo-Gothic features on the<br />
outside. The church interior<br />
owes its special ambience to the<br />
modern stained-glass windows<br />
(1961-1964) designed <strong>by</strong> Ivo<br />
Dulčić, in which scenes from the<br />
life of St Francis are depicted.<br />
Within the monastery complex<br />
is a late 17 th -century chapel<br />
built in Baroque style. The<br />
chapel is richly decorated with<br />
stuccowork and murals, one of<br />
which portrays pious <strong>Zagreb</strong><br />
noblewoman Katarina Galović<br />
welcoming St Francis to the city.<br />
Prišlin’s Tower<br />
This small park at the end of<br />
Opatovina is something of an<br />
oasis of peace in the bustling<br />
centre of the city. Up until World<br />
War II this was where the priests<br />
of Kaptol had their orchards and<br />
vegetable plots. The park contains<br />
remnants of medieval wall and<br />
a well-preserved defensive<br />
tower, built <strong>by</strong> the inhabitants<br />
of Kaptol when the Ottoman<br />
menace was at its height. The<br />
tower was named after Prišlin,<br />
commander of the town guard.<br />
On summer nights it becomes an<br />
appropriately authentic backdrop<br />
for open-air theatre performances.<br />
12 <strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong>
3. Dolac<br />
Dolac Market<br />
St Mary’s Church<br />
Petrica Kerempuh<br />
Open-air food markets make up<br />
one of <strong>Zagreb</strong>’s most attractive<br />
features. Almost every district in<br />
the city has one, although the<br />
most famous one is Dolac, close<br />
to the cathedral. Here people<br />
sell fresh fruit, vegetables, meat<br />
and fish every day of the week.<br />
This bustling place<br />
is affectionately<br />
known as “the belly<br />
of <strong>Zagreb</strong>”, due to<br />
the mouth-watering<br />
array of irresistible<br />
foodstuffs brought<br />
here from all parts of<br />
Croatia. The market<br />
dates from the early<br />
20 th century, when<br />
the city authorities<br />
decided to tear down<br />
all houses on Dolac<br />
to make room for a<br />
modern marketplace<br />
on three levels.<br />
Built on the site of an earlier<br />
Cistercian church, St Mary’s is an<br />
outstanding example of the threeaisled<br />
Baroque churches built<br />
in the 18 th century. The interior<br />
luxuriates in marble altars and<br />
illusionist frescoes. The entrance<br />
to the church is somewhat<br />
hidden from sight, under the<br />
arcades that connect Dolac<br />
market with Tkalčićeva.<br />
Miroslav Krleža<br />
(1893 – 1981),<br />
writer and<br />
encyclopaedist.<br />
His works have<br />
left a lasting<br />
mark on 20 th -<br />
century Croatian<br />
literature. He was<br />
born in <strong>Zagreb</strong><br />
and attended a<br />
school on Kaptol.<br />
His most famous<br />
works include the<br />
long poem “The<br />
Ballads of Petrica<br />
Kerempuh”,<br />
the novel “On<br />
the Edge of<br />
Reason”, and the<br />
play “The Family<br />
Glembay”. Krleža<br />
founded the<br />
Lexicographical<br />
Standing in a small square filled<br />
with flower stalls is a mischievouslooking<br />
statue of Petrica Kerempuh,<br />
the work of sculptor Vanja<br />
Radauš. A much-loved character<br />
from Croatian literature, Petrica<br />
Kerempuh is a plebeian prophet,<br />
rascal and cynical commentator<br />
on contemporary events, a sort<br />
of predecessor of modern standup<br />
comedians. His most notable<br />
incarnation can be found in “The<br />
Ballads of Petrica Kerempuh”<br />
(1936), written <strong>by</strong> Croatia’s leading<br />
20 th -century writer Miroslav Krleža.<br />
Institute that<br />
today carries<br />
his name. He<br />
also initiated<br />
work on several<br />
encyclopaedias.<br />
14 <strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong>
4.<br />
<br />
Tkalčićeva<br />
Marija Jurić Zagorka<br />
The Glyptotheque<br />
The Bloody Bridge<br />
St George<br />
The Stone Gate<br />
<strong>Zagreb</strong>’s Oldest<br />
Pharmacy<br />
Tkalčićeva<br />
Marija Jurić Zagorka<br />
Undoubtedly <strong>Zagreb</strong>’s most Born into a wealthy family, the<br />
colourful downtown street, writer Marija Jurić Zagorka<br />
Tkalčićeva (commonly known as (1873– 1957) was very much<br />
“Tkalča”) is built along the course a woman ahead of her time,<br />
of the former Medveščak creek, becoming the first female<br />
traditional boundary between the professional journalist in Croatia<br />
settlements of Kaptol and Gradec. and a champion of equal rights.<br />
Everything to the east of the creek Writing under the pen-name<br />
belonged to church-controlled Zagorka (which literally means<br />
Kaptol, while the west side “a woman from the Zagorje”), she<br />
belonged to the secular Gradec.<br />
wrote novels for a broad<br />
Most of <strong>Zagreb</strong>’s watermills were<br />
readership in which<br />
concentrated around the creek, and love stories and grand<br />
in the 18 th century it became<br />
historical themes were<br />
the site of workshops producing<br />
intertwined. One of<br />
cloth, soap, paper and liqueurs.<br />
her most popular<br />
The creek was paved over at<br />
works was the series<br />
the end of the 19 th century,<br />
of novels entitled<br />
creating a street that quickly<br />
“The Witch of Grič”, a<br />
became the animated centre<br />
saga set against the<br />
of commercial activity and<br />
background of 18 th -<br />
nightlife. Today people of all<br />
century witch-hunts.<br />
ages come to Tkalča for its<br />
Her statue, erected<br />
small boutiques, traditional<br />
in the 1991, is the<br />
shops, restaurants and cafés.<br />
work of sculptor<br />
Stjepan Gračan.<br />
The Glyptotheque<br />
Just north of Tkalčićeva on<br />
Medvedgradska is one of the bestpreserved<br />
industrial buildings in<br />
<strong>Zagreb</strong>, a red-brick former leather<br />
tannery that now provides a home<br />
for the grandly-named Glyptotheque.<br />
Belonging to the Croatian<br />
Academy of Arts and Sciences,<br />
the Glyptotheque is basically a<br />
collection of plaster copies of<br />
famous sculptures. The permanent<br />
display includes casts of significant<br />
Croatian works, and original<br />
sculptures from the 19 th and 20 th<br />
centuries. In addition, top-quality<br />
exhibitions of contemporary art and<br />
design are frequently held here.<br />
16 <strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong>
5.<br />
The Bloody<br />
6.<br />
Bridge<br />
Radićeva<br />
The Bloody Bridge<br />
Radićeva<br />
St George<br />
This alley connecting Tkalčićeva<br />
with Radićeva is called “Bloody<br />
Bridge” (Krvavi most in Croatian)<br />
because it was the location of a<br />
bridge that connected Gradec and<br />
Kaptol and a spot perfectly set for<br />
their frequent squabbles. Rights to<br />
the watermills along Medveščak<br />
creek gave frequent grounds for<br />
dispute, and the bridge across<br />
the creek was the spot where<br />
these arguments occasionally<br />
turned violent. The bridge itself<br />
was torn down in the year 1899<br />
The Witches of<br />
the Upper Town<br />
A series of trials<br />
initiated <strong>by</strong> the<br />
Church during the<br />
early 17 th century<br />
resulted in several<br />
local women<br />
being burned<br />
at the stake for<br />
witchcraft. It was<br />
believed that<br />
these women<br />
formed a secret<br />
sect and that<br />
they flew to their<br />
trysts with the<br />
help of a magic<br />
ointment. These<br />
trysts allegedly<br />
took place at<br />
the night at<br />
several symbolic<br />
locations, such as<br />
but the name is still bone <strong>by</strong> the<br />
small street that replaced it.<br />
The public library on the corner<br />
of Bloody Bridge originally<br />
housed <strong>Zagreb</strong>’s first telephone<br />
exchange. It was set up <strong>by</strong> local<br />
entrepreneur Vilim Schwarz in<br />
1887, only eleven years after<br />
Alexander Bell patented the<br />
telephone in America. Awarded<br />
a concession <strong>by</strong> the Ministry of<br />
Development and Communications,<br />
Schwarz installed an exchange<br />
that served 45 subscribers.<br />
the Manduševac<br />
spring or the<br />
summit of Mount<br />
Medvednica. In<br />
the mid-18 th<br />
century Empress<br />
Maria Theresa<br />
abolished witch<br />
trials throughout<br />
her domains.<br />
Inspired <strong>by</strong> these<br />
historical facts,<br />
novelist Marija<br />
Jurić Zagorka<br />
drew attention to<br />
the persecution<br />
of these innocent<br />
women and<br />
encouraged the<br />
women of the<br />
early 20 th century<br />
to fight for<br />
their rights.<br />
This gently sloping street that<br />
leads to the Upper Town from<br />
the main square was named after<br />
Croatian politician Pavle Radić,<br />
who was assassinated during<br />
a debate in the Parliament in<br />
Belgrade in 1928. Before that the<br />
street was known as the Long<br />
Street and wooden houses there<br />
were often damaged <strong>by</strong> fires, so<br />
over time they were replaced <strong>by</strong><br />
multiple-storey brick buildings.<br />
The street was one of the city’s<br />
principal business centres in the<br />
19 th century, and it was here at<br />
no. 30 that the first branch of<br />
the Croatian Savings Bank was<br />
opened in 1880. As another point<br />
of interest, the writer Miroslav<br />
Krleža was born at no. 7.<br />
This work <strong>by</strong> the Austrian<br />
sculptors Kompatscher and Winder<br />
was brought to <strong>Zagreb</strong> at the<br />
beginning of the 20 th century as<br />
a gift from the Mažuranić family,<br />
although it wasn’t set down at<br />
its current location until 1994. It<br />
is one of the rare portrayals of St<br />
George after he has actually killed<br />
the dragon, and shows him paying<br />
respects to the vanquished beast.<br />
18 <strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong>
7. The Stone Gate<br />
The Stone Gate<br />
One enters the Upper Town<br />
through the Stone Gate (Kamenita<br />
vrata in Croatian), the only old<br />
town gate that has remained<br />
intact. Built in the Middle Ages,<br />
it assumed its final form after<br />
being rebuilt in the 18 th century.<br />
Under the arch of the gateway is<br />
a chapel dedicated to the Virgin<br />
Mary. It holds a painting of the<br />
Virgin that was miraculously<br />
saved from a devastating fire in<br />
the year 1731, and the chapel<br />
has been a place of pilgrimage<br />
ever since. The Virgin Mary is<br />
the patron saint of <strong>Zagreb</strong>,<br />
and Her feast day on May<br />
31 is also the date of<br />
the annual city holiday.<br />
20 <strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong><br />
Chains from HMS Victory<br />
Placed at their current location<br />
in 1878, the chains belonged<br />
originally to the famous British<br />
warship HMS Victory. The Victory<br />
was Admiral Nelson’s flagship<br />
at the Battle of Trafalgar in<br />
1805, when Napoleon’s fleet<br />
was decisively beaten <strong>by</strong> the<br />
British Navy. Admiral Nelson<br />
died on his ship during the<br />
final stages of the battle.<br />
Dora Krupić<br />
Dora Krupić is a character from<br />
August Šenoa’s novel “The<br />
Goldsmith’s Gold”. Published in<br />
1871, the book is considered to<br />
be Croatia’s first real historical<br />
novel. The plot centres on a 16 th -<br />
century love story involving a<br />
nobleman and a town girl called<br />
Dora, the kindly and beautiful<br />
daughter of a goldsmith. Tragically,<br />
Dora ends up being poisoned<br />
<strong>by</strong> an evil local barber, enraged<br />
<strong>by</strong> her refusal of his marriage<br />
proposal. A bronze sculpture <strong>by</strong><br />
Ivo Kerdić was commissioned<br />
in her honour in 1929.<br />
August Šenoa<br />
(1838 - 1881),<br />
Croatian novelist,<br />
short story writer,<br />
poet, critic and<br />
journalist. Šenoa<br />
was the most<br />
productive and<br />
influential Croatian<br />
writer of the 19 th<br />
century. His opus<br />
mainly consists<br />
of historical<br />
novels that use<br />
various periods of<br />
Croatian history<br />
as the backdrop.<br />
Šenoa rose to<br />
<strong>Zagreb</strong>’s Oldest Pharmacy<br />
Kamenita ulica (“Stone Street”) is<br />
the site of the oldest pharmacy in<br />
<strong>Zagreb</strong>, founded in the year 1355.<br />
Documents suggest that Nicolo<br />
Alighieri, great-grandson of Dante<br />
Alighieri, worked here way back<br />
in 1399 as a pharmacist. In more<br />
or less continuous operation since<br />
it first opened, the pharmacy<br />
is still very much in business.<br />
become the Mayor<br />
of <strong>Zagreb</strong>, dying<br />
of pneumonia<br />
after working<br />
tirelessly to assist<br />
those citizens<br />
affected <strong>by</strong> the<br />
great earthquake<br />
of 1880.
