Day 107: Zagreb

JULY 19 - Zagreb has been the largest city and capital of Croatia for hundreds of years. Most of the modern-day city lies sprawled out along the Dava River, but the oldest part was composed of two walled settlements on the side of a mountain, called Kaptol and Gradec.

Josip Jelačič Square, a focus of tourist activity in Zagreb, lies at the base of the hills where the old fortified city stood.

Josip Jelačič is a rather divisive figure. He was a lieutenant field marshal in the Imperial-Royal Army, when Croatia was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was elected Ban of Croatia in 1848-59 (Ban means something like administrator). He is considered a hero in Croatia, primarily because he supported Croatian independence from Austria (even though he technically worked for the latter), and he abolished serfdom during his tenure. At the same time, because he fought for Austria and wanted to make an impression there, he was instrumental in putting down Hungarian efforts at independence. So, in the end, while seen in a positive light in Croatia, for Austria he was a troublemaker, while in Hungary he was considered a traitor.

Zagreb Cathedral. We stepped over the barrier to get this close, as everything is blocked off around the cathedral. This building sat in neglect throughout the Yugoslavia years, and apparently only recently money became available for renovation.

No, its not another statue to the Plague. This is the Monument of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, next to Zagreb Cathedral.

Part of the old city walls and tower next to the cathedral. Very similar to towers we’ve been looking at since Estonia.

Nearby is a street market, with numerous clothing stalls around. The clothing is somewhat touristy, though the food is for local sale. Hats and shirts featuring the checkered pattern in the Croatian coat of arms is a popular item.

Odette was impressed by the number of wasps clustered around the fruit.

Spend some time wandering around inside the old city of Gradec. One of the most important points here is the Stone Gate. Today it is a short enclosed passage that turns at a 90 degree angle halfway through.

Historically, it is significant as it was one of the gates leading into the medieval fortified city. Somewhere along the line, after a fire that damaged much of the city, a surviving painting of the Virgin Mary and child was placed inside it, and a few pews installed along the wall. The gate became a place for people to stop, pray, ask for divine help, or take oaths to the Virgin Mary.

The northern entrance to the Stone Gate. It turns right and opens up again immediately to another street, though that is not visible in this photo.

When people feel they have been granted divine help in answer to their prayers, they sometimes placed plaques on the walls of the gate. Most I saw dates from the 1940’s onward. Most say some expansion of ‘thank you, mother’.

Just near here is one of the entrances to Grič Tunnel. These tunnels were built during WWII to serve both as bomb shelters and pedestrian walkways, as the tunnel system connects several major streets. The main passageway extends 350 meters, with several corridors running perpendicular to that.

For many years the tunnels were blocked and in disrepair. but were cleaned up in 2016 to serve again as pedestrian walkways and a (free) tourist attraction.

One of the tunnel entrances.

St. Mark’s Church, on top of the hill in Gradec. It features the coat of arms of Zagreb on the right. This church was completely blocked off, so we couldn’t look at it on the inside (same with Zagreb Cathedral). So much scaffolding and restoration going on in this city. Originally constructed on a Romanesque floor plan (probably 13th Century), it was later completely redone in Gothic style.

We were bound and determined to go to the Mushroom Museum. It wasn’t easy to locate the building, and then we found out it is closed today. Only a token window display was available for viewing.

The Zagreb Art Pavilion.

These people should not have been in this fountain, as much as Odette wanted to join them. It was about 32⁰ C today in Zagreb.

Speaking of temperature, today was one of the record-breaking days for heat in the south of the UK, Paris, and parts of the Netherlands, as well as punishing heat through Spain. So far, we really haven’t had to deal with excessive heat. There have been days when it was getting to 35⁰ or 36⁰ C, but for the most part the heat has been manageable. There has not been a day when we felt it was not possible to march around town in the sun.

Croatia I