Photo Tour of Zagreb

I finally have some decent pictures of Zagreb to share - a compilation from a few different days, so some are sunny and other are dark....

This is Trg. bana Josipa Jelačića – the necessary main town square – there are always a ton of people here. This is also where my program office/classroom is located.

This is a statue of Ban Jelačić. He was a pretty great dude who freed the serfs and fought to protect Croatia from annexation by the Hungarians in the mid-1800s. Ban is translated as governor and means “king’s deputy” – there is a saying: “The king reigns and the ban rules.” The statue was removed because of “ideological reasons” (aka socialism) from 1947-1990, when the square was called Republic Square.

This is me in Dolac – the daily farmer’s market, which I love. It’s in the Kaptol neighborhood, which is one of the two medieval halves of the city (the other half being Gradec/Gornji Grad to the west of Kaptol). The statue is a monument to the vendors of Dolac, who have, historically, generated a lot of revenue to the city (aka paid a lot of taxes to the city – as much as 30% at times).

This is me in Kaptol, in the square. The fountain has a really pretty statue of the Virgin Mary and the angels. Up the street, you can see the steeple of St. Francis, where the Franciscan monastery is located. The street is mostly lined with archbishopric offices and convents, etc.

This is the cathedral of Zagreb – The Cathedral of St. Stephen, St. Blaise, and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (and you thought the Basil’ had a long name). It’s actually the third cathedral on the site – the first one in 1217 (destroyed by Tartars in 1242)… this one was all but ruined by an earthquake in 1880. Now, the limestone façade is melting away, so they are in the process of restoring it. I didn’t get any good interior shots, so Google it.
This is Stone Gate – the only remaining gate of the fortifications around Gradec. Inside, you can see the Chapel of the Holy Mother of the Stone Gate. There is a painting of the Madonna and baby Jesus, which was the only thing left wholly untouched by a fire in 1760 that nearly destroyed the city. It was proclaimed a miracle and now people make pilgrimages here to pray. You can see it housed by the ornate grill, surround by tiles that say “Hvala ti” (thank you), from people who have had their prayers answered.

St. Mark’s Church (aka the Lego church) is surrounded by a square that also holds all the Croatian houses of government – Parliament, the Government, and the Constitional Court. The coat of arms on the left represents the triune kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia, and Dalmatia, on the right, the shield of Zagreb. The church has existed since the 14th century… I wasn’t able to get in, I think its only open for Mass.Lotrscak Tower is the 13th century guard tower where the southern gate of the Gradec town wall once stood. Everyday at noon, a cannon is fired from the tower – you can hear it everywhere. It stands next to the funicular. The Zagreb Funicular connects Ilica Street (the longest street in Zagreb, which runs through Jelačić Trg) to Strossmeyer Promenade (up the hill in Gradec). It is the one of the shortest, steepest funiculars in the world, with a track length of 216ft and a height difference of about 110ft (incline is 52%). The ride takes less than a minute!