8. Opatička<br />
Opatička 10<br />
Opatička 18<br />
The <strong>Zagreb</strong> City Museum<br />
Ilirski trg<br />
The Priest’s Tower<br />
Opatička 10<br />
The splendid palaces along<br />
Opatička bear witness to many a<br />
key event in <strong>Zagreb</strong>’s history. For<br />
example the palace at Opatička 10<br />
takes us back to the 19 th century,<br />
a time of reawakened interest<br />
in national culture. Adapted for<br />
the needs of the Department of<br />
Divine Worship and Teaching, the<br />
three-winged palace served as<br />
the seat of the administration for<br />
culture and education in Croatian<br />
territories at that time. A striking<br />
entrance featuring<br />
an ornate wrought-iron fence<br />
overlooked <strong>by</strong> busts of Greek<br />
philosophers Plato and Aristotle<br />
hints at the majesty of the<br />
building’s most famous reception<br />
room, the so-called Golden Hall.<br />
This lavishly-decorated space was<br />
filled with paintings <strong>by</strong> the most<br />
distinguished pre-World War I<br />
artists, Vlaho Bukovac, Celestin<br />
Medović, Oton Iveković and Robert<br />
Frangeš Mihanović among them.<br />
Today the palace houses the<br />
Croatian Institute of History.<br />
Opatička 18<br />
Built in Neo-Classical style, the<br />
former palace of the aristocratic<br />
Drašković family at Opatička 18<br />
became an important focus of<br />
Croatian culture when it was<br />
purchased <strong>by</strong> the Illyrians, a 19 th -<br />
century movement devoted to the<br />
promotion of Croatian language<br />
and literature. Renamed the<br />
National Hall, the palace hosted<br />
many important cultural events,<br />
while its main reception room, the<br />
so-called Revival Hall, became the<br />
venue for political rallies and balls.<br />
22 <strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong>
Public Gas<br />
Lighting<br />
Both the Upper<br />
Town and Kaptol<br />
have retained the<br />
gas streetlights<br />
that date back to<br />
the beginning of<br />
the 19 th century.<br />
Every day at sunset<br />
two lamp lighters<br />
(the so-called<br />
“nažigači”) light<br />
more than 200<br />
gas lanterns in<br />
the streets.<br />
The <strong>Zagreb</strong> City Museum<br />
The <strong>Zagreb</strong> City Museum is housed<br />
in the restored former convent<br />
of St Clare, whose nuns gave<br />
Opatička ulica its name (“opatica”<br />
being the Croatian word for<br />
nun). The Sisters of St Clare came<br />
to <strong>Zagreb</strong> in the 17 th century<br />
in response to an invitation <strong>by</strong><br />
Croatian nobles, many of whose<br />
daughters entered their order.<br />
The nuns organized the city’s<br />
first school for girls, teaching<br />
music and singing alongside<br />
more mainstream academic<br />
subjects. The building’s main<br />
facade was built without windows,<br />
helping the nuns to retain their<br />
isolation from everyday life.<br />
Since 1947 the building has<br />
been the home of the City<br />
Museum, which presents <strong>Zagreb</strong>’s<br />
long history in a contemporary<br />
and entertaining way.<br />
Ilirski trg<br />
The northernmost point of the<br />
Upper Town is Ilirski trg or “Illyrian<br />
Square”, named after the Illyrian<br />
movement which spearheaded<br />
Croatia’s cultural and political<br />
revival during the first half<br />
of the 19 th century. Both the<br />
picturesque chapel in the middle<br />
of the square and the sound of<br />
music wafting from the near<strong>by</strong><br />
ballet school help to create a<br />
uniquely romantic setting.<br />
The Priest’s Tower<br />
Known <strong>by</strong> the locals as the Priest’s<br />
Tower, the round tower at the<br />
northern end of Opatička was<br />
built in the 13 th century to help<br />
ward off the threat of Ottoman<br />
attack. Fortifications like these<br />
had lost their primary purpose <strong>by</strong><br />
the 17 th century, and the Priest’s<br />
Tower became the city’s main food<br />
storehouse. The nuns of St Clare<br />
subsequently held classes in the<br />
tower, and in 1903 an observatory<br />
was opened on the top floor.<br />
24 <strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong> <strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong> 25
9.<br />
St Mark’s<br />
Square<br />
St Mark’s Church<br />
Banski dvori<br />
Sabor<br />
Matija Gubec<br />
The Meštrović Atelier<br />
The Croatian<br />
History Museum<br />
The Old City Hall<br />
The Croatian<br />
Museum of<br />
Naive Art<br />
St Mark’s Church<br />
St Mark’s Square (Trg<br />
svetog Marka) constitutes<br />
the heart of the Upper<br />
Town, having formerly<br />
served as the main market<br />
square of the settlement<br />
of Gradec. Dominating<br />
the square is the 13 th -century<br />
Church of St Mark, a threeaisled<br />
Romanesque church which<br />
still retains much of its original<br />
shape. The Gothic arched ceiling<br />
and the sanctuary were added in<br />
the late 14 th century, along with<br />
the fifteen statues that stand in<br />
niches above the southern portal.<br />
Some of the statues were made <strong>by</strong><br />
masters from the Parler workshop<br />
in Prague in around 1420.<br />
The church was substantially<br />
rebuilt in the Neo-Gothic style<br />
<strong>by</strong> Herman Bollé at the end of<br />
the 19 th century. The roof tiles,<br />
decorated with the coats of arms<br />
of the Triune Kingdom of Croatia,<br />
Dalmatia and Slavonia and the city<br />
of <strong>Zagreb</strong> also date to this period.<br />
The interior was restored between<br />
1936 and 1938 <strong>by</strong> the sculptor<br />
Ivan Meštrović and the painter<br />
Jozo Kljaković. Meštrović’s work<br />
in the church includes the large<br />
crucifix above the main altar, the<br />
Pietà in the apse and a silver cross,<br />
as well as the Madonna portrayed<br />
as a village woman in the south<br />
apse. Kljaković’s murals in the<br />
main body of the church portray<br />
scenes from The Old and The New<br />
Testaments, while in<br />
the adjacent chapel<br />
of St Fabian and<br />
Sebastian they focus<br />
on themes from<br />
Croatian history.<br />
Banski dvori<br />
The Banski dvori or “Governor’s<br />
Palace” at St Mark’s Square 1 is the<br />
seat of the Croatian Government<br />
and also houses the office of the<br />
Prime Minister. The palace was<br />
built in the beginning of the 19 th<br />
century and was home to the<br />
Croatian bans (governors) from<br />
1808 to 1918. The legendary Ban<br />
Josip Jelačić lived and died here.<br />
Sabor<br />
The Croatian Sabor or Parliament<br />
has held its sessions at this<br />
location ever since 1737. The<br />
current building dates from the<br />
beginning of the 20 th century. It<br />
was here that members voted<br />
to sever political ties from the<br />
Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918<br />
and from Yugoslavia in 1991.<br />
26 <strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong>
Matija Gubec<br />
Matija Gubec was the leader<br />
of a major uprising <strong>by</strong> Croatian<br />
peasants, in which a peasant army<br />
took on the local landowners near<br />
Stubičke Toplice in 1573. With<br />
the defeat of the peasants Gubec<br />
was taken to <strong>Zagreb</strong> for trial.<br />
He was executed on St Mark’s<br />
Square on February 15 of the<br />
same year, reportedly <strong>by</strong> being<br />
crowned with a circle of redhot<br />
iron (an ironic reference<br />
to his much vaunted status<br />
as “king of the peasants”),<br />
then quartered. It is<br />
believed that his face<br />
is depicted on the<br />
corner of a building<br />
in St Mark’s Square.<br />
The Meštrović Atelier<br />
The Meštrović Atelier is a part of<br />
the Ivan Meštrović Foundation,<br />
set up <strong>by</strong> the world-renowned<br />
Croatian sculptor. A collection of<br />
his works is presented in the house<br />
in which he lived with his family<br />
from 1922 to 1942. Meštrović<br />
bought two houses whose owners<br />
since the 18 th century had been<br />
button makers, a teacher of poetry<br />
and noblemen’s families. With<br />
the help of his architect<br />
friends, he adapted the<br />
houses and turned them<br />
into a studio and an<br />
apartment, which he<br />
bequeathed to his<br />
homeland Croatia.<br />
Ivan Meštrović<br />
(1883 – 1962), the<br />
greatest Croatian<br />
sculptor of all<br />
time and the first<br />
globally recognized<br />
Croatian artist.<br />
Born into a<br />
poor family in<br />
the Dalmatian<br />
hinterland, his<br />
talent was<br />
discovered <strong>by</strong> his<br />
fellow-townsmen<br />
who paid his<br />
education in<br />
Vienna. He went<br />
on to work in the<br />
most important<br />
centres of<br />
European art. His<br />
sculptures can<br />
be found all over<br />
the world, both<br />
in permanent<br />
museum<br />
exhibitions and<br />
in numerous<br />
public places.<br />
He is perhaps<br />
best known<br />
for “The Victor,”<br />
which stands in<br />
Kalemegdan Park,<br />
Belgrade, and the<br />
huge equestrian<br />
statues of Indians<br />
he produced<br />
for Grant Park<br />
in Chicago.<br />
The Croatian History Museum<br />
Built in the 18 th -century, the<br />
impressive Baroque Vojković<br />
– Oršić – Rauch Palace has had<br />
many owners and tenants over<br />
the centuries. According to<br />
some, the building’s first owner<br />
Vojković made a fortune <strong>by</strong><br />
securing advantageous marriages<br />
to older, richer women. During<br />
the good old days of coaches<br />
and crinolines, members of the<br />
Croatian social elite happily<br />
gathered here for balls and<br />
concerts in the hall on the first<br />
floor. Since 1959 the palace has<br />
been home to the Croatian History<br />
Museum. There is no permanent<br />
collection on display, but seasonal<br />
exhibitions on key themes of<br />
local history provide a wealth of<br />
insights into the country’s past.<br />
28 <strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong> <strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong> 29
Ćirilometodska<br />
Running south from St Mark’s<br />
Square, Ćirilometodska boasts<br />
a wealth of Baroque palaces<br />
that once belonged to the local<br />
aristocracy. The present name<br />
honours the Slavic apostles Ćiril<br />
and Metod (Cyril and Methodius)<br />
who devised the first Slavic script,<br />
known as Glagolitic (glagoljica),<br />
in the 9 th century. The Greek<br />
Catholic church that stands midway<br />
along the street was also<br />
named after the two apostles. The<br />
church assumed its current form<br />
in the 19 th century after a design<br />
<strong>by</strong> the architect Hermann Bollé.<br />
The Old City Hall<br />
The complex of buildings at the<br />
corner of Ćirilometodska served<br />
as <strong>Zagreb</strong>’s City Hall until after<br />
World War II, when it was moved<br />
to a newer part of town. Since<br />
the Middle Ages this was where<br />
town officials held sessions. Today<br />
however only some ceremonial<br />
sessions are held at the old<br />
location, and with marriage<br />
ceremonies performed here on<br />
Saturdays it remains a place close<br />
to the hearts of many a <strong>Zagreb</strong><br />
family. It was also here that<br />
<strong>Zagreb</strong>’s first theatre was built<br />
in 1833, financed <strong>by</strong> Kristofor<br />
Stanković – a local merchant<br />
who had just won the grand<br />
prize at the Vienna lottery. It<br />
was initially a German-language<br />
theatre, although something of a<br />
historical first occurred in 1835<br />
when Croatian was used on stage<br />
during the intermission. In 1840<br />
the first full-length Croatian<br />
play, “Juran and Sofija” <strong>by</strong> Ivan<br />
Kukuljević, was performed here,<br />
to be followed six years later <strong>by</strong><br />
the first Croatian opera, “Love<br />
and Malice” <strong>by</strong> Vatroslav Lisinski.<br />
The Croatian Museum<br />
of Naive Art<br />
The Croatian Museum of<br />
Naive Art is located in one<br />
section of a Baroque palace in<br />
Ćirilometodska 3. Considered<br />
to be the world’s first museum<br />
devoted to naive art, it displays<br />
the works of over 20 Croatian<br />
masters of the genre, including<br />
the likes of Generalić, Lacković<br />
Croata and Rabuzin. These<br />
colourful paintings <strong>by</strong> Croatia’s<br />
self-taught artists are simply<br />
bursting with the joys of life.<br />
Street Names Upper Town’s <strong>Zagreb</strong> dialect<br />
Many street historic houses were written in<br />
names in the have uncovered Roman script,<br />
Upper Town have archaic bilingual whereas German<br />
changed several street names versions of the<br />
times through long hidden same names<br />
history. Restorers under layers of were written in<br />
cleaning the plaster. Croatian Gothic script.<br />
facades of the street names in<br />
30 <strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong> <strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong> 31
10.<br />
Catherine’s<br />
Square<br />
St Catherine’s<br />
Church<br />
<strong>Zagreb</strong>’s first<br />
Humanistic<br />
Secondary School<br />
The Klovićevi<br />
Dvori Gallery<br />
The View from<br />
Gradec<br />
Antun Gustav<br />
Matoš<br />
Funicular<br />
Lotrščak Tower<br />
St Catherine’s Church<br />
Dominating Catherine’s Square<br />
(Katarinin trg) is <strong>Zagreb</strong>’s most<br />
beautiful Baroque church. The<br />
church was built <strong>by</strong> the Jesuits<br />
in the first half of the 17 th<br />
century. It consists of a single<br />
aisle with six side chapels, and<br />
a sanctuary which ends with a<br />
grand Illusionist mural modelled<br />
on the one found in the “Il Gesu”<br />
Jesuit church in Rome. The chapels<br />
hold five wooden Baroque<br />
altars from the second half<br />
of the 17 th century, and one<br />
made of marble in 1729.<br />
The church façade<br />
was reconstructed <strong>by</strong><br />
Hermann Bollé after<br />
the 1880 earthquake.<br />
<strong>Zagreb</strong>’s first Humanistic<br />
Secondary School<br />
The Jesuits, a Roman Catholic<br />
religious order known for their<br />
scientific and educational<br />
activities, founded the first<br />
Humanistic Secondary School<br />
in <strong>Zagreb</strong> in the year 1607. The<br />
school provided a humanistic<br />
education for hundreds of<br />
students from all walks of life,<br />
from children of farmers and city<br />
folk to children from noble<br />
families.<br />
The Klovićevi Dvori Gallery<br />
The Klovićevi Dvori Gallery is<br />
housed in the former Jesuit<br />
monastery on Jesuit Square<br />
(Jezuitski trg), which got its name<br />
after the religious order that was<br />
invited to Croatia <strong>by</strong> Croatian<br />
noblemen. The monastery complex<br />
stands next to St Catherine’s<br />
church and was built in stages<br />
throughout the 17 th and 18 th<br />
centuries. Named after the famous<br />
Croatian miniature painter Julije<br />
Klović (1498-1578), the gallery<br />
hosts large-scale art exhibitions <strong>by</strong><br />
both domestic and international<br />
artists. On the opposite side of<br />
the square from the gallery is the<br />
"Fisherman" sculpture <strong>by</strong> Simeon<br />
Roksandić. It adorns the Upper<br />
Town’s first fountain, built in 1911.<br />
The View from Gradec<br />
Behind St Catherine’s church there<br />
is a beautiful view from Gradec<br />
towards Kaptol, the cathedral,<br />
Dolac market and the main<br />
square. The monumental dome of<br />
Mirogoj cemetery and the green<br />
foothills of Mount Medvednica<br />
are clearly visible in the distance.<br />
32 <strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong>
11.<br />
The Strossmayer<br />
Promenade<br />
The Strossmayer Promenade<br />
Running along the southern rim<br />
of Gradec hill, the tree-lined<br />
Strossmayer Promenade was built<br />
at the end of the 19 th century<br />
with money donated <strong>by</strong> private<br />
citizens. It was named after<br />
Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer, a<br />
prominent member of the Croatian<br />
cultural revival and an immensely<br />
influential figure in 19 th -century<br />
society and politics. The near<strong>by</strong><br />
State Weather Bureau has been<br />
continuously tracking<br />
weather conditions ever<br />
since its foundation<br />
in 1862, contributing<br />
greatly to our knowledge<br />
of how global climatic<br />
changes take place.<br />
Antun Gustav Matoš<br />
Visitors can soak in the view of<br />
central <strong>Zagreb</strong> in the company<br />
of poet Antun Gustav Matoš<br />
(1873-1914), whose statue sits<br />
on a bench beside Strossmayer<br />
Promenade. Although not<br />
born in <strong>Zagreb</strong>, Matoš grew to<br />
become one of the city’s greatest<br />
enthusiasts, writing frank and<br />
outspoken newspaper columns<br />
that extolled the bohemian life<br />
of the city. He also wrote some<br />
of the best-loved poems in<br />
the Croatian language.<br />
Matoš packed a lot into<br />
his relatively short life,<br />
and is remembered as<br />
something of an archetypal<br />
rebel and dreamer. Ivan<br />
Kožarić’s sculpture of<br />
Matoš was placed on the<br />
promenade in 1978.<br />
Funicular<br />
The 66-metre-long funicular that<br />
connects the Upper and Lower<br />
Town is the shortest passenger<br />
cable railway in the world. The<br />
height difference between top<br />
and bottom is 30.5 meters and<br />
the funicular takes 55 seconds to<br />
make the journey. 28 grownups<br />
can ride in it at one time and<br />
it goes up every ten minutes.<br />
Opened for passengers in 1890,<br />
when it was powered <strong>by</strong> steam,<br />
the funicular was the first ever<br />
means of public transport to be<br />
used in <strong>Zagreb</strong>, pre-dating horsedrawn<br />
trams <strong>by</strong> a whole year.<br />
Lotrščak Tower<br />
This is the only preserved mediaeval<br />
tower from the 13 th -century<br />
fortifications, slightly modified in<br />
the 19 th century, with a small lookout<br />
post on top. The bells of the<br />
Lotrščak tower used to summon the<br />
townsfolk to return to the town at<br />
sunset, when the gates were locked<br />
for the night. Nowadays Lotrščak is<br />
more famous for its cannon, which<br />
is fired every day at noon. The<br />
canon-firing tradition was initiated<br />
on New Year’s Day 1877, although<br />
several legends connect it with<br />
much earlier events. According to<br />
one story, the cannon was presented<br />
to the townsfolk <strong>by</strong> Hungarian<br />
King Bela IV in 1242, as a reward<br />
for protecting him from marauding<br />
Tatars–on condition that the cannon<br />
was fired every. The cannon could<br />
also have come from the spoils<br />
of a victory over the Turks, but<br />
whichever story is true, locals set<br />
their watches <strong>by</strong> the sound of the<br />
shot heard all over the city centre.<br />
34 <strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong> <strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong> 35
Jurišićeva<br />
The Lower Town<br />
King Tomislav Square<br />
Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square<br />
Marulić Square<br />
Marshal Tito Square<br />
Masarykova<br />
Ban Jelačić Square<br />
Petar Preradović Square<br />
Ilica<br />
36 <strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong> <strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong> 37
The Lower<br />
Town<br />
12. Nikola Šubić Zrinski<br />
Square<br />
13. King Tomislav Square<br />
14. Marulić Square<br />
15. Marshal Tito Square<br />
16. Masarykova<br />
17. Petar Preradović Square<br />
18. Ilica<br />
19. Jurišićeva
12.<br />
Nikola Šubić<br />
Zrinski Square<br />
Zrinjevac<br />
In a city that has more than its fair<br />
share of green squares, Zrinjevac is<br />
arguably the best loved of them all.<br />
It’s certainly hard to imagine that<br />
this neat quadrangle of flowerbeds<br />
was until the late 19 th century a<br />
meadow where cattle markets<br />
took place. It was subsequently<br />
transformed into an elegant<br />
promenade with plane trees<br />
imported from Trieste, a wroughtiron<br />
bandstand, fountains and<br />
busts of notable figures. The square<br />
gets its name from Nikola Šubić<br />
Zrinski (1508 – 1566), the Croatian<br />
Ban who died during the heroic<br />
defence of Szigetvar, a Hungarian<br />
fortress besieged <strong>by</strong> the Ottoman<br />
Turks. Zrinjevac is the northernmost<br />
square of “Lenuci’s Horseshoe”, a<br />
line of eight green spaces laid out<br />
<strong>by</strong> municipal engineer Milan Lenuci<br />
in the 19 th century. An outdoor<br />
gallery of 19 th - and 20 th -century<br />
urban culture is a convenient<br />
starting point for a walking<br />
tour of the Lower Town.<br />
The Meteorological Post<br />
Since 1884 weather conditions<br />
have been recorded on the<br />
meteorological pole here. It was<br />
a present to the city of <strong>Zagreb</strong><br />
<strong>by</strong> Adolf Holzer, a physician. You<br />
can stand next to the marble<br />
post and check the temperature<br />
and air pressure and coordinate<br />
your watch with a 24-hour dial.<br />
In the 19 th century numerous<br />
wealthy citizens donated valuable<br />
public facilities to the city, among<br />
them the near<strong>by</strong> bandstand.<br />
The First Fountain<br />
The first fountain in <strong>Zagreb</strong> was<br />
built shortly after the opening of<br />
the <strong>Zagreb</strong> waterworks in 1878.<br />
It was designed <strong>by</strong> architect<br />
Herman Bollé and serves as a<br />
great place to find refreshment<br />
during hot summer days.<br />
Because of its swelling, organic<br />
shape the fountain is popularly<br />
known as “The Mushroom”.<br />
The Archeological Museum<br />
Housed in the Vranyczany-Hafner<br />
Palace, the Archeological Museum<br />
boasts a varied collection of<br />
400,000 artefacts in five main<br />
collections. The most enigmatic<br />
item on display is the Liber linteus<br />
Zagrabiensis or <strong>Zagreb</strong> Flax Book, a<br />
long strip of linen that was used<br />
to wrap the mummified body of<br />
an Egyptian tailor’s wife. The cloth<br />
was decorated with an Etruscan<br />
liturgical calendar, and is the<br />
longest preserved text in Etruscan,<br />
a language that still hasn’t been<br />
completely deciphered. The most<br />
charming “tenant”of the museum<br />
is the unhappy Plautilla, a 2 nd -<br />
century find of Salona (an ancient<br />
city near Split) whose statue is<br />
considered one of the best examples<br />
of portraiture in Roman sculpture.<br />
Croatia’s most famous archeological<br />
find is the Vučdol Dove (“Vučedolska<br />
golubica”), a clay vessel in the<br />
shape of a bird that was probably<br />
used in religious rituals some<br />
3,000 years before Christ.
The Meteorological<br />
Post<br />
The First Fountain<br />
The Archeological<br />
Museum<br />
HAZU – The Croatian<br />
Academy of Arts<br />
and Sciences<br />
The Gallery of<br />
Modern Art<br />
HAZU<br />
The Gallery of Modern Art<br />
The Croatian Academy of Arts and<br />
Sciences the highest institution<br />
devoted to science and art in<br />
Croatia, is housed in a Neo-<br />
Renaissance palace that was built<br />
exactly for this purpose in 1880.<br />
Towards the back of the entrance<br />
hall is the Baška Tablet, one of<br />
the oldest stone inscriptions<br />
written in the Croatian language.<br />
Dating from the turn of the<br />
12 th century, the inscription is<br />
written in Glagolitic, the highly<br />
decorative script used in Croatia<br />
before Roman letters became<br />
more widespread. Upstairs is<br />
the Strossmayer Gallery of Old<br />
Masters, displaying works of art<br />
from the 15 th to the 19 th century.<br />
Based on the private collection<br />
of the Academy’s founder, Bishop<br />
J. J. Strossmayer, the gallery<br />
includes works attributed to<br />
Tintoretto, Veronese, El Greco<br />
and many more. One should not<br />
miss the unforgettable Baroque<br />
painting “Abraham sacrifices<br />
Isaac” <strong>by</strong> Federiko Benković.<br />
The 19 th - century palace standing<br />
opposite to the Academy is home<br />
to the Gallery of Modern Art,<br />
which covers Croatian visual arts<br />
of the 19 th and 20 th centuries. Two<br />
centuries of Croatian paintings<br />
and sculptures are presented<br />
through the works of the most<br />
significant Croatian artists. Works<br />
are exhibited chronologically,<br />
beginning with the Croatian<br />
historical subjects painted <strong>by</strong><br />
pre-World War I artists such as<br />
Oton Iveković and Vlaho Bukovac.<br />
The display continues with the<br />
mysterious symbolism of Croatian<br />
Art Nouveau artists and the<br />
poetic soft shades of the painter<br />
Emanuel Vidović. Early 20 th -<br />
century works <strong>by</strong> Kraljević, Račić<br />
and Becić reflect the turmoil of<br />
European modernism. The gallery<br />
also includes a selection of works<br />
<strong>by</strong> contemporary Croatian artists.<br />
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13.<br />
King Tomislav<br />
Square<br />
King Tomislav<br />
A monument dedicated to<br />
Tomislav, Croatia’s first king,<br />
dominates the square carrying<br />
his name. This courageous<br />
warrior defended the continental<br />
part of Croatia from Hungarian<br />
attacks and for the first time<br />
united all Croatian lands into one<br />
country. Tomislav successfully<br />
sought papal recognition of<br />
his realm, and was crowned as<br />
king in the year 925. Despite<br />
<strong>Zagreb</strong> Words<br />
furt = always<br />
frtalj = a quarter<br />
haustor = house entrance<br />
plac = market, square<br />
šuster = shoe-maker<br />
taubek = pigeon<br />
gemišt = white wine and mineral water<br />
štenge = stairs<br />
špancir = a walk<br />
puca = a girl<br />
dying mysteriously three years<br />
later, his status as founder of<br />
the Croatian state has never<br />
been in doubt. The statue of<br />
Tomislav on horseback was<br />
completed <strong>by</strong> sculptor Robert<br />
Frangeš Mihanović in 1938,<br />
although protracted political<br />
difficulties and the outbreak<br />
of World War II prevented the<br />
statue from being installed in<br />
its current location until 1947.<br />
purger = a person from <strong>Zagreb</strong><br />
ura = clock<br />
šnicl = steak<br />
gelender = handrail<br />
kefa = brush<br />
fest = a lot<br />
viršle = frankfurter<br />
fašnik = carnival<br />
lajbek = vest<br />
grincajg = soup vegetables<br />
The Main Railway Station<br />
The railway arrived in <strong>Zagreb</strong><br />
in 1862, connecting the<br />
40,000-strong city to the<br />
economic and cultural centres<br />
of Vienna and Budapest. Built<br />
in 1892, the station building<br />
was designed <strong>by</strong> Hungarian<br />
architect Ferenc Pfaff, something<br />
of a specialist when it came to<br />
railway stations. Incorporating<br />
a mixture of Renaissance and<br />
Neo-classical elements, it is a<br />
fine addition to the parade of<br />
buildings that lies along the<br />
route of Lenuci’s Horseshoe.<br />
Travellers coming out of the<br />
railway station are confronted<br />
with one of the most beautiful<br />
views in <strong>Zagreb</strong>, which takes in<br />
the statue of King Tomislav, the<br />
Art Pavilion, the cathedral’s spires<br />
and the green slopes of Mount<br />
Medvednica in the distance.<br />
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King Tomislav<br />
The Main Railway<br />
Station<br />
The Art Pavilion<br />
Hotel Esplanade<br />
The Art Pavilion<br />
Marking the northern end of<br />
King Tomislav Square is the Art<br />
Pavilion, originally built to serve<br />
as the Croatian Pavilion at the<br />
Budapest Millennial Exhibition of<br />
1896. Constructed using the latest<br />
in metal frame techniques, the<br />
pavilion was disassembled at the<br />
end of the Budapest exhibition,<br />
transported to <strong>Zagreb</strong> <strong>by</strong> train, and<br />
re-erected at its current location.<br />
The ceremonial opening took place<br />
in 1898 accompanied <strong>by</strong> a grand<br />
exhibition of contemporary artists.<br />
The pavilion was <strong>Zagreb</strong>’s first<br />
dedicated space for art shows, and<br />
has been an important venue for<br />
high-profile exhibitions ever since.<br />
Hotel Esplanade<br />
The hotel is close to the main<br />
railway station and was built<br />
in very short time in 1925. The<br />
original purpose of the hotel<br />
was to provide top-notch<br />
accommodation for passengers on<br />
the Orient Express, the luxurious<br />
service linking Paris and Istanbul<br />
and which used <strong>Zagreb</strong> as one<br />
of the stops. Many celebrity<br />
guests stayed at the hotel, which<br />
became an important centre for<br />
society events. The <strong>Zagreb</strong> public<br />
was particularly intrigued <strong>by</strong> the<br />
performance of a provocative<br />
dancer Josephine Baker in 1929,<br />
when several virtuous local ladies<br />
expressed their disapproval. It was<br />
also here that <strong>Zagreb</strong>’s first beauty<br />
contest was held in 1926, with the<br />
winner going on to be crowned<br />
“Miss Europe” in the following year.<br />
46 <strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong><br />
Licitar<br />
(Gingerbread<br />
Heart)<br />
The "licitar" is<br />
a bright red<br />
heart-shaped<br />
gingerbread<br />
cookie that has<br />
long served as a<br />
symbol of love<br />
and affection.<br />
Sold at parish<br />
fairs for centuries,<br />
the licitar was<br />
originally an<br />
edible sweet<br />
cookie containing<br />
honey, although<br />
it is now a largely<br />
decorative gift<br />
that is meant to be<br />
kept rather than<br />
eaten. Brightly<br />
decorated licitars,<br />
moulded into<br />
various shapes and<br />
richly decorated,<br />
also serve as<br />
a favourite<br />
traditional<br />
Christmas tree<br />
decoration.<br />
Guardians<br />
Frozen in Time<br />
During his or her<br />
walks through<br />
<strong>Zagreb</strong> the careful<br />
observer will<br />
notice unusual<br />
characters on<br />
facades, balconies,<br />
posts and towers,<br />
next to windows<br />
and above doors.<br />
Beasts and<br />
demons, dragons<br />
and owls, angels<br />
and spirits are<br />
not just here<br />
to serve as<br />
architectural<br />
decorations.<br />
As guardians of<br />
the city they are<br />
all on a secret<br />
mission, and<br />
although they<br />
stand motionless<br />
during the<br />
daytime, the<br />
luckiest of visitors<br />
may yet see<br />
them at work.
14.<br />
Marulić<br />
Square<br />
The Croatian<br />
State Archives<br />
The Botanical<br />
Gardens<br />
The Ethnographic<br />
Museum<br />
The Croatian State Archives<br />
The Botanical Gardens<br />
The Ethnographic Museum<br />
Marulić Square is dominated<br />
<strong>by</strong> the former National and<br />
University Library, today home<br />
to the Croatian State Archives.<br />
Designed <strong>by</strong> architect Rudolf<br />
Lu<strong>by</strong>nski in 1913, the building<br />
is <strong>by</strong> far the most beautiful<br />
example of Croatian Art Nouveau.<br />
Every detail, from the decorative<br />
elements on the facade to the<br />
reading lamps on the desks, was<br />
meticulously designed <strong>by</strong> the<br />
leading artists of the day. The<br />
building is rich in symbolism,<br />
with rooftop groups of globebearing<br />
owls pointing to the<br />
library’s educational purpose.<br />
Similarly, allegories of science<br />
and the book trade adorn<br />
the facade.<br />
Marko Marulić, literary work to be<br />
writer and humanist, published in the<br />
(1450 – 1524). Croatian language.<br />
Writing in Latin, Inspired <strong>by</strong> the<br />
Italian and Croatian, Old-Testament<br />
Marko Marulić was Jewish heroine<br />
a towering figure who famously<br />
of the Croatian beheaded the<br />
Renaissance. Often Ba<strong>by</strong>lonian<br />
considered the warlord Holofernes,<br />
father of Croatian the book was<br />
literature, his intended to serve<br />
most significant as a metaphor<br />
achievement was for Christian<br />
in penning the Croatia’s struggle<br />
epic poem “Judith” against the<br />
(Judita), the first Ottoman Empire.<br />
Running parallel to the railway<br />
tracks, the Botanical Gardens form<br />
the southern part of the green<br />
belt known as Lenuci’s Horseshoe.<br />
Every spring since the late 19 th<br />
century the gardens have opened<br />
their gates to the public. Pride<br />
of the gardens is the collection<br />
of 10,000 or more plant species,<br />
ranging from exotic imports to<br />
indigenous Croatian plants. The<br />
gardens are open until sundown<br />
and entrance is free of charge, but<br />
there are strict rules governing<br />
behaviour. It is forbidden to<br />
walk on the grass, shout, ride<br />
a bicycle or pick flowers. The<br />
greenery, the wonderful scents<br />
and a general sense of peace<br />
constitute a true oasis in the<br />
centre of the city. The gardens<br />
are located on Mihanovićeva,<br />
named after the author of<br />
Croatia’s national anthem Lijepa<br />
naša domovino (“Our Beautiful<br />
Homeland”), Antun Mihanović.<br />
The Ethnographic Museum is<br />
located in the former Chamber of<br />
Trade, an Art Nouveau building<br />
dating from 1903. The museum<br />
itself was founded in 1919 on<br />
the initiative of Salamon Berger,<br />
a factory owner from Slovakia<br />
who donated his huge collection<br />
of folk costumes and textiles<br />
to the institution. As well as<br />
the costumes, visitors can see<br />
traditional household utensils<br />
and musical instruments from<br />
all over Croatia. A further point<br />
of interest are the collections<br />
donated <strong>by</strong> brothers Stevo and<br />
Mirko Seljan, famous Croatian<br />
explorers who returned from<br />
Africa and South America with<br />
a wealth of native artefacts.<br />
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15. Marshal<br />
Tito Square<br />
The Croatian National Theatre<br />
The Well of Life<br />
<strong>Zagreb</strong> University<br />
The Croatian National Theatre<br />
is located on Trg maršala Tita<br />
(Marshal Tito Square), which<br />
is named after Josip Broz Tito<br />
(1892 – 1980), former president<br />
of the Yugoslav Federation.<br />
This square, formerly known as<br />
University and Theatre Square, is<br />
the last in the arc of eight green<br />
squares that formed Lenuci’s<br />
Horseshoe, the central component<br />
of 19 th -century <strong>Zagreb</strong>’s urban<br />
plan. Well-known Viennese<br />
architects Ferdinand Fellner and<br />
Herman Helmer, who designed<br />
forty other European theatres,<br />
were responsible for the plans<br />
for the building, employing a rich<br />
Neo-Baroque style that was at<br />
the time thought most suitable<br />
for theatres. Officially opened<br />
in 1895, the building brings the<br />
national opera, ballet and drama<br />
companies together under a<br />
single roof. With a repertoire<br />
that ranges from classics to<br />
contemporary pieces, and with<br />
both Croatian and international<br />
works well represented, the<br />
theatre occupies a central place<br />
in the cultural life of the capital.<br />
Placed in front of the National<br />
Theatre in 1912, the Well of<br />
Life is one of Croatian sculptor<br />
Ivan Meštrović’s most popular<br />
works. Dating from Meštrović’s<br />
youthful, playful period, it is<br />
a sensual piece of work that<br />
many believe to be among his<br />
best. It basically consists of a<br />
circular pool surrounded <strong>by</strong> a<br />
bronze frieze of intertwined<br />
nude figures. From children to<br />
loving couples and old people,<br />
the figures appear to be reaching<br />
over the lip of the fountain to<br />
scoop up the water, suggesting<br />
a universal theme of human zest<br />
for life and interdependence.<br />
Running along the north side<br />
of the square is the main<br />
administrative building of <strong>Zagreb</strong><br />
University. Founded in 1669, it is<br />
the oldest university in Croatia,<br />
and also one of the oldest in<br />
Europe. It currently consists of<br />
29 faculties, three academies<br />
and one university centre.The<br />
administrative building, built in<br />
the 19 th century, was originally<br />
used as a hospital, and for a time<br />
even served as a tobacco factory.<br />
In front of the entrance is Ivan<br />
Meštrović’s “History of the Croats”,<br />
a seated figure of a woman<br />
(based on the sculptor’s mother)<br />
which eloquently symbolizes the<br />
calm strength of the nation. The<br />
sculpture was placed here in<br />
1971, and has served as a popular<br />
patriotic symbol ever since.<br />
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The Croatian<br />
National Theatre<br />
The Well of Life<br />
<strong>Zagreb</strong> University<br />
The Museum of Arts<br />
and Crafts<br />
St George<br />
The Mimara Museum<br />
The Museum of Arts and Crafts<br />
Occupying the west side of the<br />
square is the Museum of Arts<br />
and Crafts, founded in 1880 and<br />
one of the first institutions of its<br />
kind in Europe. It was originally<br />
charged with the cultivation of<br />
traditional crafts and their use in<br />
modern design and manufacture.<br />
As a result, the School of<br />
Decorative Arts (the presentday<br />
School of Applied Arts and<br />
Design) was established next<br />
to the museum. The permanent<br />
exhibition at the museum covers<br />
three floors and presents the<br />
development of applied arts<br />
from the Gothic period right<br />
through to Art-Deco. The display<br />
includes clocks and watches,<br />
metalwork, glass, ceramics<br />
and textiles. The museum also<br />
organizes themed exhibitions<br />
about the history of design as<br />
well as contemporary art shows.<br />
St George<br />
The theme of St George killing<br />
the dragon has been a popular<br />
motif since medieval times,<br />
symbolizing the struggle between<br />
good and evil and the victory of<br />
Christianity over paganism. This<br />
particular portrayal of the saint<br />
was produced <strong>by</strong> Austrian sculptor<br />
Anton Fernkorn. The original made<br />
its way to a noblemans palace in<br />
Vienna in 1853, although a zinc<br />
cast was brought to <strong>Zagreb</strong>. This<br />
bronze copy was placed at its<br />
current location in 1908, since<br />
when the virtuous knight has been<br />
on display killing the dragon<br />
for just over a century.<br />
The Mimara Museum<br />
Built in the late 19 th century<br />
to serve as a high school, the<br />
Neo-Renaissance palace on<br />
Roosevelt Square holds the<br />
wide-ranging collections of the<br />
Mimara Museum. The museum<br />
was founded to display the<br />
artworks donated <strong>by</strong> private<br />
collector Ante Topić Mimara, and<br />
was first opened to the public in<br />
1987. The permanent exhibition<br />
at the museum is organized into<br />
a chronological sequence of<br />
historical periods, from the times<br />
of ancient Egypt and Greece to<br />
paintings and drawings <strong>by</strong> great<br />
masters like Raphael, Velasquez,<br />
Rubens, Rembrandt and Goya.<br />
The museum’s glass collection<br />
offers a wonderful insight<br />
into the changing artistic<br />
values of the glass-making<br />
trade over the centuries.<br />
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16.<br />
Masarykova<br />
The Kallina House<br />
The Apartment of<br />
Viktor Kovačić<br />
<strong>Zagreb</strong>’s First<br />
Skyscraper<br />
Nikola Tesla<br />
The Kallina House<br />
The street named after Tomaš<br />
Masaryk, the first president of<br />
Czechoslovakia, has been the<br />
site of impressive-looking office<br />
buildings and apartment blocks<br />
ever since the 19 th century. One<br />
of the more fascinating examples<br />
of the latter is the Kallina House,<br />
built on the corner of the street<br />
in 1904 <strong>by</strong> architect Vjekoslav<br />
Bastl. One of the main investors<br />
in the project was the owner<br />
of a ceramics factory, and the<br />
façade of the building is covered<br />
in brightly decorated ceramic<br />
tiles. The Art Nouveau-inspired<br />
decorative details are among<br />
the most delightful in <strong>Zagreb</strong>,<br />
while the stylized bat motifs will<br />
certainly raise some eyebrows.<br />
The Apartment of Viktor<br />
Kovačić<br />
Built in 1906, the residential<br />
building at Masarykova 21-23<br />
was designed <strong>by</strong> the architect<br />
Viktor Kovačić, who reserved the<br />
attic apartment for himself. Viktor<br />
Kovačić (1874- 1924) was a great<br />
promoter of practical architecture,<br />
believing that apartments should<br />
be built for real people rather<br />
than just their furniture. Preserved<br />
in very much the state in which<br />
Kovačić left it, this attic apartment<br />
is one of the rare surviving<br />
examples of a meticulously<br />
planned early 20 th -century<br />
interior. Featuring carefully chosen<br />
textiles, and furniture that is<br />
both practical and good to look<br />
at, it offers a fascinating insight<br />
into the tastes of the time.<br />
<strong>Zagreb</strong>’s First Skyscraper<br />
The building on the corner of<br />
Masarykova and Gundulićeva has<br />
the honour of being the first ever<br />
skyscraper built in <strong>Zagreb</strong>. Dating<br />
from 1933, it was constructed in<br />
a record-breakingly short period<br />
of 79 days, thanks to the use<br />
of modern building techniques.<br />
Locals immediately hailed it<br />
as a skyscraper, although the<br />
building’s designer Slavko Löwy<br />
protested that the nine-storey,<br />
35-metre-high proportions<br />
of the building made it<br />
undeserving of such a<br />
description. Whatever<br />
we might want to call<br />
it, this elegant example<br />
of rational modernism<br />
was one of<br />
the highest<br />
achievements<br />
of Croatian<br />
architecture in the<br />
period between the<br />
two world wars.<br />
Nikola Tesla<br />
Overlooking the intersection of<br />
Masarykova and Teslina is a statue<br />
of Nikola Tesla (1856 – 1943), that<br />
was placed there on the 150 th<br />
anniversary of the birth of this<br />
exceptional scientist and innovator.<br />
Nikola Tesla was born and raised<br />
in Croatia and after finishing<br />
his education in Europe Tesla<br />
sought his fortune in the USA,<br />
where he was instrumental in the<br />
development and introduction<br />
of alternating current, x-rays,<br />
remote control devices and<br />
radio waves. Thanks to<br />
Tesla’s vision we can use<br />
the internet and mobile<br />
phones today. Tesla was a<br />
secretive man who rarely<br />
explained the thinking<br />
that lay behind his<br />
discoveries, leading many<br />
to think of him a something<br />
of a wizard. Even today,<br />
not all of Tesla’s secrets<br />
have been explained.<br />
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17.<br />
<br />
Petar Preradović<br />
Square<br />
Tin Ujević<br />
Miškec’s Passage<br />
The Oktogon<br />
The Grounded Sun<br />
The Napredak<br />
Skyscraper<br />
Petar Preradović Square<br />
Petar Preradović Square (Trg<br />
P. Preradovića) was named after<br />
Petar Preradović (1818 – 1872),<br />
an army general who also wrote<br />
patriotic verse and love poetry.<br />
His statue stands in the middle<br />
of the square and is a popular<br />
meeting point. The square is<br />
colloquially known as “Flower<br />
Square” (Cvjetni trg), after the<br />
flower stalls which have been a<br />
feature of the place ever since the<br />
14 th century when fairs were held<br />
here. On the northern side of the<br />
square is the Orthodox Church of<br />
the Holy Transfiguration, built at<br />
the end of the 19 th century on the<br />
former site of the Roman Catholic<br />
Church of St Margaret. Both the<br />
square and the surrounding streets<br />
are lined with pavement cafes, and<br />
it is here that you can get a true<br />
sense of <strong>Zagreb</strong>’s “outdoor lounge”<br />
culture. For the locals, coffee is<br />
the ideal accompaniment to a<br />
serious business meeting or a good<br />
long gossip with a group of friends.<br />
Tin Ujević<br />
The statue honouring Augustin<br />
“Tin” Ujević (1891 – 1955), one of<br />
the greatest Croatian poets, was<br />
placed near Flower Square on<br />
the 100 th anniversary of his birth.<br />
Considered to be the last real<br />
Croatian bohemian, Ujević was<br />
a professional poet who avoided<br />
conventional lifestyles as long as<br />
he lived. He wrote verses on every<br />
possible subject, and there are few<br />
people in Croatia who don’t know<br />
at least a few lines of his poems <strong>by</strong><br />
heart. There are many anecdotes<br />
about Tin, his oversized old coat,<br />
hat and the glass of wine he always<br />
had in his hand while sitting in<br />
one of the bars in <strong>Zagreb</strong>. Tin was<br />
and remains an urban nomad.<br />
Miškec’s Passage<br />
The passage that connects<br />
Masarykova with Varšavska is named<br />
after Miškec, a much-loved local<br />
character who occupies an important<br />
position in urban folklore. Born<br />
Mihail Erdec, Miškec was a wellknown<br />
pre-World War II acrobat<br />
who was forced <strong>by</strong> injury into early<br />
retirement and a life on the streets.<br />
Bedding down in the grimy boiler<br />
room of the Europa Cinema, he won<br />
the sympathies of local residents <strong>by</strong><br />
doing odd jobs for neighbours and<br />
serenading cinemagoers with tunes<br />
on his mouth organ. A photo of the<br />
unrequited love of his life Štefica<br />
Vidačić, the first Miss <strong>Zagreb</strong>, hung<br />
above his makeshift bed. Miškec lived<br />
in the boiler room from the end of<br />
World War II until the 1960s, when<br />
he was finally persuaded to take<br />
up a bed in an old people’s home.
The Oktogon<br />
Linking the relaxed atmosphere of<br />
Flower Square with the bustling<br />
shopping street of Ilica is the<br />
Oktogon, an elegant pre-World<br />
War I arcade lined with largely<br />
upmarket shops. It gets its name<br />
from the octagonal-shaped central<br />
area, which stands beneath a<br />
domed, stained-glass roof. The<br />
representative business and<br />
residential building of the former<br />
First Croatian Savings Bank was<br />
built at the end of the 19 th century<br />
in a record time of only 15 months.<br />
The Necktie<br />
Croatia is the<br />
home of the<br />
necktie, an<br />
obligatory<br />
accessory for<br />
every business<br />
meeting. During<br />
the Thirty Years’<br />
War Croatian<br />
The Grounded Sun<br />
Arguably the most popular<br />
example of contemporary<br />
sculpture in <strong>Zagreb</strong> is The<br />
Grounded Sun <strong>by</strong> Ivan Kožarić.<br />
Set down amidst a forest of café<br />
tables and parasols, this simple<br />
but unusual bronze sphere is a<br />
source of constant intrigue to<br />
passers-<strong>by</strong>. Some even push it to<br />
see how far it will roll. Kožarić’s<br />
soldiers in the<br />
service of France<br />
wore exotic<br />
scarves around<br />
their necks,<br />
becoming a<br />
source of serious<br />
fascination to the<br />
style-conscious<br />
citizens of Paris.<br />
The practice of<br />
wearing such<br />
scarves à la croate<br />
was especially<br />
favoured <strong>by</strong> the<br />
Sun King, Louis<br />
XIV, and the<br />
necktie soon<br />
became a fashion<br />
hit all over Europe.<br />
sun inspired another artist Davor<br />
Preis to create the <strong>Zagreb</strong> Solar<br />
System, in which metal spheres<br />
representing the planets are<br />
placed in locations all around the<br />
city. The sizes of the planets and<br />
the distances separating them are<br />
all in exact proportion to Kožarić’s<br />
original sun: trying to find all nine<br />
planets presents a real adventure.<br />
The Napredak Skyscraper<br />
Looming over the corner of<br />
Bogovićeva and Gajeva is the<br />
curving façade of the Napredak<br />
(“Progress”) building, built <strong>by</strong> the<br />
Napredak Cultural Association in<br />
1936 to serve as business space<br />
and apartment accommodation.<br />
Designed <strong>by</strong> Stjepan Planić,<br />
the seven-storey building is<br />
characterized <strong>by</strong> the cogwheel<br />
motif that runs around the upper<br />
part of the façade. The cogwheel<br />
was the symbol of the association.<br />
The light blue colour of the facade<br />
is the architect’s homage to<br />
traditional architecture and the<br />
blue-coloured Copper Sulphate<br />
used <strong>by</strong> wine-growers in<br />
rural parts of Croatia to<br />
stop various vine diseases.<br />
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18. Ilica<br />
Ilica<br />
Of all the streets in <strong>Zagreb</strong>, Ilica<br />
is the one which the locals hold<br />
dearest. Six kilometers in length,<br />
it was for a long time the longest<br />
street in the city, although some<br />
of the newer multi-lane avenues<br />
are now longer. However Ilica<br />
remains the symbolic main<br />
artery of the city, with highstreet<br />
shops and government<br />
buildings lining its eastern end,<br />
theatres and markets (and even<br />
<strong>Zagreb</strong>’s first brewery) emerging<br />
as it moves west. It is also one<br />
of the rare streets that has kept<br />
the same name since its origins<br />
in the 15 th century. Because<br />
of its east-west direction it is<br />
famous for the bright sunlight<br />
that hits you as you walk<br />
westward in the late afternoon.<br />
Andrija Kačić Miošić<br />
Connecting Ilica with the Upper<br />
Town, Mesnička is a sloping<br />
street that still retains its old<br />
granite paving stones. It has its<br />
origins in the Middle Ages, when<br />
it was named after the butchers’<br />
shops (mesnička is Croatian<br />
for “butchers”) that used to run<br />
along its length. Standing at the<br />
bottom of the street from 1891<br />
is Ivan Rendić’s statue of Andrija<br />
Kačić Miošić (1704 – 1760), a<br />
friar, poet and educator best<br />
known for his Razgovor ugodni<br />
naroda slovinskoga (“Pleasant<br />
Conversation of the Slav People”),<br />
a history of Croatia written in<br />
verse. First published in 1756, it<br />
has been reprinted over 70 times,<br />
and remains the most frequently<br />
read piece of literature written<br />
in the Croatian language.<br />
Trams<br />
futuristic-looking<br />
The blue-liveried vehicles made <strong>by</strong><br />
<strong>Zagreb</strong> tram is one the local Končar<br />
of the city’s most engineering<br />
easily identifiable works. Blue, the<br />
trademarks. Horsedrawn<br />
official colour of<br />
trams were <strong>Zagreb</strong>, became<br />
introduced as the standard<br />
far back as 1891, colour scheme for<br />
although electric the city’s trams<br />
trams took over in shortly after<br />
1910. A new sense World War I. There<br />
of style came to are currently<br />
<strong>Zagreb</strong>’s tramlines<br />
15 tram routes<br />
in 2006, with operating during<br />
the introduction the daytime,<br />
of the super-sleek, and 4 at night.<br />
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Andrija Kačić Miošić<br />
Britanski trg<br />
The Church of Saint Blaise<br />
Britanski trg<br />
Britanski trg (“British Square”)<br />
is a picturesque square with<br />
several names (Ilica Square,<br />
Small Market) famous for the<br />
fresh produce market that draws<br />
shoppers from all over the city on<br />
weekday mornings. On Sundays<br />
the square is taken over <strong>by</strong> a<br />
lively antiques and bric-a-brac<br />
market, which is as much a social<br />
occasion as a chance to pick<br />
up bargains. Lovers of antiques,<br />
old postcards, vinyl records and<br />
comics will have lots of fun<br />
browsing the stalls, and there are<br />
plenty of pavement cafes offering<br />
sunshine and strong coffee.<br />
The Church of Saint Blaise<br />
Standing at the intersection of<br />
Deželićeva and Primorska is a<br />
Church dedicated to St Blaise, a<br />
4 th -century martyr famous for<br />
his gift of curing throat illnesses.<br />
Begun in 1912, the church was<br />
designed <strong>by</strong> Viktor Kovačić and<br />
combines Byzantine influences,<br />
traditional Croatian styles and<br />
modern construction techniques<br />
to monumental effect. The<br />
re<strong>info</strong>rced concrete dome was<br />
the first of its kind in Croatia. An<br />
exceptionally beautiful Nativity<br />
scene, the work of sculptor Vojta<br />
Braniša from 1916, is exhibited<br />
every year around Christmas.<br />
Penkala (Pen)<br />
It was in <strong>Zagreb</strong><br />
that a small but<br />
very important<br />
writing tool was<br />
born. At the<br />
beginning of<br />
the 20 th century,<br />
Slavoljub Penkala<br />
(1871 – 1922)<br />
developed a<br />
fountain pen that<br />
soon replaced the<br />
need for pen and<br />
separate ink bottle.<br />
Enthusiasm for<br />
Penkala’s invention<br />
spread like wildfire,<br />
and <strong>Zagreb</strong> became<br />
a major global<br />
centre for the<br />
production of not<br />
only fountain pens<br />
but mechanical<br />
pencils too.<br />
Penkala was a<br />
pioneer in other<br />
fields, successfully<br />
building and<br />
testing the<br />
first Croatian<br />
aeroplane in 1910.<br />
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19.<br />
<br />
Jurišićeva<br />
Stjepan Radić<br />
Post Office<br />
The Stock Market<br />
HDLU<br />
Novakova<br />
Vlaška<br />
August Šenoa<br />
Jurišićeva<br />
The Stock Market<br />
Jurišićeva is the main business and<br />
commercial street leading east<br />
from <strong>Zagreb</strong>’s main square. As well<br />
as financial institutions, Jurišićeva<br />
boasts a large post office building<br />
dating from 1904 built in the<br />
Hungarian Art-Nouveu style. At the<br />
western end of the street, opposite<br />
the Radić bookstore, there is a statue<br />
of Stjepan Radić (1871 - 1928), a<br />
prominent Croatian politician who<br />
was fatally shot during a session of<br />
the Parliament in Belgrade. As leader<br />
of the Croatian Peasant Party Radić<br />
was an inspirational speaker and<br />
a genuine national leader, and he<br />
remains the most widely respected<br />
Croatian politician of all time.<br />
Viktor Kovačić,<br />
Croatian architect<br />
(1874 – 1924).<br />
Considered<br />
the father of<br />
Croatian modern<br />
architecture,<br />
Kovačić<br />
discarded the<br />
fancy decorative<br />
tastes of the late<br />
19 th century in<br />
favour of a much<br />
more pragmatic<br />
functionalist<br />
style. However<br />
he believed that<br />
architecture<br />
needed to<br />
create the right<br />
conditions for<br />
comfortable<br />
living, and always<br />
combined the<br />
best elements<br />
of traditional<br />
heritage with the<br />
contemporary<br />
taste for<br />
straight lines.<br />
At the eastern end of Jurišićeva,<br />
the fountain-splashed Trg<br />
hrvatskih velikana (“Square of the<br />
Great Croatians”) is dominated <strong>by</strong><br />
the former <strong>Zagreb</strong> Stock Exchange.<br />
Designed <strong>by</strong> Viktor Kovačić in<br />
1922, it employs simple classical<br />
elements to reflect the grand<br />
nature of the institution. The stock<br />
exchange for goods and valuables<br />
existed in <strong>Zagreb</strong> since 1907 but<br />
was closed down in 1945 because<br />
speculative institutions were not<br />
in line with the socialist agenda,<br />
and the building today houses<br />
the Croatian National Bank.<br />
64 <strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong>
HDLU<br />
Novakova<br />
Vlaška<br />
The near<strong>by</strong> Trg žrtava fašizma<br />
(“Victims of Fascism Square”)<br />
centres on <strong>Zagreb</strong>’s most unique<br />
exhibition space, the circular<br />
headquarters of the Croatian<br />
Artist’s Association. Designed <strong>by</strong><br />
the sculptor Ivan Meštrović in<br />
the 1930s, it was originally used<br />
as an exhibition pavilion before<br />
being turned into a mosque during<br />
World War II – complete with the<br />
addition of minarets. After the<br />
war the minarets were dismantled<br />
and the building returned to<br />
its original function, although<br />
it is still referred to fondly as<br />
“the Mosque” <strong>by</strong> the locals.<br />
Twisting its way uphill from<br />
opposite the Ribnjak Park,<br />
Novakova is <strong>Zagreb</strong>’s bestpreserved<br />
example of a residential<br />
street of the inter-war era. It is<br />
lined with modern family villas<br />
built according to modernist<br />
principles, employing clean lines,<br />
flat roofs and large windows.<br />
Although clearly inspired <strong>by</strong><br />
international architectural trends<br />
of the time, the villas represent<br />
a blend of functionality and<br />
organic design that is typical of<br />
the <strong>Zagreb</strong> school of architecture.<br />
Vlaška is a street characterized<br />
<strong>by</strong> its row of well-preserved onestorey<br />
houses and traditional<br />
crafts workshops. Stretching<br />
below the walls of the Kaptol<br />
district, it was originally settled<br />
<strong>by</strong> Italian traders, which is how<br />
the street got its name - Italians<br />
were referred to as Vlasi in old<br />
Croatian. It was in Vlaška that<br />
the novelist August Šenoa was<br />
born, a fact commemorated <strong>by</strong><br />
the street-corner sculpture of him<br />
leaning against an advertising<br />
pillar, a work of sculptor Marija<br />
Ujević. The pillar is inscribed<br />
with one of Šenoa’s poems,<br />
eulogising the beautiful and<br />
proud city which he loved.<br />
Gingerbread<br />
Cookies<br />
Aromatic<br />
gingerbread<br />
cookies have<br />
been baked in<br />
<strong>Zagreb</strong> since<br />
time immemorial.<br />
Flavoured with<br />
honey, walnuts<br />
and pepper,<br />
these biscuits<br />
traditionally<br />
served as the<br />
principal sweet<br />
treat during the<br />
winter holidays.<br />
The sweet peppery<br />
taste goes best<br />
with a cup of<br />
warm tea. It is<br />
also good to<br />
know that the<br />
crisp gingerbread<br />
dough tastes<br />
better with time.<br />
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Outside<br />
the Centre<br />
The Technical Museum<br />
Vukovar Avenue<br />
The Museum of<br />
Contemporary Art<br />
The River Sava<br />
Bundek<br />
Jarun<br />
Mirogoj<br />
Maksimir Park<br />
Medvednica
Outside<br />
the Centre<br />
The Technical Museum<br />
The Technical Museum is located<br />
on Savska cesta, a busy street<br />
that connects the centre of the<br />
city with one of the main bridges<br />
across the river Sava. Housed in<br />
an innovative wooden pavilion<br />
dating from the 1950, the<br />
museum displays a host of notable<br />
scientific and technological<br />
achievements. Exhibits range<br />
from horse-drawn trams to space<br />
capsules, and visitors can even<br />
visit a replica mine-shaft or take<br />
part in experiments devised <strong>by</strong> the<br />
great Nikola Tesla. The main hall<br />
of the museum is taken up with<br />
a fascination display of vintage<br />
road vehicles and old aeroplanes.<br />
Croatia was a home to important<br />
innovators: along with Tesla, we<br />
can also mention Faust Vrančić<br />
and Ruđer Bošković, and you<br />
can learn something about all of<br />
them in the Technical Museum.<br />
Vukovar Avenue<br />
World War II was followed <strong>by</strong><br />
an exceptionally fruitful period<br />
for architectural projects in<br />
Croatia, and Vukovar Avenue is<br />
an outstanding example, with its<br />
thoughtfully planned series of tall<br />
residential buildings and state<br />
institutions. Croatian architects<br />
of that time resisted the dictates<br />
of socialist realism and opted for<br />
European modernist styles instead.<br />
A splendid new City Hall was<br />
designed <strong>by</strong> Kazimir Ostrogović,<br />
although it is outshone on the<br />
beauty stakes <strong>by</strong> Marijan Haberle’s<br />
Vatroslav Lisinski Concert<br />
Hall, opened in 1973. Lisinski<br />
(1819 – 1854) was the composer<br />
of the first ever Croatian opera,<br />
Love and Malice. Close to the<br />
concert hall is the splendid glassand-steel<br />
building of the National<br />
and University Library. Built in the<br />
1990s, it holds over 2.5 million<br />
books on 114 kilometres of shelves.<br />
The Museum<br />
of Contemporary Art<br />
South of the river Sava, Novi<br />
<strong>Zagreb</strong> (“New <strong>Zagreb</strong>”) is home<br />
to the brand-new Museum of<br />
Contemporary Art. The museum’s<br />
permanent collection includes<br />
both Croatian and international<br />
modern art from the 1950s to the<br />
present day. Completed in 2009,<br />
the museum building takes the<br />
form of an angular-looking wave<br />
pattern – a direct reference to the<br />
meander motif developed <strong>by</strong> the<br />
leading abstract artist Julije Knifer.<br />
In the new building on almost<br />
15,000 square meters enables<br />
people from <strong>Zagreb</strong> and visitors<br />
to the city to see original works<br />
of art ranging from sculptures<br />
and paintings to photographs,<br />
films, videos, installations or<br />
performances, all <strong>by</strong> Croatian and<br />
internationally recognized artists.<br />
Occasional exhibitions reflect<br />
current trends in the world of art.<br />
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Bundek<br />
The River Sava<br />
Jarun<br />
Adjacent to the river Sava lies<br />
the Bundek, a 35 hectare oasis<br />
of peace, greenery and nature<br />
on the edges of Novi <strong>Zagreb</strong>.<br />
Many locals come here at the<br />
weekend to exercise, walk and<br />
relax. The park is especially<br />
suitable for families, thanks to<br />
the presence of playgrounds for<br />
children of various ages. Anglers<br />
catch fish from lakes which are<br />
also home to ducks and swans.<br />
With a length of 940 km, the<br />
river Sava is one of the three<br />
longest rivers in Croatia, rising in<br />
Slovenia and flowing southeast<br />
to join the Danube in Belgrade.<br />
The river has always played an<br />
important role in the development<br />
of <strong>Zagreb</strong>. The city originally<br />
developed on the left bank of<br />
the Sava, but after World War II<br />
it spread to its right bank with<br />
the creation of the new parts of<br />
the city known as Novi <strong>Zagreb</strong>.<br />
In the past the river guarded the<br />
city from enemies but also posed<br />
a threat to when its waters rose<br />
and led to flooding. After the<br />
great flood of 1964, the flow of<br />
the Sava was tamed <strong>by</strong> building<br />
canals and earthen banks on<br />
either side of the river, which now<br />
serve as foot- and cycle-paths.<br />
Southwest of the city centre<br />
lies the man-made Lake Jarun,<br />
<strong>Zagreb</strong>’s very-own riviera.<br />
Consisting of a big and a small<br />
lake connected <strong>by</strong> a channel,<br />
Jarun was created <strong>by</strong> the digging<br />
of gravel from the backwaters of<br />
the Sava after the catastrophic<br />
flood of 1964. Jarun was<br />
developed into a recreation era<br />
in time for the World Student<br />
Games, which were held in<br />
<strong>Zagreb</strong> in 1987. Rowing facilities,<br />
sports grounds and cycling tracks<br />
were added, making Jarun the<br />
largest sports and recreational<br />
centre in the city. During the<br />
day Jarun can be teeming with<br />
people, whether they are simply<br />
out for a walk or engaged in<br />
more serious athletic training.<br />
The lakeside pebble beaches fill<br />
with bathers during the summer.<br />
In the evening, cafes and clubs<br />
along the lakefront attract people<br />
looking for a fun night out.<br />
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Mirogoj<br />
<strong>Zagreb</strong>’s main cemetery, Mirogoj,<br />
crowns a low hill just outside the<br />
city centre. Built in the late 19 th<br />
century <strong>by</strong> Hermann Bollé, it is a<br />
wonderful example of a grand civic<br />
graveyard, featuring monumental<br />
arcades, domed gatehouses<br />
and pavilion chapels. Opened in<br />
1876 with the funeral of fencing<br />
instructor Miroslav Singer, Mirogoj<br />
is the last resting place of many<br />
eminent Croats, their beautifully<br />
sculpted grave memorials giving<br />
the whole place the appearance<br />
of a park-like outdoor art<br />
gallery. Mirogoj accommodates<br />
people of all religions, which<br />
is why Catholic, Orthodox and<br />
Muslim symbols can be seen<br />
on many of the gravestones.<br />
Maksimir Park<br />
Main attraction in the eastern<br />
part of the city is Maksimir Park, a<br />
leafy oasis of greenery first opened<br />
as a public promenade <strong>by</strong> Bishop<br />
Maksimilijan Vrhovac in 1794. It<br />
was Vrhovac who arranged for the<br />
existing oak woods and meadows<br />
to be transformed into gardens<br />
in the French style. The resulting<br />
park was named Maksimir (“mir”<br />
being Croatian for peace) in<br />
honour of its founder. Occupying<br />
one corner of the park, <strong>Zagreb</strong> Zoo<br />
has grown considerably since the<br />
early 20 th century, when it opened<br />
to the public with a modest<br />
collection of three foxes and<br />
three owls. Today it is home to<br />
275 animal species, and occupies<br />
a 7-hectare area of beautifully<br />
laid-out flowerbeds and shrubs.<br />
Medvednica<br />
<strong>Zagreb</strong> is one of the few cities<br />
lucky enough to have a mountain<br />
right on its door<strong>step</strong>. Protected<br />
as a nature reserve, Mount<br />
Medvednica shelters <strong>Zagreb</strong><br />
from cold northern winds. The<br />
mountain gets its name from the<br />
bears (medvjedi) who used to<br />
roam its wooded slopes, although<br />
none of the beasts remain on the<br />
mountain today. The 1,035-metre<br />
summit of Medvednica, known as<br />
Sljeme, is a popular destination<br />
for local hikers. Trails lead from<br />
<strong>Zagreb</strong>’s suburbs right to the<br />
top, where mountain lodges<br />
serve hearty portions of grah<br />
(traditional bean stew) to those<br />
eager to restore their strength.<br />
The ski pistes on the northern<br />
slopes of Sljeme regularly host<br />
World Cup skiing events, with<br />
both men’s and women’s downhill<br />
events taking place in January.<br />
Herman Bollé, 1880. Among his<br />
architect and most important<br />
town planner achievements are<br />
(1845 – 1926). The the reconstruction<br />
German-born of <strong>Zagreb</strong>’s<br />
architect came to cathedral (whose<br />
<strong>Zagreb</strong> in 1876 to Neo-Gothic<br />
restore St. Mark’s spires are said<br />
Church in the Upper to be inspired <strong>by</strong><br />
Town. He then those in Bollé’s<br />
stayed on in <strong>Zagreb</strong>, birthplace of<br />
becoming the Cologne), the<br />
leading figure in the Neo-Renaissance<br />
renovation projects walls of Mirogoj<br />
that followed cemetery, and<br />
the catastrophic the Museum of<br />
earthquake of Arts and Crafts.<br />
74 <strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong> <strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong> 75
<strong>Zagreb</strong> Tourist Board<br />
10000 <strong>Zagreb</strong><br />
Kaptol 5<br />
www.zagreb-<strong>tourist</strong><strong>info</strong>.hr<br />
<strong>info</strong>@zagreb-<strong>tourist</strong><strong>info</strong>.hr<br />
Publisher:<br />
<strong>Zagreb</strong> Tourist Board<br />
For Publisher:<br />
Amelia Tomašević, PhD<br />
Editor:<br />
Dražen Hochecker<br />
Text concept:<br />
Martina Petrinović<br />
Translation:<br />
Media translations<br />
Proofreader:<br />
Jonathan Bousfield<br />
Photos:<br />
Želimir Horvat<br />
Juraj Kopač<br />
Željko Krčadinac<br />
Patrik Macek<br />
Ivo Pervan<br />
Tomislav Rastić<br />
Tomislav Šklopan<br />
Ivor Vodanović<br />
Goran Vranić<br />
AMZ Archive<br />
HAZU Archive<br />
TZGZ Archive<br />
MGZ Phototeque<br />
Art director:<br />
Ivan Doroghy<br />
Design & Layout:<br />
DZN Studio<br />
Print:<br />
Birotisak<br />
ISBN 978-953-228-023-4<br />
<strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong> 77
78 <strong>Step</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>step</strong>